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female gaze

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Review: Lust, Sex and Pleasure: Is There a ‘Female Gaze’ in Tamil Cinema?

Don’t women lust after male bodies, don’t women fantasise? While examples abound of women chasing men, it is usually for the latter’s ‘good’ qualities – he’s brave, he’s handsome, he’s strong, he will protect, and yes, by-the-by, and it’s totally not on her mind, he has a sexy body.

By Vani Viswanathan

January 5, 2017

Review: Lust, Sex and Pleasure: Is There a ‘Female Gaze’ in Tamil Cinema?

Themes

In Plainspeak publishes one issue every month, with a single theme running across two months. Our aim is to expand safe, inclusive self-affirming spaces.

CURRENT ISSUE:

June 2025: Language and Sexuality

Language bestows on us the gifts of self-expression, conceptualisation, communication, and interaction, amongst others. At the same time, many languages being gendered in their vocabulary and grammar restrict how we might speak, and even think, about sexuality. Does language then affect gender and sexual expression, and the manner in which we experience and express desire, intimacy, pleasure, frustration, and even violence? Do we use language in different ways with different people – rough and ready language with our friends and lovers and more formal language in public? What does this say about the ‘rules’ around sexuality? Is there a language that signals belonging to a group or community (queer or kink, for example)? Do some languages have a more generous vocabulary than do others? Given that we live in a world increasingly dependent on AI-based technologies, do Large Language Models like Chat GPT, Claude, DeepSeek, Gemini, etc. reflect and perpetuate existing biases and societal values around sexuality? What are the effects of all of this? How can we use language to expand safe, inclusive and self-affirming spaces for all? This issue of In Plainspeak explores these and other fascinating connections between language and sexuality.

UPCOMING ISSUE:

July 2025: Language and Sexuality

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TARSHI Corner

Watch a webinar exploring the changing contours of masculinities and sexuality, featuring two In Plainspeak contributors: Ishan Mehandru and Sudipta Das.

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