queerness Archives • Page 6 of 6 • In Plainspeak

queerness

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Desc Asc

A cartoon of a man and woman sitting under a falling rain. Inside a heart-shaped bubble is written, "Our love started blooming as soon as we realised we are from the same caste."

Brahmins preferred: The Caste of Sexuality

Advancing the most penetrative and succinct theory of caste, Dr. B. R. Ambedkar had this to say in 1916 when…

By Curated Content

October 16, 2017

Brahmins preferred: The Caste of Sexuality

Cover image of 'Puu', showing two queer people kissing

Blossoming Into A Garden: Spirituality, Sexuality and All-Consuming Queer Love in ‘Puu’

Puu, an episodic comic (consisting of 92 serialised episodes) created in 2016 by Nabigal-Nayagam Haider Ali – going by Nabi online – is woven together with vast, expansive threads of similar intense spiritual moments and reflections on devotion, faith, and love.

By Rohini Banerjee

November 15, 2019

Blossoming Into A Garden: Spirituality, Sexuality and All-Consuming Queer Love in ‘Puu’

A side view of a historical monument during daytime.

At Chattar Manzil

We are two boys in our early twenties
who can read touch like that, who have broken into
a 200-year-old mansion, without permission,
to see from above where people like them go
after 377 has been read down only for those
who can stay behind closed doors — in the custody
of cheap hotels, or houses that welcome nights
with the sound of latches closing.

By Aditya Vikram

February 16, 2023

At Chattar Manzil

Anjum

You dreamt of your pink dupatta flying over the Lal Quila last night.

By Sara Haque

June 18, 2024

Anjum

Abstract photograph of water droplets on a glass panel. There is a blurred reflection of a human-like figure. On the glass pane are painted swirls and dot in yellow and orange, as well as flecks of paint.

Androgyny is a Quality of the Mind

As clear as I was about my sexuality, I was just as unclear about how I wanted to look and what felt good.

By Debashree

September 20, 2023

Androgyny is a Quality of the Mind

person walking on street while holding black umbrella near cars on road at nighttime

A Queer Art of Longing

Like failure, longing is not interested in happy endings – whether of straight or non-heterosexual relations.

By Ketan Jain

June 18, 2024

A Queer Art of Longing

A Journey of Unfolding

My identity unfolded slowly during my postgraduate media studies course, where I was exposed to peers from different socio-economic backgrounds.

By Apoorva Ravi

June 18, 2024

A Journey of Unfolding

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Themes

In Plainspeak publishes one issue every month, with a single theme running across two months. Our aim is to expand safe, inclusive self-affirming spaces.

CURRENT ISSUE:

October-November 2025: Friendship and Sexuality

Friends influence, and even shape, the ways we think about and enact sexuality. Childhood giggles, adolescent questions and the search for identity, early adulthood heartbreaks and sexual explorations, mid-life relationship navigations, later-life guffaws while recollecting earlier sexual experiences and trying out new ones … where would we be without our friends? Regardless of
whether we meet in person or online, what do inclusive friendships look like and how do they affirm our sexuality? On the other hand, can friendships cause damage and hurt in the context of sexuality? This issue of In Plainspeak will tease out the intimacies, eroticisms, boundaries, romance, and space for free expression and self-affirmation that friendships of different kinds may or may not afford.

अक्टूबर-नवम्बर 2025: दोस्ती और यौनिकता

दोस्त प्रभाव तो डालते ही हैं, पर कहीं न कहीं यौनिकता को ले कर हमारी सोच और अभिनय को भी एक आकार देते हैं। बचपन की खिलखिलाहट, किशोरावस्था के सवाल, पहचान की खोज, शुरुआती वयस्कता में टूटे दिल, यौन जिज्ञासा को तलाशना, मध्‍य-आयु में रिश्तों की राह ढूँढना, और ढलती उम्र में पुराने यौन अनुभवों को याद करते हुए और नए अनुभवों को आज़माते हुए हंसी-ठिठोली… सोचो, अगर हमारे दोस्त न होते तो हम कहाँ होते? चाहे मुलाक़ात आमने-सामने हो या ऑनलाइन, असली समावेशी दोस्ती कैसी होती है? और यह हमारी यौनिकता को अपनाने का हौसला कैसे देती है? दूसरी ओर, क्या यौनिकता के संदर्भ में दोस्ती नुकसान और चोट भी पहुँचा सकती है? इन प्लेनस्पीक का यह अंक दोस्ती के अलग-अलग रूपों में मौजूद अंतरंगता, यौनिकता, सीमाएँ, रोमांस और वह जगह तलाशेगा जहाँ खुलकर मुक्त अभिव्यक्ति और आत्म-स्वीकृति संभव होती है – और कभी-कभी नहीं भी।

UPCOMING ISSUE:

CSE and Affirming Ecosystems

Peers, parents, teachers, creators, social influencers, and many others, have been delivering information and modeling assertiveness and relationship skills around sexuality, to young (and not so young) people. Many are using creative and innovative ideas and methods to convey accurate and relevant messages to engage with diverse audiences. We have often overlooked these resourceful and ingenious ways in which Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) is communicated. Be they ideas shared within a family, workshops held in a school, an awareness campaign in a community, a policy at a town, state or country level, a TV series aired nationally, these are what go on to create micro and macro CSE ecosystems that are affirming and inclusive. For learning to last and be converted into practice, a one-off exposure to a lecture, book, or Instagram post is not enough. It is an affirming ecosystem that sustains learning and living. This issue of In Plainspeak focuses on what people are doing and how, to create and sustain affirming CSE ecosystems.

व्यापक यौनिकता की शिक्षा और सकारात्मक पारिस्थितिकी तंत्र (इकोसिस्टम)

समकक्ष लोग, अभिभावकों, शिक्षक, रचनाकार, सामाजिक प्रभावक (इन्फ्लुएंज़ेर) और कई अन्य लोग, युवा (और कम युवा) लोगों को यौनिकता के बारे में जानकारी प्रदान कर रहे हैं तथा दृढ़ता और संबंध कौशल को समझने व अपनाने में मदद कर रहे हैं। कई लोग विविध दर्शकों तक सटीक और प्रासंगिक संदेश पहुंचाने के लिए रचनात्मक और नए विचारों और तरीकों का इस्तेमाल कर रहे हैं। हम अक्सर उन संसाधनपूर्ण और सरल तरीकों को नज़रअंदाज़ कर देते हैं जिनके ज़रिये व्यापक यौनिकता की शिक्षा (CSE) का संचार किया जाता है। चाहे वे परिवार में साझा किए गए विचार हों, स्कूल में आयोजित कार्यशालाएं हों, समुदाय में जागरूकता अभियान हो, शहर, राज्य या देशीय स्तर पर कोई नीति हो, राष्ट्रीय स्तर पर प्रसारित कोई टीवी श्रृंखला हो। यह वे चीजें हैं जो सूक्ष्म और वृहद CSE इकोसिस्टम का निर्माण करती हैं जो सकारात्मक और समावेशी हैं। किसी चीज़ को सीखने में और सीख कर उस पर अभ्यास करने के लिए , किसी व्याख्यान, किताब या इंस्टाग्राम पोस्ट का एक बार पढ़ना काफ़ी नहीं है।यह एक सकारात्मक पारिस्थितिकी तंत्र है जो सीखने और ज़िंदगी जीने को क़ायम रखता है। इन प्लेनस्पीक का यह अंक इस बात पर केंद्रित है कि लोग क्या और कैसे सकारात्मक CSE पारिस्थितिकी तंत्रों का निर्माण कर रहे हैं। साथ-ही-साथ, कैसे इस पारिस्थितिकी तंत्र को निरंतर जीवित रख सकते हैं, यह अंक इस पर भी केंद्रित है।

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We curate content from other portals to amplify discussion around sexuality and rights. All rights remain with the original sources. Corners and Videos are embedded links and Brushstrokes and Blogrolls are republished from open sources with a link back to the original source. Older links may no longer be available.

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