Gender Archives

Lesbian? Bi? Or Pansexual? Why I Refuse to Label My Sexuality

I have gone from “not straight” to bisexual to pansexual in a span of five years. I feared if I didn’t identify myself, I’d miss out on my membership to the LGBTQIA+ club. But then I realised the answer to “Who are you?” has never been one size fits all. So, I dropped those limiting identities.

Mavis D'Silva April 21, 2016

Gender

#MeToo: Evan Rachel Wood and the Courage It Takes to Name Your Abuser

More than three years after speaking about surviving sexual assault, actor Evan Rachel Wood has named her abuser – former fiance and shock rocker Marilyn Manson, also known as Brian Warne. It takes great strength to talk about abuse and a lot more to out the perpetrator.

Kahini Iyer April 21, 2016

Gender

50 Shades of Greying: Ladies, Time to Retire the Compliment “You Don’t Look Your Age!”

We are socially conditioned to equate youth with beauty, and beauty as an accomplishment. But why not think of your crows’ feet and greys as sieves that filter out assholes who think women serve only one purpose – to be someone’s eye-candy? Let’s start by retiring “you don’t look your age!” as a compliment.

Purba Ray April 18, 2016

Gender

I’m Not Nirbhaya. Or Shakti. I’m Just Scared

Each time I find myself on a deserted road, my mind goes into overdrive. I think of objects I have that could be used as weapons such as the handle of my bag or the cord of my phone charger with which I could strangle a potential assailant. But that’s not just me. That’s every woman in India.

Maitreyee Upadhyay April 16, 2016

Gender

“Sharing the Load” was Just for the Lockdown. Men are Back to Being Men

Why do we talk about the men “helping” the women out at home, a friend asked. “Helping” implies that it is the job profile of a woman to run the house, while the man, out of the goodness of his heart, would attempt to “share the load”. As equal partners, isn’t it imperative that both consider the home theirs to take care of?

Rupha Ramani April 16, 2016

Gender

The Sach Behind Swachh

As the NDA completes two years in power, Narendra Modi’s pet project, the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, continues to transform the lives of women in India’s remotest villages.

Bhaskar Pant April 16, 2016

Gender

Into the Dark World of a Trafficked Girl

Missing, a new role-playing game, attempts to raise awareness about trafficked girls. But can a game based on the reality of thousands of exploited women really create empathy?

ila ananya April 15, 2016

Gender

The UP Constable Acid Attack Proves That Even Empowered Women Can’t Escape Misogyny

A woman constable in Uttar Pradesh was attacked with acid by a jilted lover. The fact that she is a cop did not deter the attacker. This is the stark dichotomy between the freedom women now have to make waves at work and the basic freedoms they continue to be denied in their personal lives.

Kahini Iyer April 15, 2016

Gender

50 Going on 20: What’s With Our Sudden Obsession with Birthday Milestones?

I suppose nothing quite tells you that age is not just a number like hitting 50 does. And we now celebrate it with a big, extravagant bash. Does anyone really care about us turning 50? Then again, does that argument hold in an age where beauty standards for even ageing women are relentless?

Lata Gwalani April 15, 2016

Gender

A Step-by-Step Guide to Walking Out of an Abusive Marriage

Why didn’t you fight back when you were slapped and your earring fell off? Why are you still around, crying pathetic pools of tears and snot? Why aren’t you doing what your head tells you to and leave? How did you just become a statistic of physical abuse?

Life 13 April 15, 2016