Sexuality
Safe Sex In The Time of Abundance
I want it, I got it. Right? Except, what I often get is some approximation of erotic pleasure, which has more to do with my own conditioning about what good sex looks like, and little to do with my body’s erotic mechanisms. This very peculiar condition is often lumped under ‘sexual frustration’, when it should really be addressed under safety.
By Faustina Johnson
April 1, 2020
Gerald’s Game – A Story Of Resilience In The Face Of Metaphorical And Emotional Bondage
This movie had instantly called out to me because the book had made a huge impression many years ago when I was going through a Stephen King phase and consuming as many of his novels as I could. It is a story of resilience where a woman had to rescue herself from a dangerous situation of metaphorical and emotional bondage as well as the physical and sexual kind.
By ElsaMarie D'Silva
Interview: Shruti Arora
Shruti Arora is a feminist trainer and researcher in the field of Gender and Sexuality. In this interview, she shares her insights on collective practices of building safe and sexuality-affirming spaces for young people, in friendships and community, digital and healthcare settings.
By Shikha Aleya
April 1, 2020
Brushstrokes: Finding Home
For a lot of queer people, ‘home’ can hold complicated meanings. The space of one’s home can be fraught with bigotry and alienation, and be far from safe or comforting. And so, there is a quest to find alternate ‘homes’, to find a space where we feel truly accepted, safe and protected.
By Curated Content
April 1, 2020
Video Page: The Importance of Vulnerability
Though most of us shy away from opening ourselves to be vulnerable, there is great power in expressing our vulnerabilities to the people closest to us, whether a friend or an intimate partner.
By Curated Content
April 1, 2020
स्वीकार्यता, स्वतन्त्रता और महिलाओं का हॉस्टल
आज मुझे लड़कियों के अपने हॉस्टल से निकले हुए तीन वर्ष हो चुके हैं, और मुझे लगता है कि हॉस्टल जीवन में मिली सभी सीखें आज भी मेरे यौनिक जीवन को सही दिशा देने में कारगर साबित हो रही हैं।
By Anonymous
April 1, 2020
I Recently Had Sex With A Girl
I am a 25-year-old cis woman and I recently had sex with another woman for the first time. It was new, it felt nice, but it just didn’t feel safe.
By Pallavi
April 1, 2020
Sexuality And Looking Beyond Safety
We all talk of ‘safe’ as some place where we are not in danger. Well, the truth is there is danger everywhere. So, maybe before we even delve into the subject of safety and sexuality, it is imperative that we take a moment to pause and see what safety and sexuality could even mean.
By Asmi
April 1, 2020
Changing Social Norms Around Sexuality And Safety For Adolescents
To ensure that important discussions about issues of sexuality can take place at home, in schools and between generations, efforts needs to be made to change the norms – especially those related to perceptions of safety. Individuals, institutions, organisations and policies need to work together to include safe spaces for reflections and opportunities for these discussions to become common practice.
By Suniti Neogy
Editorial: Literature and Sexuality
As we see through this issue of In Plainspeak, stories have in them the power of exposing brutal truths about society and therefore also bring with them the possibility of reform, change, and hope, and when not possible, temporarily escaping into other worlds.
By TARSHI
March 16, 2020
Critiquing the (Hetero-)Canon of Love: Desire and Longing in Contemporary Indian ‘Gay Romance’ Fiction
Undoubtedly, LGBTQ+ literature and writing in India has witnessed an ‘explosion’ in the past two decades, and the trends in contemporary publication promise consistent growth in the future too. However, issues of queer representation in existing literature, and especially contemporary literature, need to be continually invested in, for literature is a key marker of society’s outlook on and reception of such sensitive subjects as homosexuality and ‘queer’-ness
By Anil Pradhan
On Feminism And Writing: A Path To Self-Realisation And Empowerment?
Though writing about feminism and being in a position to voice out one’s opinions about the injustices and inequities that continue to exist in society is still relevant, times are also changing as we begin to understand intersectionality as an all-inclusive concept and the positions we speak from.
By Curated Content
Flipping the Script: 4 Reasons Fan Fiction Is a Feminist Pursuit
We need more spaces for marginalized people to express themselves. Although pop culture and mainstream media have yet to feature the diversity and representation we crave, fan fiction can help to fill in those gaps. And that is nothing short of feminist.
By Curated Content
Yaarana: Befriending Queer Literature And Hoshang Merchant
Through our discomfort, shame, and often stubborn refusal to rise above heteronormativity, we unpacked a lot of these negative emotions by critically analysing texts that were neither the Kamasutra nor discourses such as Foucault’s on sexuality.
By Aditi Padiyar
March 16, 2020
इंटरव्यू – देवदत्त पटनायक
देवदत्त पटनायक आधुनिक समय में, प्रबंधन, प्रशासन प्रक्रिया और नेतृत्व जैसे क्षेत्रों में पौराणिक विचारों की प्रासंगिकता के विषय पर लिखते हैं। डाक्टरी की पढ़ाई और प्रशिक्षण पूरा करने के बाद उन्होने 15 वर्ष तक स्वास्थ्य देखभाल उद्योग और दवा निर्माता कंपनियों के साथ काम किया।
By Shaifali Agrawal
March 16, 2020