By Kerry Frizelle While I was lecturing, a female student arrived late*. As she made her way to a seat, another student cat-called her (a whistle). The female student was already conspicuous because she was late and the cat-call drew the entire class’s attention to her. It took me a while to process what was […]
Psychological Society of South Africa
PsySSA, the Psychological Society of South Africa, is the national professional body for psychology. Committed to transforming and developing psychological theory and practice in South Africa, PsySSA strives to serve the needs and interests of a post-apartheid country by advancing psychology as a science, profession and as a means of promoting human well-being. This blog hopes to engage psychologists and citizens in debating issues, from mental health to the socio-political. Visit www.psyssa.com
Posted inEquality, Gender violence, Health, Lifestyle, Media
Can young people really know they are gay?
By Pierre Brouard and Judith Ancer If a young person feels that they are gay, is the priority to work out if they are sure they are gay, or to help them deal with the fears and anxieties of their family and friends? We are two psychologists who work regularly with this dilemma, and recent […]
Posted inEquality, Gender violence, Health, