Desire Archives • In Plainspeak

Desire

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Stories hold power. They shape how we understand the world, and if they are stories of distorted facts and falsehoods, they spread unease, discord and hatred. But stories also allow us to imagine other possibilities; they give us hope that we can overcome oppression and injustice.

By TARSHI

March 17, 2023

Editorial – Narratives and Sexuality

Shifting the Gaze: How women wish to experience desire

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This awareness of the status ascribed to women – the status of being the objects of men’s desires – affects every aspect of a woman’s life. Desire then, in particular, becomes an aspect of a woman’s life where navigation becomes tricky.

By Gitanjali G

March 17, 2023

Shifting the Gaze: How women wish to experience desire

Pleasure, in the world, is not equally distributed.

By Ria Arya

March 17, 2023

Labour of Love

Khusro to Bullah. Ada to Parveen
यह, वह, वो

He, she, they
Lover or Beloved? Woman or Man?

By Carol D'Souza

March 1, 2023

What is your verb

I see people and places,
Couples and crushes
I hear giggles and whispers.
These are the secrets untold to me.

By Gayathri

March 1, 2023

Love belongs to me too

Looking back, it seems strange, almost sad that he couldn’t contain his anxiety, couldn’t bear the shame of what he did wrong. He must have skimmed over so much turmoil, that he couldn’t accept the reality of harming someone.

By Megha

March 1, 2023

Sex Question Mark

We had gathered to [discuss] digital self-determination for people with disabilities… focusing on its core component: the self. How can I be myself in digital spaces? What gives me more of a sense of self in these spaces? How can design, technology and policy contribute to helping me determine myself in digital spaces?

By Bishakha Datta

February 16, 2023

Loitering towards desire

A side view of a historical monument during daytime.

We are two boys in our early twenties
who can read touch like that, who have broken into
a 200-year-old mansion, without permission,
to see from above where people like them go
after 377 has been read down only for those
who can stay behind closed doors — in the custody
of cheap hotels, or houses that welcome nights
with the sound of latches closing.

By Aditya Vikram

February 16, 2023

At Chattar Manzil

A close-up of vibrantly painted pebbles. One with a rainbow on it is prominently in the foreground. Another with “love” on it is behind it.

Many disabled people in India live with their parents and any expression of sexuality is suppressed as a rule within the confines of their homes. Sexual desires of persons with disabilities are seldom a priority issue for families or civil society. More is said through silence than words. Be grateful that you are alive. Isn’t that enough?

By Abhishek Anicca

February 4, 2023

Sexy Crip Desires

A photograph of MHI director Raj Mariwala; she is playing with a grey-brown dog, squatting in grass.

Self-care is influenced by the environment we inhabit, the way we relate to others, the way we negotiate with other living beings or structures. Self-care is also interlinked with other types of care – whether that is in community resources, psychosocial support, engagement with medical and health care institutions, and of course in collective agency and solidarity.

By Shikha Aleya

January 3, 2023

Interview – Raj Mariwala

A black-and-white photo of a hand resting by an elbow, holding a cigarette. The nails are painted in a dark solid colour.

She turns towards me when I speak, and I can feel her eyes thinking over my words, sensitive to any hint of criticism. Her thighs slide against mine, and for a moment we are both distracted by the naked coolness of our bodies. For a moment, we look at each other.

By Sami S

January 3, 2023

Unscripted

hundreds of jellyfish of diverse colours - orange, blue, pink, white, green, and more.

Queering transcends the confines of symmetry and is a way of looking, of breaking established meaning, of making new meaning, and of being and becoming that offers us the promise of fluidity, flux and freedom.

By TARSHI

December 12, 2022

Editorial – Queering Sexuality

A photograph of disability rights activist Srinidhi Raghavan. She is wearing a blue top with a white pattern, black-rimmed spectacles, and a yellow hair-band.

ऐसी जगहों की बहुत कमी है जहां विकलांगता के साथ जी रहे लोग अपने यौनिक अनुभवों या यौनिक जिज्ञासा के बारे में खुलकर बात कर सकें। खास तौर पर विकलांगता के साथ जी रहे युवाओं पर हर वक़्त निगरानी रहती है जिसका मतलब है कि वे यौन अनुभवों से वंचित रह जाते हैं और अपनी यौनिकता को समझ नहीं पाते।

By Shikha Aleya

December 12, 2022

साक्षात्कार – श्रीनिधि राघवन