Women Archives • Page 7 of 7 • In Plainspeak

Women

Date Name

Desc Asc

A still from the film "Apur Sansar" showing a woman who's looking downwards. She's wearing a saree and her aanchal is draped around her head.

‘Popular Stereotyping’

Time and again, our films underline the supremacy of man. Modernity is reduced to a matter of packaging. A modern…

By Curated Content

October 15, 2014

‘Popular Stereotyping’

Picture of Anshul Tewari, the founder of Youth Ki Awaaz. He's wearing a black shirt and dark rimmed glasses

How the popular media fails representation of women

Being a journalism student once, and having a network of seniors and batch mates who came from a journalism background,…

By Anshul Tewari

October 15, 2014

Picture of a female acid attack survivor. She is wearing a black headscarf and her eyes are turned downwards.

Mirroring Reality: A Conversation with Sabiha Sumar – Part 2

In continuation of Mirroring Reality: A Conversation with Sabiha Sumar – Part 1 Sabiha Sumar presents the harsh reality of…

By Surbhi Dewan

March 15, 2014

Mirroring Reality: A Conversation with Sabiha Sumar – Part 2

Interview: Maya Rao

March 1, 2014

Interview: Maya Rao

An illustration of the symbol that denotes 'female' arranged in a pattern

The Editorial: Women

As soon as March arrives, or even before it actually does, all the hullaballoo about Women’s Day begins. Since the…

By TARSHI

March 1, 2014

The Editorial: Women

Mirroring Reality: A Conversation with Sabiha Sumar

March 1, 2014

Mirroring Reality: A Conversation with Sabiha Sumar

An illustration of a woman facing sideways with snakes in place of her hair.

Medusa

Medusa, oh so beautiful! radiating beauty, a mere reflection, of male gaze, curse, shame and monstrous. Controlled, yet untamed, beauty…

By James Scott Edwards

March 1, 2014

Medusa

A still of actor Divya Dutta from the film 'Bhaag Milkha Bhaag'. She is wearing a pink headscarf and bloue jacket, and her right palm is held up to her head in the manner of a salute.

Voices: Silencing the Body: On Blissful Cinematic Ignorance and Social Insensitivity

In one of the most compelling and difficult scenes in 2013’s acclaimed Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, a young Milkha Singh is…

By Parigya Sharma

February 1, 2014

Voices: Silencing the Body: On Blissful Cinematic Ignorance and Social Insensitivity

An illustration of a boy facing a tiger, while they're both on a boat, with a quote from Life of Pi written above.

The Fearless Campaign

[slideshow_deploy id=’1470′] In India, we are constantly confronted by images of what Indian women should be. Goddess on walls portray…

By Shilo Shiv Suleman

February 1, 2014

The Fearless Campaign

Choli Ke Peeche

December 1, 2013

Choli Ke Peeche

1 … 6 7

Themes

In Plainspeak publishes one issue every month, with a single theme running across two months. Our aim is to expand safe, inclusive self-affirming spaces.

CURRENT ISSUE:

February-March 2025: Consent and Sexuality

Consent means agreeing, freely and voluntarily, to engage in an activity, like sex. Often, it gets complicated by power differences attributable to ability, class, caste, employment status, gender, and other factors operating singly or as a composite. Who is asking? Who is being asked? Do they understand what they are saying yes or no to? What if they change their mind midway? Will there be negative repercussions for withholding consent? Or, if they are women, for actively consenting, because “good girls always say no”? These are some questions that immediately spring to mind. There are also issues particular to South Asia, like arranged marriage, child and early marriage, and the lack of legal recognition of marital rape. In our culture, where respect for elders and obedience are paramount, consent is not seen as a significant value. How does disregarding consent affect us not only in our intimate relationships but also in other spheres like the workplace, cyberspace (e.g. social media) and public spaces (e.g. on the streets)? In what ways does it affect people’s understanding of boundaries, respect, and sexual rights? How do we build a culture of consent that is Safe, Inclusive, and Self-Affirming (SISA) for all people? In this issue of In Plainspeak, we explore all this, and more.

UPCOMING ISSUE:

April and May 2025: Masculinities and Sexuality

Masculinities broadly refers to the sets of attributes, behaviours, and expectations commonly associated with men or ‘male power’ in a given culture. Masculinities are not performed only by people with male-assigned bodies. They vary across time and factors such as caste, class, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and so on, and are not fixed and unchangeable. There is a whole spectrum of masculinities from those that may be affirming to those that may be considered ‘toxic’. Different kinds of masculinities interact and even come into conflict with each other, with some forms being considered more powerful, hegemonic, central or idealised, and others more subordinate or marginalised, in any given location. How do they play out in terms of their development and expression in relation to sexuality? What factors produce certain kinds of masculinities – is it experiences during growing up, peer pressure, role-models, or popular culture that are influencing factors? Are there differences in the public and private performance and experience of masculinities with regard to sexuality? This issue of In Plainspeak looks at the fascinating (and sometimes frightening) interplay of masculinities and sexuality.

Would you like to contribute? Take a look at our submission guidelines!

For future issue themes, click here.

We would love to know what you think of us! Share your thoughts in this feedback form.

Disclaimer

We curate content from other portals to amplify discussion around sexuality and rights. All rights remain with the original sources. Corners and Videos are embedded links and Brushstrokes and Blogrolls are republished from open sources with a link back to the original source. Older links may no longer be available.

We mostly use images with a Creative Commons license. If you are the owner of an image and find that the image has not been credited properly, please let us know at inplainspeak@tarshi.net.

In Plainspeak

Women

IN PLAINSPEAK is published by

Follow TARSHI

GET EACH ISSUE IN YOUR INBOX