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There's An Elephant In The Room

There comes a point in time during our growing up years, when curiosity gets the best of us. The icing on the cake: any conversation that has any remote connection to sexuality is usually evaded, be it in educational institutions or within our very own homes.

Such evasiveness leads many to engage with whatever information is available and accessible to them on the internet, through friends, in magazines or any other source one can get their hands on.

When is the right time for me to have sex? Is masturbation harmful? What is HIV?

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Rita and Yogesh study in the same college. Yogesh insisted that they have sex. Since Rita did not feel ready, he got upset with her and said, " Do you really love me and trust me? Nowadays, everyone is having sex ! If you don't have sex with me, I might have to break up with you."
WHAT IS CONSENT?
Reena is well qualified for the position she has applied for in a marketing company. Despite her qualifications, the interviewer said, "I do not doubt your capability, but for this position we need a woman who looks like a woman, not someone like you who looks so manly. This position is not for people like you."
GENDER AND SEXUAL IDENTITY
For the last few nights Harsh has been having wet dreams. His cousin Shivam will be coming home for vacations and share his room as always. Harsh worries,"What if Shivam notices what is happening to me and tells everyone about it?"
THE GROWING UP YEARS

It's Not Just About Sex!

Sex and sexuality are often understood to be synonymous, leading to many misconceptions. For example, sexuality education is often misunderstood as ‘sex education’ or ‘permitting experimentation among children’ based on the fear that more the information given, more likely that young people will experiment and engage in sexual behavior. However, studies like Sexuality Education and Young People’s Sexual Behaviour: A Review of Studies, commissioned in 1997 by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and Global Programme on AIDS have shown evidence to the contrary.

The key point is that sexuality is a lot more than just sex alone. Sexuality encompasses not only sex but also the construct of gender, body image, consent, intimacy, sexual activities, sexual abuse and harassment, sexual identities, pleasure and fantasy, relationships and emotions. Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) aims at treating sexuality as a part of life, not something to be feared and trivialized.

In our conversations with both young people and older people recalling their younger days, we found that common sources of information related to sex and sexuality were listed as friends, movies, magazines, newspapers, and advertisements and nowadays of course, the internet.

While these resources do give information and initiate conversations around sexuality, most people describe the information derived as confusing, conflicting and incomplete. Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) is essential for young people to make informed choices and protect them from abuse, violence and infections. #TalkSexuality

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Setting The Record Straight

A Boy And His Closet: My Coming Out Story

Published on March 20, 2015

“So how did you figure out that you’re …gay?”

I Wish He Had Respected My ‘No’ In The First Place

Published on March 12, 2015

He did not stop when I asked him to. I asked him verbally. I resisted…

Why Is Menstruation A Woman’s ‘Worst Kept Secret’?

Published on February 26, 2015

Even the sanitary napkin ads use blue ink for illustrative purposes, which sort of signifies…

In 2009, a volunteer with TARSHI walked around Delhi University asking students what their thoughts were on ‘Sex-Ed’.

They spoke about where they learnt about sexuality from and some common myths and misconceptions around sex and sexuality.

Do condoms reduce pleasure? Does oral sex lead to pregnancy? Can sex during menstruation lead to conception?

We wonder if young people still struggle with such questions in the absence of Comprehensive Sexuality Education in most schools.

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