Desire
Theatrics of Consent
The sheer ignorance of the intricacies of consent, or its performance, serves only to strengthen the enduring patriarchal framework that holds sway in a society where the bodies, desires, and even voices of women have been, and, tragically, continue to be, defined and controlled by men.
Consequently, a “yes” – whether verbal or gestural – cannot be shallowly inferred as an authentic, unambiguous, and static agreement to a “contract” proposed by men.
By Saurabh Suman
February 18, 2025
The Silent Theft of Consent: How Patriarchy Undermines Women at Every Step
When a woman, in her own house, is told by her family members, to always seek their consent before doing anything, and to always keep them informed of every activity she engages in, or even to seek a job in her chosen field, her freedom is taken away from her. She is expected to take their consent for anything and everything, but her own consent is taken away from her.
By Aanya Narula
Behind the Curtains
… when they believed we were of the right age to marry, they urged us to “leave everything behind and get settled”. When marriage is considered such an important institution in our society, why not teach us about consent as well?
By Bhargavi Vyas
February 18, 2025
January 13, 2025
The Birds and the Bees: On Play and Sexuality
How would we see the world really, if we were open to the idea that it is not purpose but play that drives us to seek companionship, be it an orchid seeking a pollinator or a human seeking another?
By Shweta Krishnan
January 13, 2025
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
January 13, 2025
Bodies Seen Through a Kinky Lens
Our bodies become the form and medium through which we present ourselves to the outside world, engage with it, interact with it, perceive it and are perceived by it.
By iwonderwhy
January 13, 2025
Editorial – Parents, Teachers, and CSE
Each time a child or adolescent asks a question that may be (even indirectly) related to sexuality, many parents and teachers get squirmy and nervous. This may be because they themselves do not have the information required, but in most cases, it has more to do with the ‘hush-hush’ that surrounds sexuality.
By TARSHI
December 18, 2024
Peek-A-Boo: Navigating Conversations on Sexuality with Young People as an Educator in India
Despite the lack of a formal Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) curriculum in place in India, there has been a growing interest in providing CSE programmes in schools.
By Ayesha Khaliq and Nandhini Jaishankar
No Birds No Bees
Aria walked into her school’s auditorium, giggling with the rest of the girls, because they were about to have their very first Sex Ed workshop.
By Aradhana PS
December 18, 2024
Whispers of the River
We spoke about everything and nothing at once, her presence like a balm to an ache I hadn’t realised I carried.
By Abishek Philip
December 18, 2024
Editorial – Gender and Sexuality
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.
By TARSHI
November 19, 2024
A small slice of Gender & Sexuality feels like this!
Here’s to some quiet time listening in to what people are saying, and consuming, on the Internet, particularly on social media, on the subject of gender and sexuality.
By Shikha Aleya
November 19, 2024
Badminton Court
Do you know what it feels like to be seen? I also don’t know what it feels like to be properly heard, but that’s a question for another time.
By Sakshi Nain Bishnoi
November 19, 2024
Home-coming
The morning was heavy, laden with the weight of expectation, with the unsettling realisation that something was about to shift.
By Niv, Vanshika Gupta, Anjani Chadha
November 19, 2024