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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
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Fun Stuff
#QUEER
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The Boy Who Stole Babur's Heart
Discovering a different side of the Mughal Emperor – bashful, poetic and queer
Oct 04, 2024
Desi Queer Lingo - Season 2
Coz who said queer lingo is only angrezi?
Jun 25, 2024
Queer Kisses On Screen From 1958
India has shown queer intimacies on screen for decades. Here are a few snapshots
Jun 11, 2024
LGBTQyun Nahi?
Under #LGBTQyunNahin, we're bringing you stories all across the satrangi aka LGBTQIA+ spectrum! But just in case some Agents are not sure what these letters mean, here's a quick #SundaySexEd guide to help you understand!
Jun 12, 2022
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
Bind It!
A guide to chest binding from what to, to, how to use your binder
Mar 03, 2024
An 82-Year Old Lesbian Poet And Activist’s Advice For The Young And Queer
Suniti Namjoshi, who came out to her mother 57 years ago, shares life lessons ‘not because I’m wise, but because I care’.
May 17, 2023
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
My bisexual panic
Of course, there were some guys I thought looked good. Who’d turn away from Wesley Snipes, Ryan Reynolds? But would I date a guy if I could?
Feb 05, 2024
He Had Sex With Me. Then Told Me I Wasn't Man Enough
A train journey and a sexual encounter with a closeted man makes Vibhu Vasudev ask why men hold rigid ideas about masculinity.
Nov 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
Fucking Trans Women! How Mira Bellwether, a Trans Woman Wrote A Sex-Ed Guide For Her Lovers
The 80-page zine teaches you how bodies experience pleasure in unique ways far beyond the norm.
Jun 25, 2023
It Took Me Two Years To Realize I Had Been Raped
A male Dalit queer person on acknowledging the many shades of sexual assault.
Jun 19, 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
From Sapphic Seasides to Political Pyaar! A Lesbian, Bisexual, Trans History of Mumbai
Where did the LBT Mumbaikar go for politics, party and pyaar!
Sep 21, 2022
Love was a stereotype. Friendship was radical. And then, I met her.
If witnessing a relationship slowly die out like a star collapsing into itself were a color, it would be tangerine.
Aug 05, 2023
With Polyamory, I Grew Into The Person (And Lover) I Was Meant To Be
For years, I questioned if I could expand the definition of a loving relationship. And then, I did.
Apr 17, 2023
What Does Fictosexual Mean?
Falling in lou with fictional characters koi fiction nahin!
Mar 17, 2023
Why Does The LGBTQ+ Community Love Frogs?
World Wildlife Day pe ek investigation!
Mar 03, 2023
Queer Art We Love!
From romantic lesbian anthems to photography that capture queer lives!
Jan 19, 2023
Hyenas, Orangatuns And Discovering My (A) Sexuality
Questions, questions, and I had no answers. Until a Reddit meme showed me "Asexuals are…"
Feb 27, 2023
Asexuality Ki ABC - An AOI Primer
Can asexuality transform how we see pleasure itself?
Oct 30, 2022
Stars In My Eyes ft. Meena Kumari
6 people tell us why the Tragedy Queen mattered to them on her birthday!
Jan 07, 2022
Breaking My Heart And Finding Myself
Imran on why queer break-ups are hard, but you can't lose yourself entirely in love.
Apr 01, 2022
Ageing Through A Queer Eye - What is Queer Gerontology?
Can a queer lens change how we think about old age?
Mar 25, 2022
The Many Journeys of an Old-Fashioned Butch: An Interview With Dr. Shruti Chakravarty
Dr. Shruti Chakravarty talks to us about queerness, gender, labels, community and love.
Mar 22, 2022
“It’s simple, to live life emotions are very important so why should you suppress them?” Lesbian Love and Freedom Journeys with Maya Sharma
An interview with Maya Sharma
Mar 13, 2022
Where is my Education? A Transman’s Story
The everyday struggles of a trans man attending university.
Nov 01, 2021
Kabhi Alvida Kehna! How I Said Ta-Ta Bye-Bye to Gender Norms and Became Beautiful
It was not easy to dress like a girl outside; only in the secrecy of my room.
Sep 17, 2021
Friendship: The Movie featuring Uncertain Love
Shocking - Queer people confused if their flirting is romantic or platonic!
Oct 17, 2021
My Body, My Confusion
My idea of the feminine was intrinsic to the experience of heterosexuality.
Sep 20, 2021
"The Talk Of The Heart, It’s Not As Easy As It Looks" : Saleem Kidwai’s Friendship with Begum Akhtar
An interview with the late Saleem Kidwai about his life and friendship with Begum.
