authenticity

Why singlehood is meaningful: Three voices
A photograph of Kalpana Sharma, Sharda Ugra, and attendees at an event around the book ‘Single by Choice: Happily Unmarried Women’.

By the end of the evening, the room was suffused with the celebration of singlehood, rather than any explanation or apology for it. It appeared that the solitary life was envied and extolled by those who have opted out of it as well as many who haven’t.

By Curated Content
February 15, 2021
Why singlehood is meaningful: Three voices
Reclaiming Being Single Against Emma Watson’s Self Partnered
On a pick background with blue spots and black stripes, a photo of actor Emma Watson is superimposed with yellow lines drawn around her.

Emma Watson spoke to British Vogue about the incredible amounts of stress and anxiety that follows, “…if you have not built a home, if you do not have a husband, if you do not have a baby, and you are turning 30, and you’re not in some incredibly secure, stable place in your career, or you’re still figuring things out…”

By Feminism in India
February 15, 2021
Reclaiming Being Single Against Emma Watson’s Self Partnered
“Only for Families, Madam”: A House for Mrs Kulkarni, Divorcee
An illustration of a woman sitting in an unfurnished house by herself, framed by a window looking out into the night in a city. Around the woman, there are unopened boxes marked ‘FRAGILE’.

The only hitch was that neither the agents nor the landlords who lurked behind those rentable flats were particularly keen on leasing their precious properties to a – what! Divorcee??!! No, no, madam, but this flat is only for families.

By Curated Content
February 15, 2021
“Only for Families, Madam”: A House for Mrs Kulkarni, Divorcee
Editorial: Singlehood and Sexuality
A small bird fluttering around a branch with orange berries, picking at one

In this issue of In Plainspeak our contributors reflect on and reveal the myriad facets of being single – is it a choice? A condition? A state of being? Lonely? Joyful? Not one or the other, but a glorious mix?

By TARSHI
February 15, 2021
Editorial: Singlehood and Sexuality
Maybe age is more than just a number?  My discovery of my sexuality and sexual preferences over the years
A photograph of pomegranates on a black background, one of them is cut.

Age is not just a number, like it is often said to be. It is a lot combined together. It is about grace, it is about exposure, it is about knowledge, it is about the ability to fight back. And yet, in endless other ways, age IS just a number.

By Asmi
March 1, 2021
Maybe age is more than just a number?  My discovery of my sexuality and sexual preferences over the years
Spinning Straw into Gold: Older Womxn Celebrate Sexuality and Spirituality
A photograph of oranges on a black background. One orange is whole and the other is halved.

The most satisfying spiritual and sexual experiences I’ve had were not in my twenties, thirties or even forties. They have been in my 50’s. The most insightful spiritual insights, and the most orgasmic orgasms have both arrived in middle age.

By Nighat Gandhi
March 1, 2021
Spinning Straw into Gold: Older Womxn Celebrate Sexuality and Spirituality
Interview –  A reflective self-questioning
A graphic design image of phases of the moon in a semi-circular form against a black backdrop dotted with white specks as stars.

It is true though that ageing has brought home realities about my body that I ignored when I was younger. It has made me mindful of what I value, and what I choose to let go of, without too much of thought or unnecessary angst.

By Shikha Aleya
March 1, 2021
Interview –  A reflective self-questioning
The ‘Aunty’ Body And All That Follows
A photograph of a pen-and-paper illustration of two women, depicted as stereotypical ‘Auntys’ in the Indian context, talking to each other.

The issue with the ‘Aunty’ body arises from a deeply misogynistic and dehumanising understanding of women. In this imagination the woman, whom the world now addresses as ‘Aunty’, has basically served her purpose of marriage and child bearing, and is hence rendered useless.

By Feminism in India
March 15, 2021
The ‘Aunty’ Body And All That Follows
Brushstrokes: Ageing and Sexuality
A photograph by Sujata Setia. A couple stands under a blue umbrella, holding each other, in a field.

Capturing moments of tenderness between these couples as they shine with affection, comfort, and laughter, Sujata’s photo-series reminds us that we don’t simply fall in love, but with time, nurture and strengthen intimacy.

By Curated Content
March 15, 2021
Brushstrokes: Ageing and Sexuality
Brushstrokes: ‘The Art of Aging’
A black and white photograph by Arianne Clément of Marie-Berthe.

As Clément subverts ageist norms around beauty with her camera-work, the women and men (ranging in age from 70 to 102 years) who reveal themselves in this project give us a glimpse into their inner world and the rich and vibrant ways in which they experience sensuality.

By Curated Content
March 15, 2021
Brushstrokes: ‘The Art of Aging’
Being of Queer Age
A photograph of an old tree, its roots spread out on the surface, entwined.

The conversion of the noun (adult) into the verb form (adulting) implies that ‘adulting’ is more performance than inevitability. Which is to say, there is no intrinsic understanding of ‘adulting’; it is something that can be learnt over time.

By Roshan Roy
March 15, 2021
Being of Queer Age
Editorial: Ageing and Sexuality
A photograph of a lush oak tree, its branches sprawling across a field of green.

Ageing is often associated with a loss, a lack of ability and strength. When combined with sexuality, in the popular imagination, fed especially by market forces, youth is to be lauded and ageing regarded as the impending horror that must be evaded for as long as possible.

By TARSHI
March 15, 2021
Editorial: Ageing and Sexuality
Communication: A Path to Vulnerability
A black and white photograph of two children walking on an empty road. One child’s hand is on the shoulders of the other child

We must all care for ourselves and be discerning about when and where and with whom we show our cards…but those who can hold our emotional and sexual vulnerability are out there, and we can find them and be all of who we are.

By Shilpa Sachdeva
April 5, 2021
Communication: A Path to Vulnerability
Reclining Vulnerability

Through multiple maquettes, I finally came across (since I myself did not know what the result of the form or figure would be) the Reclining Lady. She represents confident femininity and vulnerability. The feeling one has after taking a bath and sitting in the nude, drying oneself in unabashed nakedness.

By Noella Fernandes
April 19, 2021
Reclining Vulnerability
There I sat down and wept

“Be yourself, Sarah. Awkward smiles, empty silences, weird laughter, and all. It’s just a part of being human. Loving someone physically is never not awkward. Even if it’s a monogamous relationship. It’s only the comfort of familiarity that makes you think otherwise.”

By Anna Lynn
April 19, 2021
There I sat down and wept
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