Voices
Consent Beyond Sex-Ed: Weaving Respect and Autonomy in Classroom Culture
Consent cannot be a singular lesson plan. We need to reimagine the ways in which consent can be integrated into our curriculum content, conversations, and how we role-model it.
By Heta Dwivedi
Consent and violation
I was in standard 9th. She was our new Political Science teacher. Our entire class adored her; after all, she…
By Guest Writer
February 15, 2014
Conceptualising Love on the Aromantic Spectrum
I now feel comfortable entertaining the thought that my ease with my selfhood does not necessarily have to be threatened by the possibility of love in coupledom. Indeed, comfort with one’s self can actually evolve into healthier forms of love towards the other(s).
By Shivani Rajan
February 1, 2022
Comprehensive Sexuality and Personal Safety Education: Its Significance and Relevance
A child’s social environment in their foundational years plays a critical role in shaping their worldview and influences their responses and the way they communicate with their peers.
By Antara Buzarbaruah
Communication: A Path to Vulnerability
We must all care for ourselves and be discerning about when and where and with whom we show our cards…but those who can hold our emotional and sexual vulnerability are out there, and we can find them and be all of who we are.
By Shilpa Sachdeva
April 5, 2021
COMING UP FOR AIR: WHAT WOULD IT BE LIKE TO GROW UP QUEER?
Why are boys afraid to cry? Why don’t people associate boxers with women? Because ‘boys don’t cry’, and fighting ‘like…
By Zoya Achanta
January 2, 2018
Coming Up For Air: What Would It Be Like to Grow Up Queer?
My parents have been accepting of different types of sexualities, but what scares me is that I don’t know how accepting they’d be if one day my brother or I told them we were interested in people of the same gender, or even more taboo: that we were having difficulty identifying with the gender we were raised as.
By Zoya Achanta
October 17, 2016
Closeted in the Workplace: Identity, Be(long)ing, Consent, and Inclusion
…when both of us speak about the way we engage in our workspaces, we find common contradictions and barriers. How does a queer person navigate these barriers, constantly negotiating when, where and on what terms to engage? To be seen or to remain unseen?
By Vanshika Gupta and Niv
February 18, 2025
Class, Caste and Choices
Choices about life, relationships and desires are all defined based on socio-economic background, caste, class, gender and sexuality. When these young girls found a comfortable and safe space, they openly talked about their desires and experiences and how they negotiated their existing environments in order to pursue their desires.
By Prarthana
March 5, 2019
Claiming Our Spirituality Differently And Imaginatively
We need to claim our spirituality differently and imaginatively. There are many paths to god. For some it might be religion, or science, or sex, or love, or meditation, or art.
By Andy Stephen Silveira
November 15, 2019
Claiming One’s Space After False Sexual Harassment Allegations
Those who are rendered vulnerable due to their gender or sexuality, particularly those who are economically and socially disadvantaged (or less powerful) and lack the agency to speak up for themselves, are more prone to allegations, social ostracism and marginalization.
By Andy Stephen Silveira
City Scapegoats
A part of me is strong, independent, and quick to dismiss all kinds of uniformity. The other part is bashful, fearful, and somewhat assenting to a vast compromise.
By Andal Srivatsan
April 18, 2024
Choice and Sexuality in Cyberspace
Consent, however, is not so straightforward in the digital world. With instances where data can be hacked into, and with deep fake technologies making it more difficult to distinguish between what is real and what is fake, we have a situation where it is difficult to completely anticipate the kinds of risks involved, and the ways in which sexually explicit material is used.
By Siddharth Narrain
March 5, 2019
Charting Queer Spaces: Lessons in Body and Belonging
Who gets to imagine this utopian sociality, or future, of the queer movement?
By Susmit Panzade
October 17, 2024
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