digital spaces
Friendship – a place where we can be ourselves as we truly are, with no artifice. A place of peace,…
जबकि सोशल मीडिया और ऑनलाइन प्लेटफॉर्म भारत में क्वीयर लोगों को जुड़ने, ख़ुद को अभिव्यक्त करने और गैर-अपराधीकरण के बाद समुदाय ख़ोजने के लिए एक मंच प्रदान करते हैं, संबद्धता के विचार अभी भी जाति, वर्ग, सौंदर्यशास्त्र आदि में उलझे हुए हैं जो बहिष्कार को कायम रखते हैं।
In the fast-paced digital world of clickbaits and instant gratification, where you can be ‘cancelled’ or ‘trending’ within the same minute, the very act of men talking to other men about alternative masculinities, has the ability to disrupt hierarchies of power, to disrupt the algorithm, to disrupt patriarchy.
Z is forced to wear the mask of masculinity, a mask made of the various tropes of stereotypical masculine energy…
Here’s to some quiet time listening in to what people are saying, and consuming, on the Internet, particularly on social media, on the subject of gender and sexuality.
What does belonging, then, look like in urban India for people from different social, economic and political backgrounds?
Looking back at this piece, written seven years ago, the core issues that I identified then remain significant and relevant….
हमारा मानसिक स्वास्थ्य सिर्फ़ हमारी इकलौती ज़िम्मेदारी नहीं है बल्कि उन संस्थाओं और व्यवस्थाओं की भी ज़िम्मेदारी है जिनका हम हिस्सा हैं। इसलिए हमारी सेहत और ख़ुशहाली बनाए रखने के लिए इनका योगदान ज़रूरी है।
Digital entanglements transcend bodies, time, geographical borders and boundaries, influencing – and perhaps fundamentally changing – the ways in which we understand, explore and express our sexuality.
That offline patriarchal norms are travelling online – lock, stock and barrel. Digital technologies may appear to be gender-neutral, but floating below their waters is the whole kit and caboodle of patriarchy.
Now, what you need is a good enough smartphone and sufficient data – these are the real “superstar” in the love affair between Big Tech and CSE.
Even with all the risks that AI poses, it seems a safer bet than humans trying to exploit dating apps to make quick money.
In my flesh, I must pass
for straight…
But in the digital world,
I can be me.
What we lack are digital spaces and infrastructures that are informed by the needs of their end users, that prioritise safety, comfort, joy and care.