India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

has developed its discourse on sexuality differently based on its distinct regions with their own unique cultures.

Background

The seeming contradictions of Indian attitudes towards sex (more broadly – sexuality) can be best explained through the context of history. India played a role in shaping understandings of sexuality, and it could be argued that one of the first pieces of literature that treated ''" Kama"'' as science came from the Indian subcontinent. It may be argued that historically, India pioneered the use of sexual education through various art forms like sculptures, paintings, pieces of literature. As in all societies, there was a difference in sexual practices in India between common people and powerful rulers, with people in power often indulging in "self-gratification" lifestyles that were not representative of common moral attitudes. Moreover, there are distinct cultural differences seen through the course of history across India.

Ancient times

The origins of the current Indian culture can be traced back to the

Indus Valley civilisation The Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC), also known as the Indus Civilisation was a Bronze Age civilisation in the northwestern regions of South Asia, lasting from 3300 BCE to 1300 BCE, and in its mature form 2600 BCE to 1900& ...

, which was contemporaneous with the ancient Egyptian and

Sumer Sumer () is the earliest known civilization in the historical region of southern Mesopotamia (south-central Iraq), emerging during the Chalcolithic and early Bronze Ages between the sixth and fifth millennium BC. It is one of the cradles of ...

ian civilisations, around 2700 BCE. During this period, the first evidence of attitudes towards sex comes from the ancient texts of

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...

. These ancient texts, the

Rig Veda The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' ( ', from ' "praise" and ' "knowledge") is an ancient Indian collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (''sūktas''). It is one of the four sacred canonical Hindu texts ('' śruti'') known as the Vedas. Only one ...

among few others, reveal moral perspectives on sexuality, marriage and fertility prayers. The epics of ancient India, the

Ramayana The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th to 4th centuries BCE, and later stages ...

and

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the '' Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the K ...

, which may have been first composed as early as 500 BCE, had a huge effect on the

culture of Asia The culture of Asia encompasses the collective and diverse customs and traditions of art, architecture, music, literature, lifestyle, philosophy, politics and religion that have been practiced and maintained by the numerous ethnic groups o ...

, influencing later Chinese,

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

Tibetan culture Tibet developed a distinct culture due to its geographic and climatic conditions. While influenced by neighboring cultures from China, India, and Nepal, the Himalayan region's remoteness and inaccessibility have preserved distinct local in ...

and

South East Asian Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...

culture. These texts support the view that in ancient India, sex was considered a mutual duty between a married couple, where husband and wife pleasured each other equally, but where sex was considered a private affair, at least by followers of the aforementioned Indian religions. It seems that

polygamy Crimes Polygamy (from Late Greek (') "state of marriage to many spouses") is the practice of marrying multiple spouses. When a man is married to more than one wife at the same time, sociologists call this polygyny. When a woman is marr ...

was allowed during ancient times. In practice, this seems to have only been practiced by rulers, with common people maintaining a monogamous marriage. It is common in many cultures for a ruling class to practice both

polyandry Polyandry (; ) is a form of polygamy in which a woman takes two or more husbands at the same time. Polyandry is contrasted with polygyny, involving one male and two or more females. If a marriage involves a plural number of "husbands and wives" ...

and

polygyny Polygyny (; from Neoclassical Greek πολυγυνία (); ) is the most common and accepted form of polygamy around the world, entailing the marriage of a man with several women. Incidence Polygyny is more widespread in Africa than in any ...

as a way of preserving dynastic succession.

Nudity Nudity is the state of being in which a human is without clothing. The loss of body hair was one of the physical characteristics that marked the biological evolution of modern humans from their hominin ancestors. Adaptations related to h ...

in art was considered acceptable in southern India, as shown by the paintings at Ajanta and the sculptures of the time. It is likely that as in most countries with

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

climates, Indians from some regions did not need to wear clothes, and other than for

fashion Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fash ...

