Year-End Round-Up: Writers Spotlight
Image: Upsplash
When Thaen X launched alongside Thaen Pot on October 7th, we had no idea what to expect. However, a little over three months later, we are overwhelmed with the support we've gotten so far. To date, 11 brilliant writers have chosen Thaen X as a home for their work, an honour we are still wrapping our heads around. As the year comes to an end, we thought we would do a round-up of our contributors’ pieces:
Acts of Resistance: Blood-Soaked Pads
Luxe xt Saunthar's ability to intertwine experiences of pain while boldly defying societal norms will never cease to impress us. Speaking directly to Sri Lankan state violence while eloquently weaving in the patriarchy's pervasiveness within our community, Luxe highlights the intersections of her identity.
Business or Pleasure? Why Tamil Women Are Having Bad Sex
Highlighting the duality that dictates the expression of sexuality in our communities, Gaya Karalasingam poignantly tackles the dangers of the Madonna-Whore complex. Concluding that owning her sexuality is not in any way a denial of her 'Tamilness', Gaya's piece is a love letter to all of the Tamil women in her life, especially her mom.
In an extremely powerful account of the first time she gave herself an orgasm, Luxsiya Sivakumar, unapologetically stands in her power with this piece. This personal essay is the epitome of a particular self-love affirmation that comes to mind: I am enough.
In this piece, Hema Khodai turns up the volume on all conversations about reproductive health at family gatherings, temple, and recess. Often whispered to one another, the issues relating to reproductive health always seemed to be contingent upon Tamil women. Hema speaks to why it's time to move this conversation into a safe public space.
Nagara: Indo-Caribbean Sexualities, Erotic Autonomy, and Dance
Ryan Persadie and Premika Leo address the misrepresentation of Indo-Caribbean sexualities in a brilliant analysis of queer, trans, women Indo-Caribbean dancers' artistic practices. Providing a thorough understanding of Indo-Caribbean sexualities, erotic autonomy, and dance, Ryan and Premika speak to how the impact of colonialism, especially regarding "respectability," is still apparent today.
Yearning-In Sickness and In Health
Leaving disability justice out of our conversations around sex and intimacy happens far too often. In this piece, Sasha speaks truth to power about her experiences navigating disability and pleasure.
Seeing Sexuality Differently After Having It Hushed All My Life
Amal Khan reflects on her sexuality as a Pakistani Muslim woman and shares an account of what it means to be in ownership of her body. Addressing all of the challenges that come with questioning your sexuality, Amal pushes us to think about why our communities shun these conversations.
Taking control of your body, especially when society will never stop saying what it does about certain bodies, is a powerful action. In this piece, Anjana Uthayakumaran, outlines the importance of reclaiming your sense of self and touches on why how you modify your body is no body's business but your own.
Journaling to Improve Sexual Wellness
Some days a little push to focus on spending time with ourselves is needed. In this piece, Varuna Srinivasan, gives us powerful prompts to center our emotions and thoughts on sexual wellness. Over the holidays, grab your journal and allocate some time to work through these exercises. We promise you won’t regret it!
As a Brown Woman, Defining Intimacy On My Own Terms Is A Revolution On Its Own
There are very few writers who can encapsulate a feeling of warm embrace in their work. Jaya Patloo is one of those writers. Writing on practicing revolutionary love on her own terms, Jaya pauses time in this powerful personal essay.
Why Should Men Have All The Fun?
Centring voices we often don't get a chance to hear from, Shaheera Anwar, outlines responses she received to the question in this piece's title. Addressing the lack of conversation around sexuality, especially among women, this article includes important narratives of intimacy and all of the barriers to it in Pakistan.
As we enter the new year, we hope to continue working towards cultivating a space where we normalize discourse around sex and intimacy in our communities.
For information on how to pitch, please see here.
