Let’s talk about sex!

Pallavi Barnwal

Bihar-born Pallavi Barnwal is an intimacy coach and sex educator. But her journey to achieving this feat was not an easy one. Barnwal was raised in a traditional Indian family, where talking about sexual desires was taboo. When she came of age, she was in a relationship with a man. But when she was to marry a man her parents had found for her, she was told to lie that she was a virgin.

Barnwal didn't understand why this was so important, but went with the flow at the time. A few years later, when she realised there was an intimacy problem with her husband, she wanted to leave the marriage. "I had no other option. I couldn't discuss my sexual desires with my husband. And so, I stopped enjoying having sex with him. I didn't want to do it anymore. Eventually, we got separated," Barnwal tells us.

This incident showed Barnwal very clearly that people's inability to properly converse about sex and intimacy can break down families. As a single mother in her mid-30s, she wanted to do something about it. And so, she trained to become a sex and neuro-linguistic programming coach. "A little while later, I started an Instagram page to reach out to as many people as I could. The plan was simple - try to break down as many stereotypes as possible, and create awareness about sex among my followers. And it worked. The more I put up engaging content online, the more people sought advice. Some of the questions were very shocking, I won't deny. But some others, very intriguing," Barnwal shares.

Recently, Barnwal's Instagram account was taken down by the app. "I don't think my content sat very well with their policies and so they took it down. But I knew I couldn't stop at this, and so, just recently created a new one. I may have lost all my followers, but I am certain I will win them back," she adds.

WHAT: Stereotype-busting conversations about sex
WHERE: @coachpallavi barnwal, Instagram