, there was no practical need to cover the upper half of the body. This is supported by historical evidence, which shows that men in many parts of ancient India mostly dressed only the lower half of their bodies with clothes and upper part of body was covered by gold and precious stones, jewellery, while women used to wear traditional sarees made of silk and expensive clothes as a symbol of their wealth. As Indian civilisation further developed and the writing of the

Upanishads The Upanishads (; sa, उपनिषद् ) are late Vedic Sanskrit texts that supplied the basis of later Hindu philosophy.Wendy Doniger (1990), ''Textual Sources for the Study of Hinduism'', 1st Edition, University of Chicago Press, , ...

around 500 BCE, it was somewhere between the 1st and 6th centuries that the

Kama Sutra The ''Kama Sutra'' (; sa, कामसूत्र, , ; ) is an ancient Indian Sanskrit text on sexuality, eroticism and emotional fulfillment in life. Attributed to Vātsyāyana, the ''Kama Sutra'' is neither exclusively nor predominantly ...

, originally known as Vatsyayana Kamasutram ('Vatsyayana's Aphorisms on Love'), was written. This philosophical work on kama shastra, or 'science of love', was intended as both an exploration of human desire, including infidelity, and a technical guide to pleasing a sexual partner within a marriage. This is not the only example of such a work in

ancient India According to consensus in modern genetics, anatomically modern humans first arrived on the Indian subcontinent from Africa between 73,000 and 55,000 years ago. Quote: "Y-Chromosome and Mt-DNA data support the colonization of South Asia by ...

, but is the most widely known in modern times. It is probably during this period that the text spread to ancient

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

, along with

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

scriptures, where Chinese versions were written. It is also during 10th century to 12th century that some of India's most famous ancient works of art were produced, often freely depicting romantic themes and situations. Examples of this include the depiction of

Apsaras An apsaras or apsara ( sa, अप्सरा ' lso ' pi, अक्चरा, translit=accharā) is a type of female spirit of the clouds and waters in Hinduism and Buddhist culture. They figure prominently in the sculpture, dance, litera ...

, roughly equivalent to

nymph A nymph ( grc, νύμφη, nýmphē, el, script=Latn, nímfi, label=Modern Greek; , ) in ancient Greek folklore is a minor female nature deity. Different from Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature, are ...

s or

siren Siren or sirens may refer to: Common meanings * Siren (alarm), a loud acoustic alarm used to alert people to emergencies * Siren (mythology), an enchanting but dangerous monster in Greek mythology Places * Siren (town), Wisconsin * Siren, Wiscon ...

s in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

an and

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

mythology, on some ancient temples. The best and most famous example of this can be seen at the

Khajuraho Khajuraho () is a city, near Chhatarpur in Chhatarpur district of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. One of the most popular tourist destinations in India, Khajuraho has the country's largest group of medieval Hindu and Jain temples, famous ...

complex in central India built around 9th to 12th century. Kama sutra, Vatsyayayan, commentary, sample ii, Sanskrit, Devanagari.jpg, A ''Kamasutra'' manuscript page preserved in the vaults of the Raghunatha Hindu temple in Jammu and Kashmir. Khajuraho12.jpg, Depictions of

Apsara An apsaras or apsara ( sa, अप्सरा ' lso ' pi, अक्चरा, translit=accharā) is a type of female spirit of the clouds and waters in Hinduism and Buddhist culture. They figure prominently in the sculpture, dance, litera ...

s from the Khajuraho temple complex. Kama, mithuna artwork in Hindu temples.jpg, Kama-related arts are common in Hindu temples. These scenes include courtship, amorous couples in scenes of intimacy (''mithuna''), or a sexual position. Above: 6th- to 14th-century temples in Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and the Himalayas.

Colonial-era

A number of movements were set up by prominent citizens, such as the

Brahmo Samaj Brahmo Samaj ( bn, ব্রহ্ম সমাজ, Brahmô Sômaj, ) is the societal component of Brahmoism, which began as a monotheistic reformist movement of the Hindu religion that appeared during the Bengal Renaissance. It was one of t ...

