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We give
sex
a
good
name
About us
Partners & Collabs
Sections
Sex-Ed Basics
Self-Help / Self-Love
Personal Stories
Our Erotic India
Family, Society and Philosophy
Sexual Etiquette and Consent
Relationships and Dating
Teaching Modules
Videos
Fun Stuff
Great for understanding culture
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Great for understanding culture
#ThiraktaThursday- The AOI Philosophy of Dance
Bole toh why we jiggy, twist and twirl on Thursdays (and all days)
Apr 28, 2025
The Politics of Pleasure and Dr. Ambedkar
Dr B R Ambedkar was known as a lawyer, humanitarian, father of the Indian Constitution… but outside (and inside) his study, he had many interests that made the tapestry of his life colourful
Apr 14, 2025
Ananga Ranga’s Timetable of Thirst
15th-century wisdom says your bedroom vibe depends on the time of day you like to get it on… So, What’s Your Sexy O’Clock?
Mar 25, 2025
Bura Na Maano Holi Hai! Erotic poetry is in Order!
Some traditional poetry about Holi from Pracheen Agents of Ishq.
Mar 14, 2025
Binodini Dasi: The OG Indian Woman Superstar
How a Calcutta theatre artiste became immortalized in time over just a twelve-year career
Mar 08, 2025
“Love me, choose me, pick me”
From mythology to the Medieval period, and to modern Bollywood: The love letter has been a constant medium of human vulnerability
Feb 28, 2025
Love On Air: The Late Night Radio Show Which Opened India’s Heart
RJ Love Guru listened and dispensed advice as Indians publicly discussed their love lives for the first time, and created a cultural phenomenon
Feb 19, 2025
Beautiful Marathi Compliments
Compliments spicier than vada pavs and sweeter than puran poli
Feb 18, 2025
Suniti Solomon: The AIDS Doc Who Played Matchmaker
In playing cupid to over dozens of couples who’d tested positive, Dr Solomon’s team helped people battle loneliness and find companionship
Feb 14, 2025
Stories Of Women’s Protests For Bodily Autonomy Across The World
From the Jane Collective in 1960s US that offered abortions for as less as $1 to Brazilian women who used a stomach ulcer medicine as a nushka, innovative ways in which women asserted their right over their bodies
Jan 31, 2025
Could I Have Been Misogynist Even Though I Was a Woman? Why?
Today, I feel to an utmost certainty that I am not pretty, and even slightly indulging in dressing up makes me feel like a fraud.
Jan 20, 2025
What is Sex-Ed Nationalism?
What can it teach us about politics, pleasure and (de)colonization?
Jan 10, 2025
The Lesbian Postbox of New Delhi
How did lesbian women meet before the internet? Read the story of how queer women sent letters to a 1990s Indian lesbian collective to find friendship, community, and sexual identity – the analog way!
Dec 13, 2024
'I feel HIV much easier to live with than even diabetes or high blood pressure'
Adopted kids, gave birth, joined a corporate workspace, became an athlete… Persons living with HIV share that testing positive wasn’t the end of the world
Dec 01, 2024
From dairy to salad vegetables: Desi terms for orgasms
Did you see them cumming?
Nov 19, 2024
A History of The Internet’s Most Famous Friendship Meme
How ek doston ka gang fought, forgave and redefined internet culture forever
Nov 08, 2024
Sexual Surrogacy: Bole Toh, A Practicals Wala Therapy That Can Help You Become Thoda Confident During Sex
You can't just line up. Your therapist will have to recommend one
Oct 27, 2024
How to slide into that one cutie’s DMs
Slide and swing into the playground of ishq
Oct 23, 2024
Not Feeling ‘Queer Enough’ Helped Me Become My Most Radiant Queer Self
Mumbai’s queer scene was self-assured and flamboyant. I was newly bisexual and scared. But being uncertain about where I fit in helped me discover spaces where I could be confidently queer in whatever way I wanted to be.
Oct 11, 2024
The Boy Who Stole Babur's Heart
Discovering a different side of the Mughal Emperor – bashful, poetic and queer
Oct 04, 2024
A (Surprising) History of the Heart
The coyly pulsating emoji has many naughty secrets.
