Leeza Mangaldas

Leeza Mangaldas is India’s premier pleasure-positive sex educator and content creator. Through her hugely popular YouTube channel, Instagram account, and Sex Podcast with Leeza Mangaldas, she works tirelessly to normalise and de-stigmatise conversations about sexuality, sexual health, gender, and the body. Since beginning her mission in 2017, she has become a major influence in her home country, being cited by GQ as one of the 30 Most Influential Young Indians in 2021 and 2022 and being named Sexual Health Influencer of the Year at the 2022 Cosmo Blogger Awards. She has also been featured by the likes of Vogue. Her debut book, The Sex Book, was published in 2022.

Mangaldas was working as a freelance journalist and TV host when she began posting sex-ed content on Instagram. She began doing so out of pure passion, but she soon realised just how little access many young Indians have to accurate and honest sexual education content. Although her content had initially been quite philosophical about sex, she soon decided to go back to basics and start from the beginning. Within a few years, she has grown an organic online following of more than 2 million people across Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook. Every day, her content helps young people in India to navigate sexual issues in a healthy, judgement-free, unsensationalised way.

Mangaldas’ success has seen her featured in major publications outside of India, including British newspaper The Guardian. Her message that conversations around sex should not be shrouded in stigma is resonating across both India and the wider world.