A digital magazine on sexuality, based in the Global South: We are working towards cultivating safe, inclusive, and self-affirming spaces in which all individuals can express themselves without fear, judgement or shame

menstruation

An illustration of what makes a family using stick figures. Several different scenarios is sepearate circles. One shows two men and a child; another - a man, a woman, and a child; two women and a child; a man and a child; a woman and a child; two men; a man and a woman; two women; a man, a cat, and a dog; and last - a woman, a cat, and a dog.

Womanhood ≠ Motherhood

I love children and have at various times in my life flirted with the idea of adoption. But I have known since I was a child that I did not want to birth children. I have never been vague or ambivalent about this decision. I have been consistently clear and concise that this is not my calling.
Read »
A brown girl is holding the Flo toolkit that supports girls living in poverty to wash, dry and carry reusable sanitary pads. It has a ball-type shape in the middle, and a string on both ends. The girl is stretching the string as if to give the central part a spin.

Of Shame, Silence and Technological Innovations

A movement back to reusable cloth pads or even towards the use of menstrual cups aims not only to create ways of dealing with menstruation that are healthier for the body and the environment, but also to open up a dialogue regarding the taboos and inhibitions regarding menstrual blood that stem from culture as well as paid media.
Read »
In Plainspeak English Audit In Plainspeak English Audit 100% 10 Two girls in school uniforms with pleated hair. One says something to another in her ear, giggling. Screen reader support enabled. Two girls in school uniforms with pleated hair. One says something to another in her ear, giggling.

Why Is Menstruation A Woman’s ‘Worst Kept Secret’?

This post is part of TARSHI's #TalkSexuality campaign on Comprehensive Sexuality Education in collaboration with Youth Ki Awaaz. The author chose to remain anonymous. Menstruation was a very confusing experience for me when I was growing up. The reason I term it ‘confusing’ is because just after my menarche, my mother had an open discussion with me about it. She sat…
Read »
Photo of a young Indian woman. She is wearing black top, has curly hair, and is wearing glasses.

If the Internet Didn’t Exist

  If the Internet didn’t exist, I believe I would be a highly insecure person. Don’t read that the wrong way – the stress is more on the highly than on the insecure. If it were the other way around, it would mean I’m not insecure at all. Which is so far (stress on far)…
Read »
Picture of white fabric stained with red paint

Blood On Our Skirts

I remember the first time I learnt of menstruation as a ten year old. One of our friends had been initiated into the secret club of ‘women’, and her frequent visits to the washroom (though I hadn’t noticed it) became a matter of intense curiosity for a bunch of my classmates. I remember one of…
Read »
Newer Entries
x