Sep 11, 2024
What the gaalis I heard made me feel about sex
How can we see sex as a pleasurable thing, when our first encounters with it are laced with violence and prejudice?
Sep 04, 2024
In India we don’t say I have got my periods…
From talking about being “out of the house” to being a traffic stopper, a list of desi euphemisms for menstruation
Aug 27, 2024
What do you call 'Home'?
In a map of different words for home, different meanings of home
Aug 15, 2024
When Noor Jahan fed Lata with her own hands between Wagah and Attari
When the two legends couldn’t cross the border to meet each other, they reunited in no-man’s land and shared a picnic filled with love, remembrance and friendship
Aug 14, 2024
Gym Se Gym Tak: A History of Naked Men (With Abs)
Tracing the image of the nude, fit masculine figure through space and time – from Apollo’s gymnasium in Ancient Greece to today’s Indian ‘hero’
Aug 13, 2024
Medghadutam: The Cloud Messenger
Jul 17, 2024
From pomegranate explosions to choked pipes: Indian euphemisms for being hard and wet
In India, we don’t say “I am wet” we say “the pomegranate has burst”
Jul 16, 2024
Ratirahasya: The Myth, The Manual, The Legend
A medieval sex manual that did all the Kama Sutra did – but in more poetic and simpler ways
Jul 12, 2024
Desi Queer Lingo - Season 2
Coz who said queer lingo is only angrezi?
Jun 25, 2024
The History of India’s First Protest Against Section 377
How Delhi-based ABVA started talking about the discrimination against the queer community and led India’s first protest against Section 377
Jun 19, 2024
Blood Donation Safety: Why Are Trans People and MSMs Not Allowed to Donate Blood in India?
Is blood donation in India inclusive, accessible and equitable?
Jun 14, 2024
From Blues Music to Lesbians on Bikes: The Queer History of the word Daddy
On Father’s Day, a quick peak into the origins of the word and its butch history
Jun 12, 2024
Queer Kisses On Screen From 1958
India has shown queer intimacies on screen for decades. Here are a few snapshots
Jun 11, 2024
Misogyny, terrorism, and incels- a history of the no-fap movement
Founded in 2011, the no-fap movement is now a full industry with influencers and rehab centres, lacking only in scientific data
May 31, 2024
A Brief History of Phone Sex
How cross-connections of the telecommunication revolution, desire, loneliness and queerness led to a booming industry across 80s & 90s
May 17, 2024
The Story of Miss Shefali – Calcutta’s Cabaret Queen
How one artiste danced and defied her way to becoming the ‘numero uno’ of the city’s entertainment scene
Apr 29, 2024
Love Served With a Side of Mutton Sukka, Chicken Curry and Coconut Chutney
The impromptu meal Babasaheb Ambedkar cooked for friends and family
Apr 14, 2024
3 lusty Sanskrit poems by our naughty ancestors
“How to love in Sanskrit: Poems” edited and translated by Anusha Rao and Suhas Mahesh
Apr 02, 2024
The Dil Lootne Waale Tomboys – AOI’s Sexy Saturday Songs
Bollywood has long celebrated the boisterous, adventurous, gender-bending tomboys – sometimes in complete songs, and sometimes in hard-to-forget glimpses
Mar 30, 2024
A Queer Party Called Life
We talked about the queer history of Mumbai...Aur baarish ke mausam mein the room was filled with the warmth of stories and pyaar. To creating more such spaces!
Jun 30, 2022
Male Actors Ke (Almost) Nude Bods - And Our Desire!
Ranveer Singh’s latest photoshoot is viral on the internet and everyone is here with their thoughts and thirst comments! But male celebrities in the (almost) nude and our desire to look at them is not a new 2022 thing!
Jul 22, 2022
Queer-Ratri: How Dandiya Queen Falguni Pathak Liberated Me
Here's some reasons why we just love Falguni - it's not just her music, it's her effortless queer ishtyle too!
Sep 26, 2022
Tomboy! A Thrilling History of Gender — Bole Toh? The AOI Chhotu Essay!
The Tomboy versus heterocapitalism.
Mar 08, 2024
68-Aavathu Piravu - A Poem By Perundevi
This #InternationalTranslationDay, read this English translation by N Kalyan Raman of a poem by Tamil poet Perundevi on relationships filled with loving and longing.
