Why protests so often turn to shame and sexual ridicule: From French Revolution to Jantar Mantar

NewsResearchWhy protests so often turn to shame and sexual ridicule: From French Revolution to Jantar Mantar Premium From the American, French and Russian revolutions to India's freedom movement, protests across history have repeatedly drawn on inherited social ideas about gender and sexuality to communicate political outrage. For centuries, political protest has relied on the language of sexual humiliation, gender inversion and bodily degradation to strip rulers of their authority. (Photo edited by Abhishek Mitra) 13 min readKolkataJul 29, 2026 04:06 PM IST First published on: Jul 29, 2026 at 04:06 PM IST Poetry, placards, slogans, Instagram reels — the recent protests at Jantar Mantar against examination paper leaks saw it all. Alongside them came memes targeting the Prime Minister and t