Safety
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
April 19, 2021
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
Vulnerability and Romantic Relationships: My Struggles Navigating These Spaces
It took me some time to realise how important being vulnerable or, for that matter, being vulnerable during sexual engagement was for me to have great sex and how empowering it is for my sexuality. After much thought, I decided to open up to my partner about my past experiences and other things I never used to openly talk about.
By Grishma Trivedi
There I sat down and wept
“Be yourself, Sarah. Awkward smiles, empty silences, weird laughter, and all. It’s just a part of being human. Loving someone physically is never not awkward. Even if it’s a monogamous relationship. It’s only the comfort of familiarity that makes you think otherwise.”
By Anna Lynn
April 19, 2021
Reclining Vulnerability
Through multiple maquettes, I finally came across (since I myself did not know what the result of the form or figure would be) the Reclining Lady. She represents confident femininity and vulnerability. The feeling one has after taking a bath and sitting in the nude, drying oneself in unabashed nakedness.
By Noella Fernandes
April 19, 2021
Being Comfortable in My Skin
I felt naked in front of everyone when I first came out, and I can’t stress enough how much my male privilege has helped me out here. I don’t even know if people found it serious enough to consider it my identity instead of ‘a mere sexual preference’ or ‘a phase’ (always a classic dismissal).
By Gokul KP
April 5, 2021
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
Editorial: Risk and Sexuality
In our mid-month issue, we add context to our perceptions of and dealings with risk in our day-to-day lives. Collating and interpreting responses we received on a survey taken by small group of random individuals, Shikha Aleya looks at the transactions around risk foregrounded on the interplay of our location on the axes of gender and sexual identity, disability status, belief systems, and availability of support, amongst others.
By TARSHI
October 15, 2020
The Last Local To Vashi
I gave myself the freedom to choose. And I chose to re-examine my assumptions. Maybe it was possible to ask strange men for directions without being afraid of seeming vulnerable. Maybe I could plan my outfit without bothering about the fact that I would be travelling on public transport.
By Tanvi Khemani
October 5, 2020
Video Page: Why Loiter? | Shilpa Phadke | TEDxStXaviersMumbai
Shilpa Phadke reminds us that we have the right to choose to take risks and the responsibility to respect difference so that we can re-imagine public spaces, feel a sense of belongingness in them, and have them belong to everyone.
By Curated Content
October 5, 2020
Dismantling a sex-trafficking pyramid
Every Friday my organisation Red Dot Foundation hosts a SafeCircle, an online space for listening and for sharing experiences of…
By ElsaMarie D'Silva
July 1, 2020
Shame, shame!
I discovered the movie What Will People Say? while browsing Netflix. Growing up in a society in which people are…
By Nidhi Chaudhary
July 1, 2020
Brushstrokes: Closets
Robot Hugs, in their insightful comic, take on closets as inherently oppressive structures built to uphold what is acceptable and…
By Curated Content
July 1, 2020
Editorial: Safety and Sexuality
Safety and Sexuality… in these uncertain times of COVID-19 when most of the world is in some form or other of quarantine, safety has taken on a new meaning all together. People are encouraged to stay home, not step out unless absolutely necessary, practice social distancing, and so on. Is home the safest place to be? What about if home and family are where one feels least safe?
By TARSHI
April 15, 2020
How Not To Talk About ‘Women’s Safety’ In Public Spaces
The only thing this language achieves (and maybe it is also the goal), is to create enough panic so that women themselves police and restrict their own mobility and whereabouts, and keep themselves away from public spaces whenever possible.
By Curated Content
April 15, 2020