Dating Apps

Image of two dolls swaying their legs and arms. The doll on the left has long hair and is wearing a red coloured head scarf on its head and a white sweater and black pants. The doll also has makeup on its face. The doll on the rights has short hair and is wearing a white sweater with grey pants. The doll has a black woolen scarf around its neck

Tinderization of Feeling

·April 19, 2021
·Curated Content
·0 Comments

To be without intricacies is to be without emotional boundaries, to disregard whoever whenever. Besties save you from your shit. They are your heart, and they transcend any efficiency that the Tinderization Bestie Robot attempts to offer you in its binary fantasy.

Hot Girls Wanted – Keeping up with the times

·August 3, 2020
·Elsa Marie D'Silva
·0 Comments

Because the Internet is an integral part of our daily lives, it is important that young people are given the right information so that they can explore the world around them, access information without violating legislations, know their rights in the virtual and physical world and have enjoyable and consensual relationships with whoever they choose.

An image of purple fibre cables

Young People and Sexuality – The perspective of two queer allies

·July 1, 2020
·Aditi and Sunali
·0 Comments

As we sat down brainstorming about what course we were going to take next for As You Are (AYA – A dating app for queer Indians) that we are are working on, we received a call from a friend. Another queer friend of ours who wanted to vent. She has been trying hopelessly to find…

Editorial: Dating and Sexuality

·May 15, 2020
·TARSHI
·0 Comments

Searching for and then finding and connecting with others, dating, and then possibly, romancing them, are activities and experiences that do not occur in isolation – they are inter-connected with the rest of our lives, with what’s going on in other areas, and with what’s happening in the external environment, nowadays being a case in…

In Plainspeak publishes two issues with a theme every month.
A cross-cutting theme across all forthcoming issues in 2021 is how we can expand safe, inclusive sexuality-affirming spaces.

THIS ISSUE:

April 2021
Vulnerability and Sexuality, II Issue – April 19, 2021
Vulnerability is often associated with the threat of emotional or physical hurt, disease (amplified now in a COVID-19 affected world) and violence. Where, with whom, and in what circumstances we feel safe, affects not only our interpersonal relationships and the spaces and services we access but also our relationship with ourselves. However, is the goal of identifying vulnerability simply safety? And, does the search for safety limit or free us in living fully and authentically? While exploring ourselves and the world, we open ourselves up to new and different experiences, places, and people. On the one hand, we may find ourselves rendered vulnerable while engaging with someone sexually and/or romantically, moving cities, travelling alone, or even while dealing with personal adversity. On the other, intentionally allowing ourselves to be vulnerable may be an act of asserting agency in the choices we make and the boundaries we establish or consciously yield around our self-expression, sexuality, bodily integrity, and relationships. The April issue of In Plainspeak attempts to explore vulnerability and sexuality and its interaction with age, caste, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, and socio-economic location.

May – Data and Sexuality
As technological advancements narrow the gap between our online and offline lives, our everyday actions become sources of data. From biometrics, facial recognition software, and CCTV cameras to our health and financial records, location, and search histories – avenues for collecting data as well as utilising this data are endless. Although presented as error-free, neutral and objective, the data collected (and about whom) are influenced by context. And because our world is constructed upon inequalities, data might enhance the lives of some and push already marginalised identities and communities further away. With regard to sexuality, questions around privacy, consent, anonymity, surveillance, and other such issues, arise. And, if we express and experience sexuality outside of the norm, are we rendered more vulnerable to being targeted, surveilled, and regulated? In Plainspeak’s May issue questions the reach and impact of data on our sexual and reproductive wellbeing and rights, and attempts to imagine a more consent-based and equal digital future.

June – Representation and Sexuality
Drawing from the oft-discussed conundrum ‘If a tree falls in a forest and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound?’ we ask: How might we be truly and meaningfully seen and heard, especially if we do not find accurate or adequate representation in mainstream discourse? Representation is a broad term – it might mean political legitimacy of our gender identity and sexual orientation, ethnicity, religion and so on, inclusivity in decision-making processes, highlighting narratives of identities and communities which are marginalised, and portraying sexuality openly and authentically. Our lived experience as well as what we are told by way of religious and/or moral tenets, popular culture, and even advertising, shape the way we look at and interact with our socio-cultural-political milieu. And, while representation may influence how we perceive things, we are not passive consumers of it – we can bring to it a critical eye, point to what’s missing, and if we don’t like what’s on offer we can demand or create other representations. In the June issue of In Plainspeak we explore how representation (and even misrepresentation, or none at all!) may affirm or violate our sexual rights and the assertion of our individual and collective identity.

For future issue themes, click here.

Would you like to contribute? Send an email to blogeditor@tarshi.net with your idea. Do take a look at our submission guidelines!

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