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

and the

Prarthana Samaj Prarthana Samaj or "Prayer Society" in Sanskrit, was a movement for religious and social reform in Bombay, India, based on earlier reform movements. Prarthana Samaj was founded by Atmaram Pandurang in 31 March 1867 when Keshub Chandra Sen vi ...

Bombay Presidency The Bombay Presidency or Bombay Province, also called Bombay and Sind (1843–1936), was an administrative subdivision (province) of British India, with its capital in the city that came up over the seven islands of Bombay. The first mainl ...

, to work for the 'reform' of Indian private and public life. While this new consciousness led to the promotion of

education for women Female education is a catch-all term of a complex set of issues and debates surrounding education ( primary education, secondary education, tertiary education, and health education in particular) for girls and women. It is frequently called gi ...

and (eventually) a raise in the

age of consent The age of consent is the age at which a person is considered to be legally competent to consent to sexual acts. Consequently, an adult who engages in sexual activity with a person younger than the age of consent is unable to legally cla ...

and reluctant acceptance of

remarriage Remarriage is a marriage that takes place after a previous marital union has ended, as through divorce or widowhood. Some individuals are more likely to remarry than others; the likelihood can differ based on previous relationship status (e.g. div ...

for widows, it also produced a

puritanical The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become more Protestant. ...

attitude to sex even within marriage and the home.

Current issues

Conservative views of sexuality are now the norm in the modern republic of India, and South Asia in general. It is often argued that this is partly related to the effect of colonial influence, as well as to the puritanical elements of Islam in countries like Pakistan (e.g. the Islamic revivalist movements, which has influenced many Muslims in

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

and

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mo ...

). However, such views were also prevalent in the pre-colonial era, especially since the advent of Islam in India which brought

purdah Pardah or purdah (from Hindi-Urdu , , meaning "curtain") is a religious and social practice of female seclusion prevalent among some Muslim and Hindu communities. It takes two forms: physical segregation of the sexes and the requirement that wom ...

as ideal for Muslim women. Before the gradual spread of Islam largely through the influence of

Sufis Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, r ...

, there seems to be evidence of liberal attitudes towards sexuality and

nudity Nudity is the state of being in which a human is without clothing. The loss of body hair was one of the physical characteristics that marked the biological evolution of modern humans from their hominin ancestors. Adaptations related to h ...

in art. However, scholars debate the degree to which Islam, as a mass and the varied phenomenon was responsible for this shift. While during the

1960s and 1970s Year 196 ( CXCVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Dexter and Messalla (or, less frequently, year 949 ''Ab urbe condita ...

in the west, many people discovered the ancient culture of sexual liberalism in India as a source for western free love movements, and neo-Tantric philosophy, India itself is currently the more

prudish A prude ( Old French ''prude'' meaning honourable woman) is a person who is described as (or would describe themselves as) being concerned with decorum or propriety, significantly in excess of normal prevailing standards. They may be perceived a ...

culture, embodying Victorian sensibilities that were abandoned decades ago in their

country of origin Country of origin (CO) represents the country or countries of manufacture, production, design, or brand origin where an article or product comes from. For multinational brands, CO may include multiple countries within the value-creation process ...

. However, with increased exposure to world culture due to globalisation, and the proliferation of progressive ideas due to greater education and wealth, India is beginning to go through a western-style

sexual revolution The sexual revolution, also known as the sexual liberation, was a social movement that challenged traditional codes of behavior related to sexuality and interpersonal relationships throughout the United States and the developed world from the 1 ...

of its own, especially in cosmopolitan cities. One of the current issue regarding sexuality in India is that alternative sexualities and ideas of belonging to

LGBT community The LGBT community (also known as the LGBTQ+ community, GLBT community, gay community, or queer community) is a loosely defined grouping of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and other queer individuals united by a common culture and so ...

is still considered a taboo. Homosexuality was finally decriminalised in India in 2018 after a recriminalisation effort in 2013.

