bodily integrity

A GARDEN OF ONE’S OWN
A photograph of a stone structure and archway on a rocky terrain

Therapy gives us tools and time, but the actual work of dismantling the forest is ours as we are the only persons with access to that forest. So queer affirmative therapy validates our beliefs and helps us identify the poison, cut it down, dissect it, unroot it.

By Poorva Parashar
January 4, 2021
A GARDEN OF ONE’S OWN
Are they people or just a number?
A photograph of a smartphone on a wooden surface. The sides of the phone are black, and the display has a white background with a kissing-face emoticon in the centre and two red heart emoticons on either side.

You see, numbers are tricky, data is tricky. More importantly, data is dehumanising. Add sexuality and intimacy to this and the waters get even murkier. Maybe it’s good to leave a few things unaffected by too much data. Maybe we do not want to talk about data and sexuality. Maybe we instead want to talk about why data around gender and sexuality must not be recorded, and instead, maybe focus on why we should honour every kind of sexual preference which is within the purview of the safe and consensual.

By Asmi
May 15, 2021
Are they people or just a number?
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
Brushstrokes: 5 Fantastic Ways to Engage in Feminist Hookup Culture
Film poster of ‘Someone Great’

While navigating hook-up culture, we may exercise our agency to express our sexuality but at the same time, may face risks to our safety and bodily integrity as well as obstacles engendered by misogyny, rape culture, heteronormativity, and double standards.

By Curated Content
October 5, 2020
Brushstrokes: 5 Fantastic Ways to Engage in Feminist Hookup Culture
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: Digital security guide: How to protect yourself on dating apps
An illustration of a ruled sheet. The lines are orange in colour. In the middle is a smartphone with a woman's face and torso on the display. She has curly brown hair and is wearing a blue turtleneck. Underneath is written, Lu, 28, and the symbols of Swipe Yes or No and two other buttons as on a dating app interface. On either side of the smartphone are flowers with stems and leaves. The flowers are red, and two in each bouquet. Above, in big letters, outlined in black and coloured in bright green: How to Date Online Safely. And underneath the smartphone illustration, in black, "Online dating can be fun. But there are some risks. Malicious actors can use your profile to blackmail, hurt, or harass you. This guide contains helpful tips and resources to protect you'

Online dating can be great fun but it comes with some risks. This quirky and in-depth Digital Security Guide by Access Now on How to Date Online Safely tells us how we can engage with fellow dating-app users while making sure we are safe from harm.

By Curated Content
May 15, 2021
Brushstrokes: Digital security guide: How to protect yourself on dating apps
Brushstrokes: Who We’re Leaving Out of Sex Positivity – And How to Make It More Inclusive
On a white background, various black outlined chat bubbles from a range of people coloured in pink.

Everyday Feminism’s comic illustrates the complexity and diversity of sexuality, revealing how sex can sometimes be pleasure-affirming and sometimes not, and asks us to talk about ALL KINDS of sex – the good, the bad, and the hilarious.

By Curated Content
August 2, 2021
Brushstrokes: Who We’re Leaving Out of Sex Positivity – And How to Make It More Inclusive
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’
Camouflage
An illustration of a blue flower. The tips of its petals are dark blue and lighten as they meet at the yellow-brown centre. A long spindly green stem supports the flower and has three dark and light green round leaves and a dark green bud.. Behind it, on a grey-blue background is a cityscape dotted with buildings and palm trees with muted colour and grey overtones.

I cannot let anyone see the stretch marks, the cellulite, the saggy breasts. I cannot reveal my hideous body. I feel anxiety well up inside me even as I visualise this eventuality. I read about ten ways for a fat person to have meaningful sex. I learn that throwing a cloth over the bedside lamp will help hide my flaws.

By Sharada Vinod
August 2, 2021
Camouflage
Despite all odds
A poster of the Netflix film 'Rising Phoenix'.

In the spirit of the Games, I watched the Netflix film Rising Phoenix which documents the history of the Paralympics and its impact on the world in making visible the topic of disability. It also tracks the personal and professional journey of some of the top Paralympic athletes who share their challenges, frustrations and motivations.

By ElsaMarie D'Silva
August 2, 2021
Despite all odds
Does Your Period Tracking App Ask You About Your Sexuality Or Your Contraceptive Pills?
A graphic design. A white iPhone on the right and a pink screen-like background on the left. On the iPhone display, a big red dot saying 'Day 5' in white text and a calendar at the top. On the left, there are three blue chat bubbles with white text. The first says, 'Track my cycle' and under it, 'Don't plan to get pregnant right now'. The second bubble says, 'Trying to conceive' and under it 'Favourable days are important to me' and the third says, 'I'm pregnant' and under it, 'Want to track my condition'.

Period tracking applications can also inform you about your general reproductive health and also caution you in case of an anomaly with respect to it. As menstruators in our undergraduate years, the primary reason I saw my friends using period trackers were to keep a track of when to carry menstrual products to college or avoid the risks of pregnancy.

By Curated Content
May 15, 2021
Does Your Period Tracking App Ask You About Your Sexuality Or Your Contraceptive Pills?
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
Editorial: Disability and Sexuality
A photograph of a purple-coloured board on grass. The board, in white, has a symbol for a person using a wheelchair and underneath it, the typography: Step free Route. Below it is an arrow pointing to the right.

Both sexuality and disability are complex terrains, offering a realm of possibilities that are often made unnecessarily complicated and unattainable by the mental maps we draw of them and the artificial barriers we erect.

By TARSHI
August 16, 2021
Editorial: Disability and Sexuality
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
HOW I LEARNED THAT I DESERVE TO LOVE MYSELF
A pattern of many illustrated flowers interwoven together

“I feel comfortable with who I am,” he responded. “I’m at ease with myself. I don’t wake up and hate myself. I can’t tell you how amazing that feels.”

“I know how that feels,” I told him.

By Guest Writer
January 4, 2021
HOW I LEARNED THAT I DESERVE TO LOVE MYSELF
1 2 3