Feminism

My Fashion and Gender Journey: How I discovered they are both fluid
blue white and black abstract painting.
My Fashion and Gender Journey: How I discovered they are both fluid

How could I be trans if I didn’t tick off all the correct checkboxes demanded by politics, law, society and even the transgender community itself?
By Kirti
October 19, 2023
My Fashion and Gender Journey: How I discovered they are both fluid
Brushstrokes: The Many Shades of Fashion
A comic panel. At the top is text against a white backgound which reads, "Yes, sometimes we are caught in the web." 2/3rd of the panel has yellow background with a illustration of a feminine-presenting character laying on a spider web. The character is wearing a dark pink tank top, pink skirt and heels, and is carrying a bag that reads "GUCCI" on top. Along the web are the words "Male-gaze", "Gender norms", "Objectification", "Sexism", "Body-Shaming", "Patriarchy", and "Capitalism".
Brushstrokes: The Many Shades of Fashion

For many people, fashion serves as a vehicle for expressing their unique identities, their political beliefs, and their sexual orientation.
By Pragya Solanki
October 19, 2023
Brushstrokes: The Many Shades of Fashion
Video: Dress Reform Movement | Sky Cubacub
An image of Sky Cubabcub giving this Tedx Talk.
Video: Dress Reform Movement | Sky Cubacub

What if we refused to assimilate? What if we collectively decided to dress in a way that made it so society could not render us invisible?
By Curated Content
October 19, 2023
Video: Dress Reform Movement | Sky Cubacub
The Complex Tapestry of Fashion: Identity, Expression, and Feminism in a Women’s College
A close-up of a colourful group of hanging scarves.
The Complex Tapestry of Fashion: Identity, Expression, and Feminism in a Women’s College

While women’s colleges are certainly a step ahead of other institutions in creating spaces of liberation and encouraging freedom of choice, this rare advantage must expand itself onto the landscape of our entire country.
By Devanshi Panda
September 20, 2023
The Complex Tapestry of Fashion: Identity, Expression, and Feminism in a Women’s College
How Not To Do Body Positivity Fashion
Stationery and flowers lying flat on a surface, papers and fabrics kept beside scissors and paper cutter.
How Not To Do Body Positivity Fashion

For women like me, there is an enormous lack of options in addition to the market that relegates us to a corner of ‘plus-size brands’
By Trijita
September 20, 2023
How Not To Do Body Positivity Fashion
Androgyny is a Quality of the Mind
Abstract photograph of water droplets on a glass panel. There is a blurred reflection of a human-like figure. On the glass pane are painted swirls and dot in yellow and orange, as well as flecks of paint.
Androgyny is a Quality of the Mind

As clear as I was about my sexuality, I was just as unclear about how I wanted to look and what felt good.
By Debashree
September 20, 2023
Androgyny is a Quality of the Mind
Looking outside, seeing inside
sea-green neon light signboard on a door showing white hippie glasses neon.
Looking outside, seeing inside

I find that my own clothes are all just pieces of a larger archive I’m slowly constructing: an archive of the women I love, a half-hearted attempt at mimicking what I love.
By Drishti Rakhra
September 20, 2023
Looking outside, seeing inside
To My 21-Year-Old Self
A close-up photograph of a white blank paper upon which letters are scribbled. Upon the paper is a black fountain pen and some violet flowers.
To My 21-Year-Old Self

‘Is the future so dark?’ you might ask. I am here to tell you that it is not. As you begin your exploration into the world of queer theory and feminist theory, you will learn that the straightjacket version of sexuality cooked by our families was undercooked.
By Chand
August 25, 2023
To My 21-Year-Old Self
Issue in Focus: The Heart of Being
An abstractly painted image with magenta and blue and splashes of red, yellow, and black colour. In the background, two brown-black silhouettes.
Issue in Focus: The Heart of Being

To chase down our own vulnerabilities around sexuality is a short run around the corner, five minutes ago, last night sleeping alone, with a lover, a partner who lost interest, the Insta post that leaves you feeling you’re not good enough for the hug, the kiss, the cuddle and are you perhaps the A of LGBTQIA+?

By Shikha Aleya
January 3, 2023
Issue in Focus: The Heart of Being
Interview – Srila Roy
photograph of Prof Srila Roy leaning against a wall with her hands folded
Interview – Srila Roy

“Questions of difference should not be a cause for despair. There are examples from history and our own lives that show how we can connect across difference and stand in solidarity with one another…”
By Shikha Aleya
December 12, 2022
Interview – Srila Roy
Interview – Tishani Doshi
Photograph of a woman with long hair in red sari, sitting with a brown dog against a background of bushes with vines and pink azaleas. The woman is resting her chin on one hand and petting the dog with the other.
Interview – Tishani Doshi

I’ve essentially thought of movement as a kind of freedom, but one that has the capacity to destabilise you in some way. My most creative moments are when I’m not moving, when I am in fact rooted and still.

By Shikha Aleya
May 3, 2022
Interview – Tishani Doshi
Masculinity, queer representation, and the motifs of movement in ‘Dedh Ishqiya’
A shot from the film featuring the two female leads, one is preparing a paan with the other’s face resting on her shoulder. Both the women are smiling.
Masculinity, queer representation, and the motifs of movement in ‘Dedh Ishqiya’

The film has all the makings and trimmings of a commercial thriller – a dynamic story, song and dance, an action-packed climax – and at the same time, it is a cinephile’s film.
By Srishti Gupta
May 3, 2022
Masculinity, queer representation, and the motifs of movement in ‘Dedh Ishqiya’
Editorial – Celebrating Sexuality
A colourful background with “100 % sexuality” written in blue with pink shadow around the text.
Editorial – Celebrating Sexuality

100 issues, 8 years! Thank you, dear readers and contributors! As we planned for this issue to put on our…
By TARSHI
March 15, 2022
Editorial – Celebrating Sexuality
The Time Machine – 5 In Plainspeak Articles that Celebrate Sexuality in its Diverse Forms!
Artificial golden stars against a blue background
The Time Machine – 5 In Plainspeak Articles that Celebrate Sexuality in its Diverse Forms!

The In Plainspeak team decided to time travel and re-discover previously published articles that explore the multiple ways in which people find joy and pleasure in their sexualities.
By TARSHI
March 15, 2022
The Time Machine – 5 In Plainspeak Articles that Celebrate Sexuality in its Diverse Forms!
Loving My Dysfunctional Body: Lessons In Self Love After A Decade Of Self-Loathing
An illustration of four people on a beige background. Each person has multicoloured bouquet of flowers instead of hair, and flowers wrapped around different parts of their bodies. Each person is performing different acts of self-love - the one on the far left is applying is shaving flowers from their forearm, the one next to them is hugging themselves with their eyes closed, the next one is looking into a round hand mirror and the one on the far right has one leg on a chair and is shaving flowers from their leg. A branch of thorns and flowers threads through the background.
Loving My Dysfunctional Body: Lessons In Self Love After A Decade Of Self-Loathing

My body presented to me the first paradox in my feminism that I would encounter. How could I claim to be a feminist if I was not proud of the body I was born in? My advocacy as a sixth grader seemed to fail when it came to my own self.

By Feminism in India
March 15, 2022
Loving My Dysfunctional Body: Lessons In Self Love After A Decade Of Self-Loathing
1 2 3 … 10