The night the threats began, Sohini Bhattacharya hadn’t posted anything provocative. She had shared a tender moment from her wedding — she and her husband tying mangalsutra bracelets instead of necklaces. A small gesture of equality, you may say. The comments that followed were vicious. “I hope the man gets pregnant,” “Simp,” “Is your husband getting pegged by you?”

Bhattacharya creates women’s health content, using makeup as a gentle entry point into heavy subjects. The more she challenged cultural myths, the uglier the reactions grew. A video on the history of the blouse brought a wave of slurs. “People made horrible comments. Called me r**di, so many Bengali slurs as well since I am a Bengali,” she says. One message read, “Tumhare jaise humare yaha hote toh ab tak gaadh diye jate (If women like you existed where I’m from, you’d be buried alive).” Even saying these words made her cringe at herself. But her online abusers weren’t cringing.