On March 1 we watched in disbelief and horror as a young Mozambican man, Mido Macia, was forcibly handcuffed to the back of a police van and dragged behind the vehicle as he cried out for them to stop. When the car eventually arrived at the police station eyewitnesses say he was further beaten by […]
patriarchy
Posted inGeneral
The discourses directing our actions
During a discussion at a staff seminar today one of the participants, who teaches public administration, was explaining to the rest of us that in his research on, broadly speaking, the communication between government officials (including ministers) and ordinary citizens comprising various constituencies, he constantly comes across communicational gaps — between the documents released by […]
Posted inGeneral, News/Politics
One billion bodies reclaimed
In the past few years there have been waves of feminine revolution that have been directly rooted in body, art and the carnivalesque. Not essentialism mind you, but with the clear mandate of deconstructing the patriarchal hold over language and behaviour which defines feminine sexuality and controls, oppresses and destroys the combined woman. The Slut […]
Posted inGeneral
The discursive forces that shape our lives
The 21st-century world, and with it, our lives, are shaped by powerful discursive forces that are distinct from one another, but are nevertheless interrelated in complex ways. Sometimes they intertwine and reinforce one another, and sometimes they conflict, and the clash between discourses often spills over into the lives of ordinary (and sometimes high-profile) individuals […]
Posted inGeneral
#StopRape alone won’t stop rape
A significant component of the national outcry following the horrific gang rape and murder of 17-year-old Anene Booysen highlighted the extent to which South Africans shift blame and culpability on the raped, and not the rapist. This manifests itself through the lazy recourse in our national dialogue to primitive and antiquated explanations for rape: broken […]
Posted inGender violence
Never tired enough to stop
I am tired of rape in South Africa. I am tired of thinking about it, reading about it, hearing about it. I am tired of the fact that last year more than 60 000 women (enough to fill the Greenpoint Stadium) reported a rape to the police, and hundreds of thousands more women were raped but […]
Posted inEquality, News/Politics
How far is South Africa from a female president?
The road to Mangaung is paved with good intentions, but none of these intentions include advancing women to the position of president or deputy president. This year’s race is patriarchal to the core — just have a look at the effort that’s been put into pushing the Traditional Courts Bill through the system despite the […]
Posted inNews/Politics
The problem with independent women
Many women who identify as feminist know that August is the one month they’re always asked how the feminist movement is transforming patriarchy. This year has been no different. Among the inquiries I received, a student journalist asked me to answer in 80 words whether I thought the feminist movement had succeeded in achieving equality […]
Posted inLifestyle, Media
Standard Bank, you can stick your dishwasher where the sun don’t shine
Ek kan nie. Get a dishwasher for mom, while dad sits on his post-feminist patriarchal derriere and watches his new home theatre system? Nee. Ndixolele. Jammer, maar nee. I don’t think I need to go into what is wrong with this advert. If you don’t know by now, you will never ever ever know (apologies […]
Posted inGeneral, Lifestyle
Why can’t successful women get hitched?
Not long ago I found myself chilling at the Nelson Mandela Square in Sandton with a group of super-successful African male professionals. They were four, middle-aged gentlemen wearing designer labels with their posh cars parked in the underground lot. We had just decided to get together to play catch-up because we had increasingly become aware […]
Posted inGeneral
How do we heal Earth?
Is there a connection between the exploitation of Earth – in the guise of her so-called “resources” – and capitalism? And, given the age-old conception of Earth as female, or the “Great Mother” (associated with the Goddess of hunter-gatherer times), is there a link between the rise and dominance of patriarchy and this veritable “assault” […]