SISA spaces
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.
I’ve essentially thought of movement as a kind of freedom, but one that has the capacity to destabilise you in some way. My most creative moments are when I’m not moving, when I am in fact rooted and still.
We become women before we become a woman. Of course, we don’t need to try hard to do so…We learn the sides and folds of the gendered box we are in before we gain the perspective to decide we don’t fit in and build a customised box or choose to have no box at all.
Gender has perplexed me throughout life. I never quite understood femininity or masculinity much – I mostly lived in what other people thought I was. One thing I did know always is that I never, ever, want to be seen as a man. But can I still hold masculinity?
Growing up is a tedious task in our society because of the institutionalised practices, societal constructs and boxed identities and expressions that we are expected to adhere to. Anything beyond these implies harm, danger, and deviance.
The novel turns the idea of masculinity on its head through the story of Brit, a boy who is as sharp as he is fragile. Born with osteogenesis imperfecta, Brit’s bones break easily, but his spirit doesn’t.
He didn’t wear his identity on his sleeve, and therefore he seemed more real than most people who did.
भाषा सिर्फ अभिव्यक्ति का माध्यम नहीं है, यह पहचान, संबंध और संघर्ष का भी ज़रिया है। भाषा सामाजिक संरचना, पहचान और सत्ता-संबंधों को दर्शाने का भी औज़ार है।
Without explicit attention to desire, intimacy, and emotional negotiation, legal concepts remain abstract rather than practicable.
… spaces led by the desire to not just protect but also educate all who connect with children…
CSE survives in information as well as in the values that carry it forward.
डिजिटल मीडिया ने भारत में CSE को नई दिशा दी है। इंस्टाग्राम रील्स, यूट्यूब चैनल और आधुनिक कहानी-आधारित सामग्री ने न केवल जानकारी का लोकतंत्रीकरण किया है बल्कि युवाओं में आत्मविश्वास, समझ और संवेदनशीलता भी बढ़ाई है।
Friendship – a place where we can be ourselves as we truly are, with no artifice. A place of peace,…
That’s what books do, they open up the world to new possibilities, let you live a life bigger than your own.