Leeza Mangaldas | |
|---|---|
| Born | |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 2013 – present |
| Known for | Sex education |
Leeza Mangaldas is an Indian sex educator and sports reporter. Her work focuses on female sexuality. [1] She authored the 2022 book The Sex Book: A Joyful Journey of Self Discovery. Mangaldas has also worked as podcaster and occasional actress.
Mangaldas was born in Bangalore, India. [2] Her father is an architect and her mother is an interior designer and photographer. [3] She grew up in Goa and attended high school in Kodaikanal. [3] She studied English literature and visual art at Columbia University in New York, including in classes taught by Gauri Viswanathan, and graduated in 2011. [3] [4] After graduation, she moved to Mumbai. [3]
While based in Mumbai, Mangaldas worked as an actress and was a co-founder of Evoke India, [5] an organization curating speaker events. [6] [7] She had a lead role in the 2014 film W , about sexual violence against women in India. [2] [8] She also wrote a 2013 opinion article noted by The Indian Express to address themes in the film about shame and self-blame by survivors. [9]
While working as a newscaster, and with experience as a reporter that included the Indian Super League, [10] [11] [12] Mangaldas began independently posting sex education videos in 2017 on YouTube in English to help address what she felt was "a lack of easily accessible information and non-judgemental platforms to share questions and experiences, and obtain facts and resources pertaining to sex, sexuality, gender, sexual health, relationships, and the body." [13] [3] [4]
After success creating content on YouTube and Instagram, this became her full-time occupation in 2018. [4] During the COVID-19 pandemic in India, she also began creating videos in Hindi. [14] In 2021, she began the podcast Love Matters, produced by The Indian Express and Deutsche Welle. [15] In December 2021, she began the Hindi sex education podcast The Sex Podcast with Leeza Mangaldas on Spotify. [16] [4] [17] In 2023, Meta, the company operating Instagram, restricted several Indian sex education content creators' accounts—including that of Mangaldas, who then deleted some of her content to avoid restrictions after an unsuccessful appeal. [18]
In 2022 Mangaldas founded a sexual wellness brand called Leezu's which sells massagers and lubricants. [19]
Mangaldas is a first-cohort Pleasure Fellow with The Pleasure Project, an international education and advocacy organization that has worked alongside the World Health Organization to make a case for pleasure-based sexual health. [20] [21] [22]
In October 2022, Mangaldas published her first book The Sex Book: A Joyful Journey of Self-Discovery with Harper Collins, and released an audio version on Audible. [23] [24] Scroll.in described the book as "scientifically oriented" [25] and The Hindu described the book as "an invaluable sex-education manual that helps readers navigate and celebrate their bodies, identities and relationships." [26] According to Vogue India, "Far from the grim scientific jargon and convoluted infographics of a biology textbook, The Sex Book is a breezy read. Mangaldas is like a good friend [...] No question is too stupid, no concern too small." [24]