femininities and sexuality

Editorial: Femininities and Sexuality
A close-up photograph of a dandelion with dew. The dewdrops are differently coloured in the light.

Are certain forms of femininities denigrated more than others? Not just by misogynists but also by feminists? Is there a particular way of manifesting an ‘appropriate’ femininity, one that is just right, and is not ‘too girly’ or ‘too tomboyish’?

By TARSHI
December 15, 2020
Editorial: Femininities and Sexuality
Tomboy Femininity
A photograph of the author, Di Sands

When I finally came out to myself at age 16 and made it to a free queer youth space, I couldn’t wait to be accepted among folks who didn’t play by society’s heterosexist rules of masculine and feminine as polar opposites.

By Di Sands
December 1, 2020
Tomboy Femininity
A ‘girly’ feminist
Two dandelion flowers in a glass vase on a pink background.

Desiring motherhood meant veering into a more ‘girly’ territory, a notion that I had simultaneously been fighting and trying to embrace since childhood. I had understood that to be a feminist I had to be independent, be wary of men, dislike families and relationships.

By Anubha Sarkar
December 1, 2020
A ‘girly’ feminist
Biscuit tin
On a pink background, a blue gift-wrapped box with a bow

I keep on hold the colours and prints to wrap you in gentle delicate flowers or little cartoon lions and boys with fists that say Bam and Super / until I know what lies between your legs the cigar or the smile of consolation if you’re the first

By Shikha Aleya
December 1, 2020
Biscuit tin
Churails: The Revolution Within Us All
A poster of the mini-series Churails. Two women can be seen sitting in a line. The first woman has a gun in her hands and the woman above her has a flask and hockey stick.

Their inimitable personalities showcase their varied conceptions of insaaf (justice), enriching and intensifying the plot and, at the same time, reaffirming their solidarity and strengthening their unity.

By Nupur Paliwal and Saloni Mishra
December 1, 2020
Churails: The Revolution Within Us All
Sweet Sixteen
An image of a half cut pear resembling the shape of a vagina. There are seeds around it.

At sixteen, the senior boy I loved, touched me down there and said, this is what boyfriends do, this is what love feels like – uncomfortable.

By Tapaswinee
December 1, 2020
Sweet Sixteen
Queer Heterosexual, Heterosexual Queer: Two Tales of Queer Love 100 Years Apart
A poster of the film ‘Chitrangada’ by Rituparno Ghosh. In the poster, the protagonists are caressing each other

The lovers enact many recognizable hetero-normative romantic tropes – the wronged petulant woman pacified via kisses and caresses, the woman too tired for sex who then tries to placate the sulking male lover.

By Mamatha Karollil
December 1, 2020
Queer Heterosexual, Heterosexual Queer: Two Tales of Queer Love 100 Years Apart
Brushstrokes: 11 Assumptions About Being Butch – And Why They Need to Stop
A poster of the comic ‘11 Assumptions about being a butch (and why they need to stop)’ A person can be seen on the left side of the poster. There is a speech bubble next to the person with the text “People make many assumptions about me because of the way I dress.

The misconceptions associated with the varied manifestations of femininity can be exceedingly deleterious and reinforce gender roles, traditional patriarchal ideas, and stereotypes related to bodies, expressions and the way we experience our sexual and romantic relationships.

By Curated Content
December 1, 2020
Brushstrokes: 11 Assumptions About Being Butch – And Why They Need to Stop
Video: What is internalised misogyny? | Feminism In India
Image of Feminism in India’s video on Internalised Misogyny. On the right side of the image is a drawing of two girls with sad faces. On the left side is an image of the narrator who explains what Internalised Misogyny means.

I am not like other girls”, “I don’t like hanging out with girls that much”, “She is being very irrational today, I think it’s that time of the month”, are some common statements that you may have heard or even made yourself.

By Curated Content
December 1, 2020
Video: What is internalised misogyny? | Feminism In India