Sep 30, 2022
Tomboy Dating Terms From South East Asia
Thailand se lekar Philippines tak, SE Asian countries have their own tomboy culture and so, words that connote the many desires
Mar 06, 2024
Dharmendra Made Me Gay
Vivek Anand curates (and spills the tea) on some of the actor's sexiest onscreen moments. Featuring thundering thighs, hot and heavy kisses, embraces and more)
Oct 01, 2022
Naktoriya: A Raunchy Ritual About Suhaag Raats And Mardon Ki Baat
Role play and wild dances at Yadav weddings in Azamgarh reveal a world of different traditions
Feb 20, 2024
Are There Desi Books About Queer Women In Indian Languages?
We're bring you recommendations of narratives that talk about women loving women in desi languages other than English. All curated for your reading pleasure!
Apr 28, 2023
Why Is There A Pleasure Premium On ‘Tight’ Vaginas?
A doctor asks: Can we please have conversations around (hetero)sexual pleasure that don’t focus on ‘editing’ women’s bodies for men’s sake?
Mar 15, 2023
I wanted love and found it. It just wasn’t reciprocated
After each encounter, I promised myself I’d talk about my needs, be vulnerable in a smart way. Next time, I’d win
Jan 29, 2024
Why Flirting Without Agenda Matters
Lessons from the Caribbean
Feb 24, 2023
Scratch that!
Erotic Scratching Techniques from Three Ancient Texts Kama Sutra, Koka Shastra, Anga Ranga
Jan 16, 2024
Finding Fatima Sheikh
The story of a woman who in the 1800s co-founded 18 schools for girls, fighting caste and gender prejudice at each step
Jan 10, 2024
Ayye! The rebellion I staged to save my “dirty” Sidney Sheldons
Amma shamed me in front of my crush, and so I had to have my revenge too, publicly!
Jan 08, 2024
Moments in Our Life That Make Us Ask “Why Not Me?”
From not having a date on Valentine’s Day, to being overlooked by your crush, a long list of situations that make our hearts go all dard-e-disco
Dec 20, 2023
Peg, Peg Karne Laga: The Mazedaar History of Pegging and Why It Matters
How the term ‘pegging’ came to be and the larger questions it raises about gender roles and sex
Nov 03, 2023
How Much Of A Man Is A Disabled Man?
What does disability reveal about the idea of masculinity?
Oct 06, 2023
Chocolate: A Hindi Book On Homosexuality That Caused Much Debate In The 1920s
Written by Ugra, aka Pandey Bechan Sharma, the book was a a bestseller, but its critics were many too #HindiDiwas
Aug 14, 2023
Have You Heard of Ninkasi: The Goddess of Beer!
This ancient Mesopotamian tale has more drama than Game of Thrones! #HappyInternationalBeerDay
Aug 04, 2023
History of Internet In 10 Sexy Phrases
Here are 10 phrases that track how the Internet changed sex over the years!
Aug 01, 2023
How to Make a Dildo According to Pracheen Erotic Text "Manmatha Samhita"
Offering dahi, dhoop, diya to your beloved dildo is a must, says Kamadeva
Jul 25, 2023
How Caste and Colonialism Shaped the History of STIs in India
When the firang soldiers came to India, they brought Syphilis. What happened next is the story of how caste marginalization plays out and affects health policies!
Jul 28, 2023
Maitri Karar: A Gujarati custom that allow queer relationships legitimacy
When polygamy was banned in 1956, the Maitri Karar was invented to allow men to support their mistresses. And then, queer couples used it to live together legally.
Jun 16, 2023
Kailash Puri - The Punjabi Sex-Ed Agony Aunty from the 50's
She invented Punjabi words for genitals like "Madan Chhatri" for "clitoris"
Jun 10, 2022
Dr Alyappin Padmanabba Pillay and His Anti No-Fap Crusade in 1940's India
How one sexologist addressed the 'semen anxiety' of anxious young men in modern India.
May 12, 2023
Did You Know The First Vibrators Were Used By Men?
How did the vibrator go from being used in medicine to being used for orgasms?
