Gender and sexuality are like constituent parts of a jigsaw puzzle that keeps morphing in such a way that nothing ever ‘fits’ for long, and the game begins anew each time. For some, that’s the never-ending joy and fun of it. For others, the game must have strict rules, the pieces cut to fit just so, everything neat and tidy, confined to its place. Does, and should, real life work like that? Quite simply, no. A predictable world in which everyone is ‘kept in their place’ and obeys the rules around gender and sexuality serves the interests of only one master, patriarchy, and his favoured few. Which is exactly what all our contributors to the October 2024 issue of In Plainspeak conclude.
Sindhu Rajasekaran cogently breaks down the ideas of sex, gender and femininity to clearly explain how gender fluidity laughs at patriarchy and its sexist rules, upending the very idea of power and inviting us to create the future. Susmit Panzade looks at queer bodies, queer spaces and queer belonging to illustrate how shifts in gender codes vary according to caste and other social markers.
Several poems this time, dear readers. In Matryoshka, Sara Haque writes searingly of the gods that make and unmake us. Unmana brings us three poems that though seemingly disparate are linked by those invisible threads we call ‘expectations’. In Loving Yourself, Aashi Singh denounces social regulations around gender, urging us to do the same. Anamika Jha’s three poems in Hindi speak of the freedom to be.
Plus, we are introducing a new feature – On the Ground With… in which we catch up with different organisations to highlight interesting experiences, intersections and insights from their work. For our first feature, we have Maraa, an arts and media collective based in Bangalore, bring us real stories from the ground to tell us why and how they do what they do.
We bring you three Hindi translations this time. Anupom Kumar Hazarika writes about himself, his father, other fathers and multiple masculinities. Neel writes about her bruises and resilience in the face of her mother’s rejection. Sharada Vinod writes about the labour that two women in her life, at different ends of the socio-economic spectrum, performed, and the sense of sisterhood they shared.
Gender and sexuality – the pieces keep morphing and that’s the thrill and joy of it. Stay open to change, keep playing!
