Voices
Surrogacy: A Gift for Whom?
The two people involved in the transaction of surrogacy occupy different positions of power. The surrogate who bears the child is not a woman with similar economic and social standing as the one who receives the child.
By Ashima Mittal
July 1, 2016
Superman and Blackman: Two Queer Indulgences
#1 My computer desktop features one of the most recognizable icons of 21st century (Western) popular culture: Superman, in his…
By Oishik Sircar
October 1, 2014
Sudha ji’s Love Story
Sudha ji’s indomitable spirit made me question if I was settling down for too little, if there was more that I should ask for, and if there is more that I deserve.
By Chandrabarna Saha
April 16, 2018
Subversive Humour and Socio-Sexual Politics: Women’s Gaari Geet
The ambivalent character of the Gaali allows it to both express as well as contain antagonisms and repressed emotions in a non-threatening manner and humour is pivotal to this process.
By Vishal Ranjan
STAY SINGLE. STAY SAFE.
The largest contingent of voiceless, lonely women with limited agency in the subcontinent must be its married women. If they’re fortunate enough to be born and reach adulthood, a woman’s parents and society make sure she becomes an adult brainwashed into self-alienation and self-loathing.
By Nighat Gandhi
April 5, 2021
Sports and Sexuality
When I first read the title of the September issue – Sports and Sexuality – I was a little taken…
By Aditi Rajgopal
September 1, 2014
Sport and LGBTQ+ rights – a fantasy?
The spotlight that the world’s biggest sporting event (arguably) has along with the inherent gender and sexuality bias in sport come together in how sportspersons and athletes are both perceived and perceive themselves in mainstream and social media.
By Tanya Kini
April 6, 2023
Songs of the Caravan…Journey of the Spirit : India’s First Audio Album Sung by Transgender Women
Music is a universal language. It has no gender. It belongs to everyone. For certain communities’ music has been a…
By Anubhav Gupta
Somebody Else’s Dolly
The body is our tangible hacker of the world. It experiences the world and the world experiences it. I do…
By Shikha Aleya
June 1, 2015
Some Contemporary Hindi Films that Changed the Way We Perceive Sexuality
When representing sexuality, these stories went beyond dramatic and one-dimensional representations of sex and sexual orientation.
By Breakthrough Media Team
Single, Singlism, and the Norm of Coupling
Viewed from the ‘sexual-moral high ground’ of couples (especially married couples), long-term singlehood is generally labelled as a deficit, a lack,or an inability to be emotionally involved in a relationship rather than being seen as a lifestyle choice.
By Swati Bakshi
February 1, 2021
Sign Language, Language, Sexuality and Innovation
In a recent class, I asked Kanika and Tincy, our ISL teachers, how we could sign sexuality, and they asked, “How do you explain sexuality?” I wondered how I could sign ideas like attraction, pleasure, gender, values, and so on, but tried nevertheless, using my limited vocabulary, apologetic about being reductive.
By Vani Viswanathan
August 14, 2020
Shouldn’t The World Be Big Enough?
We live in a world where resilience is celebrated and given priority over attempting to resolve factors that force one to be resilient. Campuses shouldn’t aim to merely be inclusive of diverse individuals – they must strive to not only affirm them but also celebrate them.
By Mythili Menon
April 18, 2022
Should I Say I Love You?
Being vulnerable helps boost our self-esteem and self-worth by pushing us out of our comfort-zone. It provides us with an opportunity to overcome obstacles and reach deep down within ourselves to find strength and confidence to keep going even when the odds are against us.
By Shubham Ranjan
April 19, 2021
Shifting the Gaze: How women wish to experience desire
This awareness of the status ascribed to women – the status of being the objects of men’s desires – affects every aspect of a woman’s life. Desire then, in particular, becomes an aspect of a woman’s life where navigation becomes tricky.
By Gitanjali
March 17, 2023