Many people in India say that being gay is a “Western conspiracy”, an “imported disease” and “against Indian culture”, one of the major arguments against overturning Section 377, which would decriminalise homosexuality. But is it really? Listen on to find out.  (Also, Happy Pride Month!) *** Vocabulary LGBTQIA+: An acronym that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex and asexuality. The plus signifies the several more sexual and gender identities that exist. To find out more about it click here and here. Here is an extensive LGBTQIA glossary center. Pride (Gay Pride)/ Pride Month: Promotion of self-affirmation, dignity, equality, and increased visibility of people part of the LGBTQ+ spectrum. June is considered Pride Month Homosexuality: Refers to same-sex attraction  Heterosexuality: Refers to opposite-sex attraction Queer/queerness: An overall umbrella term that is used to describe experiences and identities part of the LGBTQ+ community.  Transgender: an umbrella term to describe people whose gender identity/expression (masculine, feminine, other) does not match their biological sex (male, female). To find out more, click here, here and here. Find out more about Hijra and trans people in India here and here Cisgender: term to refer to someone who is not trans (ie. gender and biological sex match).  Heteronormativity: idea that heterosexuality and being cisgender is natural and default – anything other than it is considered wrong and unnatural. It creates social hierarchy based on sexual orientation – as well reinforces gender roles. To find out more, click here, here and here *** Sources Prejudice against LGBTQ: here Great source of information: Hinduism, homosexuality and colonialism: here Brief History of LGBTQ+ in India: here Documentary of being queer in India: here Statues in Khajuraho (photography): here Homosexuality in Hinduism: here, here, here, here, here Shakuntala Devi and “The World of Homosexuals”: here Stigma against gay people: here Some academic journals: here, here

Periods. The myths behind them. The taboo. Period poverty. Environment. And Gender Queer periods. In this episode - I will be covering mostly everything to do with periods. Periods has been a hush-hush topic for a long time, despite the fact that 50% of the world's population is, has or will experience periods. They are painful, they are stigmatised and they need to be talked about. When menstrual hygiene isn't taught, the consequence are rippling. *** Sources: Rig Veda, Indra and Period Myth: www.jstor.org/stable/4401940 Menstrual myths in India, stats about girl drop out and unhygienic sanitation: https://doi.org/10.4103%2F2249-4863.154627 Period poverty solutions: https://doi.org/10.4103%2F2249-4863.154627, www.jstor.org/stable/43288983 Project Drawdown - girls education: https://rb.gy/8jby Menstrual cup vs pad: https://rb.gy/ne6y Plastic period waste - National Geographic: https://rb.gy/96kd India period pad waste: https://rb.gy/8xov Queer periods -- periods for trans and non binary people: https://rb.gy/33tb, https://rb.gy/guir, https://rb.gy/zqt0, https://rb.gy/gjkx,

Genetic modification is becoming more advanced by the day – with more GM crops and animals grown every year. The technology is promising – but things get complicated when GM technology turns to humans. What would happen if humans used this technology on themselves? What is its potential?  Is it ethical? And can it potentially bring back a new wave of eugenics – reminiscent of Nazi Germany? *** GMOs are a good thing: https://rb.gy/1z7epx GMOs explained: https://rb.gy/yp5tqz GMOs and GM babies: https://rb.gy/ycje0x The ethical dilemma behind designer babies: https://rb.gy/ikekhq Dr. He and a failed genetic enhancement: https://rb.gy/p3skg8 Dr. He’s big genetic mistake: https://rb.gy/uu9z6y Dr. He (again): https://rb.gy/szwla6 Victoria Gray and genetic engineering after CRISPR baby scandal: https://rb.gy/2yiaog Designer babies: https://rb.gy/sslgyc Eugenics: https://rb.gy/jbgyk5

In 1881, the British noticed something strange in their first census of the Indian population. There were more men than women – despite the opposite being true globally. The cause for this was female infanticide. Less than a hundred years later, the same sex ratio skew was spotted, this time because of sex-selected abortion. What is happening now? What must be done to solve this issue? And is it impossible for India to truly let go of son preference? *** Sources: The story of Lady Hao – From Sapiens, Yuval Noah Harari Communist China and one-child policy: https://rb.gy/6lzxiq The history of female infanticide and sex-selected abortion in India: https://rb.gy/29mjma British laws prohibiting infanticide: https://rb.gy/f38uyv Uttarakhand - no girl born in 3 months in 132 villages: https://rb.gy/as24td Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao: https://rb.gy/gaxkm1 India’s missing daughters: https://rb.gy/ss6wmv Men being unable to find wives: https://rb.gy/8w6uum Literacy and sex-selected abortion:https://rb.gy/pz7iya South Korea World Bank analysis: https://rb.gy/m4mhnf UNFPA on missing females: https://rb.gy/ymzxqe

Are women natural caregivers because they can give birth and men natural logical thinkers, independent and aggressive, or were they conditioned to be these conditioned traits? Gender and sex is complicated, and it gets more complicated when we try to see if there is a difference between the brains of males and females, because adults have gone through their share of gender conditioning. So, how should we see gender? What can we do to break the correlation between gender and sex? And what do toys have to do with this?  *** Sources: Lego's return to gender neutral toys: http://surl.li/eymvu The study conducted by Lego: http://surl.li/eymwx Benefits of gender neutral toys: http://surl.li/eymwm The myth that male and female brains are different: http://surl.li/eymxn "Neurosexism" holding gender equality back: http://surl.li/eymyb