Modern India

Modern issues that affect India, as part of the sexual revolution, have become points of argument between conservative and liberal forces, such as political parties and religious pressure groups. These issues are also matters of ethical importance in a nation where freedom and equality are guaranteed in the constitution. Scholarship by Indian sociologist Jyoti Puri calls attention to the social control around middle-class women's bodies in urban India and how politics of gender and sexuality impact of nationalist and transnational discourses and the role of nation-state. Her third book ''Sexual States: Governance and the Struggle Against the Antisodomy Law in India’s Present'', tracks the efforts to decriminalize homosexuality in India.

Sexuality in popular entertainment

The entertainment industry is an important part of modern India, and is expressive of Indian society in general. Historically, Indian television and film has lacked the frank depiction of sex; until recently, even

kissing A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...

scenes were considered

taboo A taboo or tabu is a social group's ban, prohibition, or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, sacred, or allowed only for certain persons.''Encyclopædia Britannica ...

. On the other hand, rape scenes or scenes showing sexual assault were shown. Currently, some Indian states show soft-core sexual scenes and

in films, whilst other areas do not. Mainstream films are still largely catered to the masses. Some recent movies like

Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga ''Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga'' () is a 2019 Indian Hindi-language coming-of-age romantic comedy-drama film directed by Shelly Chopra Dhar. The screenplay was written by Dhar and Gazal Dhaliwal, with the story inspired by the 1919 novel ' ...

Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan ''Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan'' () is a 2020 Hindi-language romantic comedy film written and directed by Hitesh Kewalya and produced by Aanand L. Rai, Himanshu Sharma, Bhushan Kumar and Krishan Kumar under the banners Colour Yellow Production ...

Badhaai Do ''Badhaai Do'' () is a 2022 Indian Hindi comedy drama film depicting a couple in a lavender marriage. It stars Rajkummar Rao and Bhumi Pednekar and is written by Suman Adhikary and Akshat Ghildial and directed by Harshavardhan Kulkarni. The f ...

help bring the concepts of alternative sexualities and

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term ...

inclusion in the popular culture.

Pornography

The distribution and production of pornography are both illegal in India; however, accessing pornography in private is not. Regardless, softcore films have been common since the late 1970s, and many directors have produced them. Magazine publications like ''

Debonair (magazine) Debonair is an English-language monthly magazine published by the Be Debonair Foundation. It is acknowledged as one of India's most popular entertainment magazines and publishes pieces involving news, interviews, photos, videos, reviews, events, ...

,'' ''Fantasy,'' ''Chastity,'' ''Royal Magazine,'' and ''Dafa 302'' exist in India, and more than 50 million Indians are believed to see porn on a daily basis. The

Information Technology Act The Information Technology Act, 2000 (also known as ITA-2000, or the IT Act) is an Act of the Indian Parliament (No 21 of 2000) notified on 17 October 2000. It is the primary law in India dealing with cybercrime and electronic commerce. Secon ...

, Chapter XI Paragraph 67, the

Government of India The Government of India ( ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

clearly considers the transmission of pornography through any electronic medium as a punishable offence. The CEO of the Indian subsidiary of

eBay eBay Inc. ( ) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that facilitates consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer sales through its website. eBay was founded by Pierre Omidyar in 1995 and became ...

was charged with various criminal offences for allowing the trading of a CD on the website that contained pornography.

Sex industry

While trade in sex was frowned upon in ancient India, it was tolerated and regulated so as to reduce the damage that it could do. However, the stigmatisation that has arisen in modern times has left the many poor sex workers with problems of exploitation and rampant

infection An infection is the invasion of tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmissible disease or communicable di ...

, including

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ma ...

, and worse, it has allowed a huge human-trafficking industry, like that of

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, whi ...

, to take hold. Many poor, young women are kidnapped from villages and sold into sexual

slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

. There have been some recent efforts to regulate the Indian sex industry. A supreme court order in May, 2022 upheld prostitution as a profession ruling that sex workers had the same human rights as any other citizen of India and thus they can not be discriminated or arrested for their profession.

