Still from the movie, 'Chutney'

Caste and Sexuality Class and Sexuality Video Page Visual Corner

Video Page: Chutney

·June 1, 2019
·Curated Content
·0 Comments

In a seemingly unassuming (and relatively affluent) North Delhi neighbourhood, two women chat on the terrace of a two-storey house. One is a ‘docile’ housewife who hails from Ghaziabad – her ‘humble’ Ghaziabad roots indicating that she’s a misfit in a locality where the other, more ‘polished’ wives like to patronise her for being from a different class background – and the other, the much younger mistress of her husband. And the male domestic help becomes the unlikely bystander to this tableau. What follows, in the short film Chutney, is a conversation – full of eerie, evocative storytelling – which not just sheds light on the class hierarchies in the middle to upper-middle class Indian household, but also the anxieties surrounding sexuality and sexual repression within it.

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chutney·class·infidelity·Sexuality·short film·storytelling

Article written by: Curated Content

Every month, In Plainspeak curates content from the web relating to our monthly theme

In Plainspeak publishes two issues with a theme every month.
A cross-cutting theme across all forthcoming issues in 2021 is how we can expand safe, inclusive sexuality-affirming spaces.

THIS ISSUE:

March 2021
Ageing and Sexuality, I Issue – March 1, 2021
Juxtaposed against the broad category of youth, older adulthood is often considered as a period of decline instead of a stage as complex and full as any other in our life. Socio-cultural negativity around sexuality and ageing make the physical, psychological, and psychosexual changes that come as we grow older, unnecessarily difficult to deal with. As older adults we may be made to feel that our desires are superfluous and undignified, and our sexual performance is diminishing or compromised, as is our desirability. When we are older, our relationships, especially those which are romantic, are often portrayed as devoid of sexual passion and instead, as hingeing on companionship and caregiving, which is fine if that indeed be the case. However, sexuality may be as intrinsic to our relationship with ourselves and the world as we grow older, and with the confidence that comes with life experience and self-awareness, may be even more authentically expressed and enjoyed. In the March 2021 issue of In Plainspeak, we examine the place sexuality occupies in our life as we grow older, how it relates to our self-expression, relationships, and sexual and reproductive health and rights, and how notions of sexual wellbeing in older adulthood may be expanded.

April 2021
Vulnerability and Sexuality, I Issue – April 1, 2021
Vulnerability is often associated with the threat of emotional or physical hurt, disease (amplified now in a COVID-19 affected world) and violence. Where, with whom, and in what circumstances we feel safe, affects not only our interpersonal relationships and the spaces and services we access but also our relationship with ourselves. However, is the goal of identifying vulnerability simply safety? And, does the search for safety limit or free us in living fully and authentically? While exploring ourselves and the world, we open ourselves up to new and different experiences, places, and people. On the one hand, we may find ourselves rendered vulnerable while engaging with someone sexually and/or romantically, moving cities, travelling alone, or even while dealing with personal adversity. On the other, intentionally allowing ourselves to be vulnerable may be an act of asserting agency in the choices we make and the boundaries we establish or consciously yield around our self-expression, sexuality, bodily integrity, and relationships. The April issue of In Plainspeak attempts to explore vulnerability and sexuality and its interaction with age, caste, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, and socio-economic location.

For future issue themes, click here.

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