Decolonising Queerness and Making Sex Playful with Gayathiri Kamalakanthan
In this episode, Hannah is joined by Gayathiri Kamalakanthan, who is a decolonising sex educator with the School of Sex Ed and Decolonising Contraception, as well as the founder of Inclusive Tamil Arts. Gayathiri discusses the history of what we're teaching as sex educators, looking at how we know what we know and at whose expense we know it. They and Hannah talk about what it means to decolonise queerness, and queerness in Tamil history. Finally, Hannah and Gayathiri discuss centring joy in sex educator work and how important play, imagination, and creativity are in both education spaces and our sexuality!
Read the episode transcript here!
SHOW NOTES
What we chat about…
How did Gayathiri get interested in sex education? How did they get started doing what they do?
Summative age attainment ceremonies in Tamil households
What does decolonising sex education look like?
How do we know what we know about contraception?
Unconscious bias being another term for racism
What does decolonising queerness mean?
Finding examples of yourself in history
Racism, sexism, homophobia, toxic masculinity and anti-Blackness being consequences of white colonial patriarchy
Why centring joy is so radical
What is Inclusive Tamil Arts?
Finding joy in creativity and community
Quote mentioned: 'As a culture worker who belongs to an oppressed people my job is to make revolution irresistible.' Toni Cade Bambara, Conversations with Toni Cade Bambara
Finding the joy in sex again
Communicating with sexual partners
Can we equip young people to challenge what they're told and question power structures?
Who gets to tell their own stories?
The myth that there are only two sex characteristics
The limitations of current language around gender
What are your thoughts on modesty and queerness? (37:10)
What does "modesty" mean?
What has queerness among Tamilians looked like historically? (40:54)
What are typical mistakes white sex educators make in terms of intersectionality or lack thereof? (42:23)
USEFUL LINKS
School of Sex Ed article: what is sex positivity?
The Sex Agenda Podcast - Episode 1 - Reproductive Justice
MORE ABOUT GAYATHIRI KAMALAKANTHAN
Gayathiri (they/she) is a sex and relationships education facilitator and writer. Working with the School of Sexuality Education and Decolonising Contraception, they aim to create decolonising and inclusive spaces for underserved communities. Gayathiri is the founder of Inclusive Tamil Arts - a community space for people of all sexualities and genders, to create and celebrate inclusive Tamil arts and culture.
CONNECT WITH US
*affiliate links