Sep 12, 2021
I Have Erotic Friendships And It's Not Complicated
Aditya writes to reveal new definitions of friendship - and sex!
Aug 09, 2021
Can Your Vulnerability Make You Mean? Mine Did.
What memories can a unexpected apology from a childhood bully bring up?
Jul 22, 2021
“Being well-adjusted to this world is no measure of being well”- Vulnerability, Strength and Mental Health
A conversation with Sonal Giani!
Jul 26, 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
Some of us need to be understood differently: Breaking Up and Mental Illness
Rukmini writes about her relationship and break-up, and how as a person with mental-illness, she wishes it could have been done differently.
Jul 29, 2021
What Does Queerness Care About Productivity? A Poem
The mind was kept busy while the body craved attention. The more it craved, the more I got busy.
Mar 22, 2021
What Is Heteronormativity And How Does It Decide What's Normal? An Explainer
A saral explainer of a complicated system!
Mar 07, 2021
To Think Of All the Bisexual Love I’ve Missed!
I’m 28 and I recently realized I’m bisexual.
Feb 22, 2021
PROSTATE AND PATRIARCHY
Why does prostate pleasure scare conventional masculinity?
Dec 06, 2020
THE OTHER F WORD - A Poem
Running into woman-on-woman porn to rediscover sex
Dec 21, 2020
How Masturbation Helped Me Cope With Heartbreak
Masturbation and other remedies for rejection.
Oct 29, 2020
It Was ‘Twilight’. I Woke Up Bisexual.
How one can stumble upon one's (bi)sexuality with the help of fiction / fan-fiction
Sep 23, 2020
The Adorable Boys Who Love ‘Papa Bear’
Who decided that desire is only for the young?
Aug 21, 2020
To All the Boys I Couldn't Love Before
What fleeting connections with many interesting men tell you about having the hots for none of them.
Aug 04, 2020
S.W.A.G (Secretly We Are Gay) 2: Till We Meet Again
Revisiting an old lover with new realisations and self-admission.
Jul 23, 2020
June Rewind - #WhenWomenLoveWomen, All In One Place
Stories, histories and resources for queer women - ek dhamakedar package!
Jun 30, 2020
Secret Loves And Broken Hearts: A Comic
A comic about queer desire, love, and loss.
Jun 26, 2020
Steamy Shayari Alert! #WhenWomenLoveWomen in 19th Century Awadh
Some seductive Chapti poems from India's past!
Jun 23, 2020
Call Me Rama: Reading Baba
A woman re-discovers the man her father was through his writings.
Jun 21, 2020
Pehle App! Online Dating Tips for Queer Ladies from Queer Ladies
Confused about how to begin? Here's some tips from our queer Agents!
Jun 19, 2020
"So Many Women, But It's Her I Love"
An excerpt from Maya Sharma's Loving Women: Being Lesbian in Unprivileged India
Jun 07, 2020
I Kissed A Girl And I Liked It - 7 Queer Women Tell Us About Their First Kiss With A Girl
Stories of people's first taste of pleasure and tenderness
Jun 01, 2020
Safe Sex for Queer Women? Yes, Yes, Yes!
Many ways to have sex, many ways to stay safe!
Jun 04, 2020
What Falling For My Friend As A Lesbian Taught Me About How We Express Friendship
Does queerness complicate the experience of falling for a friend?
Jun 15, 2020
The (Secret) Porn That Turns Me On
Must our fantasies mirror our real-life sexual preferences?
Jan 27, 2020
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
Q Marks the Spot! A Queer Map of Mumbai
Put on your special Agent of Ishq glasses and see the real city, glittering all around you!
Jun 27, 2019
Remembering the Life of Sweet Maria Through Art
A unique monument to the murdered trans activist reminds us of her life as well as the violence that trans people face in India
Jun 19, 2019
8 Not-So-Straight Books for Young People You Won’t Want to Miss!
Here are some lovely works with queer, or gender-bendy, or non-normative narratives for young readers
Jun 18, 2019
Finding Queerness Everywhere
Time for a new Sexy Saturday Songs playlist, this time by Vikram Phukan!
Jun 15, 2019
More Than An Identity: How I Realised My Struggle Was With Being Sexual, Not Homosexual
My identity as a queer person became a bit of a shield from the world of love, the world of sex
Jun 11, 2019
The AOI List of Queer Support Resources Of All Kinds
Are you a queer person looking for back-up and wondering where to find it?
Jun 04, 2019
‘Queer’ Kya Hai?