References

, vol. 44, no. 4, 2010, pp. 785–815. . *Chanana, Karuna. "Hinduism and Female Sexuality: Social Control and Education of Girls in India." Sociological Bulletin, vol. 50, no. 1, Indian Sociological Society, 2001, pp. 37–63, . *Crane, Ralph, and Radhika Mohanram. "The Missionary's Position: Love and Passion in Anglo-India." In Imperialism as Diaspora: Race, Sexuality, and History in Anglo-India, NED-New edition, 1, 1., 13:83–107.

Liverpool University Press Liverpool University Press (LUP), founded in 1899, is the third oldest university press in England after Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press. As the press of the University of Liverpool, it specialises in modern languages, li ...

, 2013. . *Rao, Vidya. "'Thumri' as Feminine Voice".

Economic and Political Weekly The ''Economic and Political Weekly'' (''EPW'') is a weekly peer-reviewed academic journal covering all social sciences, and is published by the Sameeksha Trust. In January 2018, academic Gopal Guru was named the new Editor of the journal. Guru wil ...

, vol. 25, no. 17, 1990, pp. WS31–WS39. . *Tripathi, Laxminarayan. "Me Hijra, Me Laxmi."

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print book ...

, 2015. . Translated from the Marathi original by R. Raj Rao and P. G. Joshi. *Revathi, A. "The Truth About Me, A Hijra Life Story." Penguin Books, India, 2010. . Translated from Tamil by V. Geetha. *Vanita, Ruth. "love's rite, Same-Sex marriage in India and The West."

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, 2005. . *Narrain, Arvind. "Queer." BOOKS for CHANGE, 2004. ISBN 81-87380-91-8. *Urban, Hugh B. "'From Sex To Superconsciousness': Sexuality, Tantra, and Liberation in 1970s India." Zorba the Buddha: Sex, Spirituality, and Capitalism in the Global Osho Movement, 1st ed.,

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, 2015, pp. 76–100, . *Parkinson, R.B.. "A Little Gay History." The British Museum Press, 2013. . *Edited by Sangari, Kumkum and Vaid, Sudesh. "Recasting Women, Essays in Colonial History." Zubaan Publishers Pvt. Ltd., 2003. . *Edited by Dasgupta, Rohit and Gokulsing, K. Moti. "Masculinity and Its Challenges in India." Mcfarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. 2041. . *George, Annie. "Embodying Identity through Heterosexual Sexuality: Newly Married Adolescent Women in India". Culture, Health & Sexuality, vol. 4, no. 2,

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, Ltd., 2002, pp. 207–22, . *Ahluwalia, Sanjam. "Demographic Rhetoric and Sexual Surveillance: Indian Middle-Class Advocates of Birth Control, 1877–1947". Reproductive Restraints: Birth Control in India, 1877–1947,

University of Illinois Press The University of Illinois Press (UIP) is an American university press and is part of the University of Illinois system. Founded in 1918, the press publishes some 120 new books each year, plus 33 scholarly journals, and several electronic proje ...

, 2008, pp. 23–53, . *Dell, Heather S. "'Ordinary' Sex, Prostitutes, and Middle-Class Wives: Liberalization and National Identity in India". Sex in Development: Science, Sexuality, and Morality in Global Perspective, edited by VINCANNE ADAMS and STACY LEIGH PIGG,

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, 2005, pp. 187–206, . *Pechilis, Karen. Review of Progress toward an Open Discussion of Sexuality in India and Asia, by Moni Nag, Geetanjali Misra, and Radhika Chandiramani.

