Owning Your Sexuality and Overcoming Shame as a South Asian Woman with Sangeeta Pillai

Listen to "Owning Your Sexuality and Overcoming Shame as a South Asian Woman with Sangeeta Pillai".

In this episode, Hannah is joined by Sangeeta Pillai, a podcaster, activist, and speaker, and the founder of South Asian feminist network Soul Sutras. Sangeeta discusses the impact of colonisation on Indian sexuality, as well as the shame surrounding South Asian women’s sexuality. She and Hannah also talk about what the Kama Sutra is really about, and how to own your sexuality yourself.

CW: Shame, homophobia, and domestic abuse.

Read the episode transcript here!

What we chat about…

What is Soul Sutras?
How did Sangeeta learn about sex and her body? What was that like for her growing up in a traditional family in Mumbai?
How colonisation has impacted South Asian people when it comes to their experience of sexuality
What the Kama Sutra is really about
Victorian morality entering India
The first English translations of the Kama Sutra
What are some of the biggest taboos currently amongst the South Asian community?
Sex being taboo in the South Asian community, especially for women
The concept of South Asian women’s bodies, reputation, and honour belonging to their families or husbands, not themselves
Unlearning shame around sex as a South Asian woman
Stories that stick out to Sangeeta from her Masala Monologues and workshops?
South Asian women’s lives ending up differently than they were taught they would culturally
Doing the Masala Monologues at the University of Berkeley in California with South Asian American women
How do you own your sexuality?
Homophobia in South Asian culture
Is there a relationship between Sangeeta being the first woman in her family to have a job and her learning about sex and unlearning some of what she was taught?
Are there any taboos that Sangeeta is working through herself?
Are getting a divorce and not having children taboo in South Asian culture?
How does Sangeeta’s Indian family react to her job?
Is there a pressure from a different kind of South Asian community when you’re a South Asian feminist?
How can my South Asian friend navigate telling her parents she's LGBT? (34:07)
Could you talk about the relationship between feminism, sex and religion? (36:26)
Hinduism and sexuality
Are periods, period products, and information about periods still taboo in South Asian culture?
What's the biggest stereotype about feminists from South Asian countries? (41:52)

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MORE ABOUT SANGEETA PILLAI

Podcaster, activist & speaker Sangeeta Pillai is the founder of the South Asian feminist network Soul Sutras which is all about tackling taboos within the culture.

She’s the creator of Masala Podcast silver winner at the British Podcast Awards 2021 & 2021 & also a winner at Spotify SoundUp 2018. Sangeeta is also the creator of the Masala Monologues series of writing workshops & theatre shows in the UK & the US. She has been featured on BBC Radio London, Evening Standard, Cosmpolitan, Eastern Eye, Huffington Post, BBC Asian Radio, Brown Girl Magazine and has been a writer for over 20 years.