femininity

High Heels and Loose-fitting Clothes: Movement Unfettered
A rack of clothes from where T-shirts of different colours are hanging in a row.
How should I walk, what should my gait be like, what kind of clothes can I wear that will sort of cover me up…? This indecisiveness and the burden of, “What will others think?” are some of the worries, that I carried for a long time while making decisions like: “Is this going to expose too much skin?”, “Is this going to look a certain way that I may not like to present myself as?”
By Taniya Mondal
May 3, 2022
High Heels and Loose-fitting Clothes: Movement Unfettered
Editorial – Celebrating Sexuality
A colourful background with “100 % sexuality” written in blue with pink shadow around the text.

100 issues, 8 years! Thank you, dear readers and contributors! As we planned for this issue to put on our…

By TARSHI
March 15, 2022
Editorial – Celebrating Sexuality
Negotiating Expression
An abstract painting of teal squares with splashes of orange, white, blue and yellow.

I am still coming to terms with my own femininity, as with new learnings I find myself regaining many facets of my personality which were lost while trying to ‘act like a man’ and ‘act tough’.

By Ambica Naithani
March 1, 2022
Negotiating Expression
Brushstrokes – Celebrating Sexuality
Celebrating Sexuality

Taboos in relation to female desire, sexuality and the body are often addressed in my work. My recent artistic interest focuses on rituals that are primarily centred on agricultural communities in Bengal that involve the veneration of fertility symbols and celebration of feminine sexuality.

By Mitali Das
March 1, 2022
Brushstrokes – Celebrating Sexuality
Editorial – Sexuality and Coupledom
A colourful mosaic of human limbs and random geometric shapes

If we are to reimagine coupledom and sexuality, we need to expand and challenge our ideas about togetherness, romance, love, intimacy, desire, sex, attachment, and so on.

By TARSHI
February 15, 2022
Editorial – Sexuality and Coupledom
Interview – Coupledom is a mix of meanings
A photograph of colourful weaves of threads.

Coupledom may or may not be for everyone, and does not mean the same thing to everyone. Importantly, coupledom does not hold the same value or position in our lives, even in the lives of the individuals perceived to be parts of a couple structure.

By Shikha Aleya
February 15, 2022
Interview – Coupledom is a mix of meanings
एक ‘स्त्रीत्व’ गुणों वाली नारीवादी
Two dandelion flowers in a glass vase on a pink background.

एक समय ऐसा था जब मैं भी लड़कियों के लिए बनाई जाने वाली हर चीज़ से सिर्फ इसलिए दूर भागती थी क्योंकि मुझे लगता था कि नारीवादी दिखने के लिए एक खास तरीके से दिखना और व्यवहार करना आवश्यक है।

By Anubha Sarkar
February 1, 2022
एक ‘स्त्रीत्व’ गुणों वाली नारीवादी
Body Talk

Social norms don’t expect women to look muscular, but if men are muscular, it is considered sexy. Just by choosing to pursue a largely male-dominated sport that glorifies what is accepted as “masculine”, Karuna and Sibalika are pushing the boundaries of these labels.

By Zulfiya Hamzaki
October 1, 2019
Body Talk
Why Drag?
A drag queen dressed in a long dress and with a red wig and makeup

In my 27 years of existence, I’ve embodied various personas and roles. Even today, I behave slightly differently in the office, around parents, at a party and when I’m alone in my room. In the mornings I’m often a lawyer, whereas during evenings I become an artist.

By Curated Content
May 15, 2019
Why Drag?
The Union of Our Inner Masculine and Inner Feminine
The yin and yang, showing the balance of the inner feminine and inner masculine

Feminine energy is supposed to be yin, receptive, gentle, intuitive,and fulfilling. Masculine energy is supposed to be yang, active, fast, fierce, emptying, goal-oriented and focused.

By Pallavi Barnwal
May 1, 2019
The Union of Our Inner Masculine and Inner Feminine
The Labor of Expressing Femininity as a Disabled Woman
A series of feminine body hair removal products - razors, epilators and so on - arranged on a pink coloured table

The nature of the labor that goes into performing femininity is that it’s invisible. Or at least it’s supposed to be. As a culture, we expect women to look glossy and shimmery and smooth. We don’t want to know about the time and money that goes into this presentation.

By Curated Content
September 17, 2018
The Labor of Expressing Femininity as a Disabled Woman
Brushstrokes: Alok Vaid-Menon’s Stunning Trans Attire
A right profile of Alok Vaid-Menon with a stub, wearing red lipstick, yellow nosering, big golden and black earrings, and hair parted by the side - with right side "manly" hair, and left - longer and curlier.

Alok Vaid-Menon is one half of the trans South Asian performance duo from New York, DarkMatter. Vaid-Menon was gender-assigned male at birth, identifies as transfeminine (that is, identifies with femininity to a greater extent than with masculinity) and prefers the pronouns ‘they’ and ‘their’.

By Curated Content
August 2, 2016
Brushstrokes: Alok Vaid-Menon’s Stunning Trans Attire