May 05, 2023
Sexy Times In The Garden – AOI’s Picnic Day Sexy Saturday Songs
The picnic is a world of leisure and pleasure away from the world of family, parents, neighbors and tradition – all of social scrutiny.
Apr 11, 2023
Political Parties Which Made Love a Political Platform
They wanted to win not just hearts, but elections too!
Feb 10, 2023
Queer Art We Love!
From romantic lesbian anthems to photography that capture queer lives!
Jan 19, 2023
Stars In My Eyes ft. Meena Kumari
6 people tell us why the Tragedy Queen mattered to them on her birthday!
Jan 07, 2022
Stories From A Survey: Mohan's Story
Nov 01, 2021
My Body, My Confusion
My idea of the feminine was intrinsic to the experience of heterosexuality.
Sep 20, 2021
My Mother’s Lost Friendships
How can marriage and family expectations slowly bleach friendship out of a woman's life?
Aug 15, 2021
The History of Friendship is A History of the World - Bole Toh? An AOI Chhotu Essay!
Aug 02, 2021
Six People on What They Learned About Vulnerability By Working At A Helpline
What listening to people at their most vulnerable moment can teach us about resilience.
Jul 07, 2021
5 Laws and Policies That Were Meant To Help Adolescents - So Why Didn't They?
Do these laws #Care for Indian adolescents? Or do they just seek to #Control?
Jun 24, 2021
Zara Sa Ghoom Loon Main! A Map of Words for Sauntering
Jun 19, 2021
Ten Tashan-Filled Tales On Being Trans : AOI’s Reading List for Transgender Day of Visibility
Ten books on being trans in India!
Mar 31, 2021
From Archies to Pink Chaddis: How V-Day Became a Desi Tyohar
How did V-Day change India, or rather how did India change V-Day?
Feb 13, 2021
Internet Sexplorer: How Digital Laws Impact Online Intimacy, Privacy and Discovery
How long is the arm of the law with digital freedom and desire?
Jan 10, 2021
A Live-In In Lockdown
What does lockdown mean for a couple living-in in a big city?
Nov 24, 2020
BOSOMS - A Poem
A poem about a little girl's desire to have big breasts
Nov 15, 2020
WHAT IS PRIVACY
The AOI Guide To Privacy
Nov 02, 2020
THE L WORD - KONJUM HISTORY, ZARA GEOGRAPHY, THODA POLITICS
The many variations, slangs and slurs for the word 'lesbian' across the world!
Jun 11, 2020
Love x Sex x Caste: A Reading List
Will you read about love with us?
Apr 15, 2020
Sunny Leone: The Porn Star Even Your Granny Knows
How did a porn star become a household name in India?
Jan 16, 2020
How My Girlfriend's Abortion Made Me A Better Man: A Comic
M's story about a life-changing incident.
Oct 02, 2019
Who is a ‘Tight’ Vagina Meant to be Pleasurable For?
A doctor asks: can we please have conversations around (hetero)sexual pleasure that don’t focus on ‘editing’ women’s bodies for men’s sake?
Sep 09, 2019
Here's How Laws on Sexual Autonomy Have Changed for Women
Sometimes the law is ahead of how people actually live, and sometimes it’s behind
Sep 12, 2019
I Believe in the Promises Made by Passing Strangers: Cruising and the City
Leaving behind the threshold of our homes, what other boundaries do we cross?
Jul 23, 2019
Masculinity and Femininity Are Up For Grabs! - An Interview with The Patchworks Ensemble
A conversation with theatre artists Puja Sarup and Sheena Khalid on how they used the form to expand the ideas of gender and sexuality.
Jun 25, 2019
Finding Queerness Everywhere
Time for a new Sexy Saturday Songs playlist, this time by Vikram Phukan!
Jun 15, 2019
Q se Qawwali, Q se Queer Quties
Time for another Sexy Saturday Songs playlist!
Jun 22, 2019
I Make the Kind of Goddesses that I Want to See
A Brooklyn-based artist and sculptor on six works that mean a lot to her
Mar 07, 2019
Qissa Kiss aur Bosa Noshi ka
Ten beautiful Urdu couplets that use ‘bosa’ in various ways.
Feb 13, 2019
Why are Bheem and Hidimba the Real Deal?