Your favourite agents are here with another #SuperSaralExplainer!
Jun 04, 2019
Q se Qawwali, Q se Queer Quties
Time for another Sexy Saturday Songs playlist!
Jun 22, 2019
How Shru Stopped Hating Herself (With A Little Help From Her Dad)
From self-harm and shame, to learning to be your own hero!
Apr 18, 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
Muh Bole Rishte - 6 People Describe Their Chosen Families
Society might say “Only family is forever”, but here are stories of 6 people forming their closest bonds, beyond blood.
Feb 20, 2019
Not Sure Why People Are Protesting the Trans Bill? Here's A Quick Guide
Many amendments have been made to the Bill since it was drafted, but activists say it is still discriminatory, mainly for the following reasons.
Dec 26, 2018
a historic day
A short poem for September 6, 2018
Sep 13, 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
'I Hope that My Art Replaces Judgement with Acceptance'
I express queerness through my art, then it exists with all the politics and the complexities that surround it, whether it’s social or it’s personal.
Jun 30, 2018
Inside the World of Puu – A Beautiful Comic about Love
Puu is a webcomic about Saboor and Jameel, two housemates in Chennai, and other people whose lives intersect with theirs.
Jun 26, 2018
Izhaar-e-Ishq: Queer Voices in Urdu Poetry
Studying the work of Urdu ghazal poets showed me that their approach to sexual desire is far more fluid than I had realised.
Jun 21, 2018
Let All the Stars Inside Me Shine/ What I See is Me
Photographs from public performances of queerness.
Jun 14, 2018
Isn't A Whatsapp Love Story A Real Love Story?
Could you fall crazily in love with someone you've never met IRL?
Jun 12, 2018
Seven Indian Films We’re Excited To Watch This Year At KASHISH Film Festival
Here are seven Indian films playing at KASHISH that we’re keen to watch this year
May 23, 2018
Being Equal, Being Queer Rozana
May 17, 2018
The AOI Queer Reading List : Naya Maal
A selection of recent Indian queer writing.
Jan 30, 2018
#MardonWaliBaatein: A Twitter Conversation About Men and Sexual Emotions
Twitter chat with Manak Matiyani and Devanik Saha storified
Nov 19, 2017
#QueerlyHeartbroken: A Twitter Chat With Sonal Giani
Queer Rights Activist Sonal Giani, on being Queer and Heartbroken, the common issues faced by queer people during break ups and how to deal with it.
Nov 01, 2017
Mard, Mann Aur Jealousy: 5 Men Talk about Dealing With Unusual Jealousies
Unusual jealousies men experience and how it affects the way they look at themselves as sexual beings.
Nov 16, 2017
WE MET ON GRINDR. NOW THE INTIMACY OF THE SEX WE HAD MAKES IT HARD FOR ME TO FORGET HIM
Some loves are sexual, where emotion, body and connection become powerfully joined in the intimacy of sex more than anything else. It is an intoxication, a nasha that’s hard to forget, because it runs deep.
Nov 08, 2017
my mother does not know i am wearing her sari. how long must I hide?
poetry and poetic prose by soz
Sep 29, 2017
I Came Out To My Mom And Now I Think She's Fomosexual
A mother's totally unexpected response to her daughter's coming out!
Aug 22, 2017
To All The (Straight) Men I've Loved Before
Let loose, this rise of the body and soul caused me to constantly fall in love with many a lissom lad
Feb 21, 2017
Every Navratri Falguni Made Me Feel That Queer Is Ekdum Cool
A song of ishq for Falguni Pathak!
Oct 05, 2016
HETERO HOMO BI BI: SHIT BISEXUALS HAVE TO HEAR
Shit bisexuals have to hear.
Sep 23, 2016
I CALL HER MOSAMBI
Sep 23, 2016
WHICH WAY DO WE SLICE IT?
A poem by Jaya Sharma
Sep 13, 2016
In A Gay Bar You Can See Forever
An Indian man at 31, in a gay bar for the first time, experiencing male erotic tenderness for the first time.
Aug 01, 2016
LOVE ALL: THE UNLIMITED WAYS OF PANSEXUALITY
Today is International Pansexuality Awareness and Visibility Day! Read the unlimited ways Love Pans out! #AOIQuickies
Jun 28, 2022
KINKY IS QUEER
A poem on finding freedom in the Kinky and the Queer!
Jun 28, 2022
Multiling Biscuit
What is sex? What is gender? What is queer? Are these separate categories or overlapping ways of being that are part of us all?
Jun 28, 2022
I Have Erotic Friendships And It’s Not Complicated
Aug 09, 2021
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