identity politics
Editorial – Anthology Jan 2026
To remind us of what spaces that are safe, inclusive and self-affirming for each person could look like, we have curated a selection of articles from the last five years of In Plainspeak for this anthology – our gift to wish you a wonderful 2026.
By TARSHI
January 16, 2026
Editorial – Consent and Sexuality
Looking down upon the earth from many miles up in the sky, the divisions between land masses and water bodies…
By TARSHI
March 17, 2025
What we are owed
…what is there to misunderstand
about hands that take without asking,
about silence twisted into consent
by those who have never had to be afraid?
By Shruti Sharma
February 18, 2025
In Transit
I could have called it transformation instead of transitioning. But it became clear to me that transitioning does not necessarily imply a caterpillar-butterfly story but that it means a gradual acceptance of the self (and the self is ever-transitioning); of being comfortable in your own skin (even if it means shedding skin); of perfecting your act (even if it means learning a few new things).
By Rishit Wishit
September 17, 2018
From Love to Justice: Why Edward Carpenter Matters Today
Though lovers often live in their version of paradise cut off from the wider world, as far as Faiz is concerned, the world of suffering humanity intrudes. This world will intrude because at the end of the day romantic love is only one of the bonds which makes us human.
By Arvind Narrain
December 5, 2016