queerness
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
To My 21-Year-Old Self
‘Is the future so dark?’ you might ask. I am here to tell you that it is not. As you begin your exploration into the world of queer theory and feminist theory, you will learn that the straightjacket version of sexuality cooked by our families was undercooked.
By Chand
January 16, 2026
When I Grow Up I Want to be a List of Queer Possibilities
To be a gentle / friendship breaker for S. To be // a candle-lit confetti apology for S.
By Aakanksha Ahuja
January 16, 2026
Editorial – Language and Sexuality
The glorious heights of self-actualisation to which some words beckon us, the promises lying within others, it’s all language.
By TARSHI
July 16, 2025
Quick Bytes with Sara Haque
… practicing a life rooted in love and a shared sense of oneness with the living world.
By Sara Haque
July 16, 2025
How Masculine Am I?
I have dealt with having a non-masculine body since the time I was a teenager. I have questioned my sexuality and how it interacted with my non-masculine body.
By Asim Mudgal
May 19, 2025
On Trans-Masculine Lesbianism: The Values in the Unintelligible
Unlike many trans-masculine people who identified as lesbians/tomboys/butch pre-transitioning, I refused to abandon my ‘lesbian’ identity post-transitioning. A negotiation that took time to flourish.
By Aranya Vadera
The Villainised Other: Understanding Portrayals of Female Masculinity in Bollywood
Apart from the masculinity portrayed in commercial films with heterosexual tropes, Bollywood has produced movies portraying distorted female masculinity.
By Soumili Paul and Tiyasha Purohit
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
January 13, 2025
बच्चों के जीवन में क्वीयरनेस के लिए जगह बनाना
क्वीयरनेस एक स्वतंत्र पहचान है जो छोटे बच्चों सहित किसी को भी स्वीकार करती है, जो निर्धारित बाइनरी के पथ से अलग चलते हैं।
By Riya Parikh
December 18, 2024
Interview – Chand
Safe spaces in the way that they often circulate are depoliticised and the assumption is that there won’t be any conflicts, but there can be no safe space without an exchange of ideas, which will create some bad feelings leading to conflict.
By Akshita Singh and Pragya Solanki
November 19, 2024
Queer Be(long)ing in Digital India
What does belonging, then, look like in urban India for people from different social, economic and political backgrounds?
By Vanshika Gupta and Niv
November 19, 2024
Home-coming
The morning was heavy, laden with the weight of expectation, with the unsettling realisation that something was about to shift.
By Niv, Vanshika Gupta, Anjani Chadha
November 19, 2024