Pleasure and data? Is there such a rishta? We said yes, oui, haan!
How does acknowledging that young people want pleasure change the questions we ask and the research we do on their love/sex lives? Can taking pleasure seriously, transform the programmes, policies, curriculums and laws we create? #LoveSexAndData asked - is Pleasure the secret ingredient that data needs in order to be useful and relevant to our life and create a more just society?
The Love, Sex and Data Conference: A 3-day digital conference that took place from 7-9th October, 2021 was organised by Agents of Ishq and The YP Foundation to deep dive into these questions through keynotes, panels, workshops, performances, afterhours interactions and more!
3 days, 36 events, 60 speakers - thank you to everyone who joined us in bringing in the pleasure lens to our work (and our life!) as students, activists, educators, NGO workers, researchers, writers or really, whoever you are!
A first-of-its-kind conference dedicated to sex and pleasure in India? We said - you need to come ya (in more ways than one if you like *wink wink*) and you did - all 1663 of you!
Srinidhi Raghavan is a disabled feminist, writer, researcher and trainer. She works at the intersections of sexuality, gender, disability and technology. Over the last ten years, she has along with feminist and disability rights organisations, schools and colleges across India, worked with women, especially disabled women, adolescents and children. She wrote a monthly column in FirstPost on Bodies-Minds that focussed on gender and disability. She is Co-Lead, Programmes at Rising Flame.
Akanksha Kadam is a Mumbai based Lavani artist. She is known for her playful, sensuous adakari which captivates her audience within no time. She has been practising this art form for over 20 years. She conducts Lavani workshops by Kali Billi Productions and has trained many girls and boys in footwork and adakari. She has won numerous awards. She has choreographed Lavani songs for Marathi and Hindi films. She has also appeared in TV reality shows. Akanksha currently works as a freelance Lavani dancer.
Nikita Sonavane has worked as a legal researcher and an advocate for over three years. She is the co-founder of the Criminal Justice and Police Accountability Project (CPAProject), a Bhopal based litigation and research intervention focused on building accountability against criminalisation of marginalised communities by the police and the criminal justice system. She has previously worked as a Research Associate with the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), Ahmedabad, on issues of local governance, forest rights, and gender in the Adivasi region of Dang in Gujarat.
Mathangi Krishnamurthy is Associate Professor of Anthropology at the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Madras. Her book 1-800-Worlds: The Making of the Indian Call Centre Economy chronicles the labour practices, life-worlds, and media atmospheres of Indian call centre workers. She also writes occasionally for popular press and currently maintains a monthly column for The Hindu titled Culture Mulch bringing together observations from popular media, culture, and anthropology.
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