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44, no. 4 (2007): 401–4. . *Espinosa-Hernández G, Choukas-Bradley S, van de Bongardt D, Van Dulmen M. Romantic relationships and sexuality in diverse adolescent populations: Introduction to the special issue. J Adolesc. 2020 Aug;83:95–99. . Epub 2020 Aug 4. . *Govind N, Chowkhani K. Integrating concerns of gender, sexuality and marital status in the medical curriculum. Indian J Med Ethics. 2020 Apr-Jun; V(2):92–94. . . *Sharma MK, Rao GN, Benegal V, Thennarasu K, Oommen D. Use of pornography in India: Need to explore its implications. Natl Med J India. 2019 Sep-Oct; 32(5):282–284. . . *Gruskin S, Yadav V, Castellanos-Usigli A, Khizanishvili G, Kismödi E. Sexual health, sexual rights and sexual pleasure: meaningfully engaging the perfect triangle. Sex Reprod Health Matters. 2019 Dec; 27(1):1593787. . ; . *Setia MS, Brassard P, Jerajani HR, Bharat S, Gogate A, Kumta S, Row-Kavi A, Anand V, Boivin JF. Men who have sex with men in India: a systematic review of the literature. J LGBT Health Res. 2008;4(2–3):51–70. . . *Gupta C. Writing sex and sexuality: archives of colonial North India. J Womens Hist. 2011;23(4):12–35. . . *Vanita R. Lesbian studies and activism in India. J Lesbian Stud. 2007;11(3–4):243–53. . . *Bowling J, Blekfeld-Sztraky D, Simmons M, Dodge B, Sundarraman V, Lakshmi B, Dharuman SD, Herbenick D. Definitions of sex and intimacy among gender and sexual minoritised groups in urban India. Cult Health Sex. 2020 May;22(5):520-534. . Epub 2019 May 30. . *Bowling J, Dodge B, Bindra N, Dave B, Sharma R, Sundarraman V, Thirupathur Dharuman S, Herbenick D. Female condom acceptability in urban India: Examining the role of sexual pleasure. J Health Psychol. 2018 Feb; 23(2):218–228. . Epub 2017 Dec 18. ; . *Banik S, Dodge B, Schmidt-Sane M, Sivasubramanian M, Bowling J, Rawat SM, Dange A, Anand V. Humanizing an Invisible Population in India: Voices from Bisexual Men Concerning Identity, Life Experiences, and Sexual Health. Arch Sex Behav. 2019 Jan; 48(1):305–316. . Epub 2018 Dec 3. ; . *Sharma SK, Vishwakarma D. Transitions in adolescent boys and young Men's high-risk sexual behaviour in India. BMC Public Health. 2020 Jul 11; 20(1):1089. . ; . *Siddiqui M, Kataria I, Watson K, Chandra-Mouli V. A systematic review of the evidence on peer education programmes for promoting the sexual and reproductive health of young people in India. Sex Reprod Health Matters. 2020 Dec; 28(1):1741494. . ; .

Bibliography

* * Das, K. and Rao, T. S. S. (2019) 'A Chronicle of Sexuality in the Indian Subcontinent', Journal of Psychosexual Health, 1(1), pp. 20–25. * * Mamta Gupta (1994) Sexuality in the Indian subcontinent, Sexual and Marital Therapy, 9:1, 57–69, * Abraham, Leena, and K. Anil Kumar. "Sexual Experiences and Their Correlates Among College Students in Mumbai City, India." International Family Planning Perspectives, vol. 25, no. 3,

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, 1999, pp. 139–52, * Das, Vishnupriya. "Dating Applications, Intimacy, and Cosmopolitan Desire in India." Global Digital Cultures: Perspectives from South Asia, edited by ASWIN PUNATHAMBEKAR and SRIRAM MOHAN,

University of Michigan Press The University of Michigan Press is part of Michigan Publishing at the University of Michigan Library. It publishes 170 new titles each year in the humanities and social sciences. Titles from the press have earned numerous awards, including ...

, 2019, pp. 125–41, *

External links

BBC Article on AIDS Awareness in India

- Average Ages, Statistics on Foreplay, Intercourse & Frequency, Extramarital & Premarital Data, Homosexuality in Indian Society and other such related issues

IASSTD & AIDS
- Indian Association for the Study of Sexually Transmitted Diseases & AIDS
India In World Sex Survey
- Frequency of sex in India & other data

Intersections: ''Gender and Sexuality in Asia and the Pacific'' Issue 23, January 2010 {{DEFAULTSORT:Sexuality in India Sex