How To Write About a Topic You Aren’t Expected To
Rajat was born in India but is currently based in San Francisco, California. For the past decade, Rajat has been devoted to addressing sexism in India.
He co-founded a tech-ed company called Menstrupedia to help young Indian women learn about their periods in a healthy manner; produced an alphabet book of iconic Indian women to inspire young Indian girls called “She Can You Can”; and he’s currently writing a monthly newsletter called “Boyish”, meant to share positive stories of Indian men who defied male stereotypes by choosing their own life path.
According to society, talking about sexism and “women’s issues” is usually not a position a man should hold. However, Raj has rejected those stereotypes and is writing powerful stories that demonstrate sexism can be hurtful to anyone despite their gender.
In this zoom call, Rajat will share his motivations to discuss these topics, how to deal with the expectations others have from you, and how to write about what you find important.
Agenda:
Rajat and Camila will do a deep dive into:
Motivators and finding your niche: Why did Rajat decide to start writing about these topics? Did he actively create his niche? Or did his niche find him?
Dealing with expectations: How does Rajat deal with not living up to other people’s expectations? Does he have any story of someone saying he shouldn’t be doing what he does due to his gender? Was there ever a time when Rajat doubted writing on this topic due to comments from others?
The impact of his niche: Writing about sexism is almost like being an activist. What’s the most powerful thing that has happened to Raj based on his writing or previous projects? Share stories of Menstrupedia’s impact in India. How does “smashing success” look like for Boyish?
Building an audience from afar: Living in a different country from your target audience can be quite a challenge. What techniques had he used to reach them?