We spoke to the artist and graphic novelist Amruta Patil about the different ways in which love and relationships exist in her work.
Feb 12, 2019
You Should Wear Maroon For Your Skin" and Other Advice I've Ignored as a Non-Fair Woman
Why hide under drab colours? Bold lip art – bright colours, filigree designs, polka dots – are my jam
Aug 24, 2018
Homosexuality in India: Old or New?
Here’s what Sahapedia has to say about Indian tradition and the current arguments about homosexuality in India’s Supreme Court
Jul 25, 2018
Hamara Sanskar: How Much Do You Know About India’s Erotic Heritage?
You thought it was only us modern cool types who thought about pyaar-vyaar, sex-vex- Aiyoh puh-leez!
Apr 18, 2018
Why Flirting Without Agenda Matters: Lessons from the Caribbean
There is a way to verbally and non-verbally gauge another person’s interest without harassing them. It’s called flirting
Mar 13, 2018
Love In Indian
Love in different Indian languages.
Aug 14, 2018
ROMANTIC ADVICE FROM MANY RAMAYANAS
While researching many Ramayanas for my new book of poems, I discovered some wise counsel for matters of the heart….
Dec 20, 2017
CHADDI PEHEN KE DUDE KHILA HAI
A history of masculinity through chaddi ads
Nov 28, 2017
Kamadev: Agent Of Ishq
Decoding Kamadev
Oct 09, 2017
WHAT DOCTORS (REALLY) THINK ABOUT SEX, ABORTION AND VIRGINITY
A doctor’s account of gender and moral biases that are rife in the health care system.
Oct 24, 2017
Jugni Songs and the Traveling Sparks of Freedoms
Freedom has no fixed address. It’s meanings are always changing, always on the move. Like Jugni.
Aug 15, 2017
India In Love: A Collection Of Poems
6 Indian poems through the ages that sing of love, fantasy, and a democracy of desires.
Aug 15, 2017
A Long Time Ago In Our Own Country: Meet The Stars of Indian Sex-Ed
‘Modern’ India has had many doctors, activists, researchers, and writers doing very important work like beginning programmes for birth control, saying women have the right to enjoy sexual pleasure and talking about the never-satisfied public’s sex dilemmas.
Sep 05, 2017
Things People Tell Me About Sex: Diary Of A Gynaecologist
A gynaecologist gives us an insight into how (little) sex is understood even in marriage
Aug 01, 2017
How To Understand Your Body As You Grow Older
Jun 13, 2017
Is There An Ancient Indian Aphrodisiac in Your Samsung Refrigerator?
The last chapter in the Kamasutra is all about different plants and devices you can use to enhance your sex life.
May 22, 2017
WHAT INDIAN MEN FEEL ABOUT THEIR PENIS
Apr 26, 2017
Why I Love The Big, Bad, Bold 70s
Apr 03, 2017
Savita Bhabhi and I: A True Love Story
Here is something you should know about me. I wrote three stories for Savita Bhabhi.
Mar 04, 2017
Open that Door! Flirting Fundas of Old Tamil Poetry
Mar 01, 2017
PURURVASA’S LOVE-MAKING ALMANAC
Feb 14, 2017
George Michael, The Sex-Ed Teacher We Never Had
And all this while dear George, hot-sexy-smooth George Michael in his snug denims kept telling us, ‘Sex is natural, sex is good, sex is fun, sex is chemical’.
Dec 28, 2016
Images and Imaginations of Sex
Before we can create something, we have to imagine it.
Dec 12, 2016
#SexPeCharcha Twitter Chat
Dec 09, 2016
Snakelets And Spilt Milk: The Highs and Lows of Dating in Old Tamil Poetry
To write about Ishq in classical Tamil poetry, is to be spoilt for choice.
Oct 26, 2016
The A Film or Maybe It's OK to be Lost: On BR Ishara's Chetna (1970)
Jun 28, 2022
India's Most Popular #PDA Locations (We asked, you answered)
Top of the #PDA Pops: We Asked People their Favourite #PDA Locations. Here's what they said!
May 14, 2016
Songs About 'Doing It' : Sexy Saturday Songs by Deepika S
Jan 18, 2022
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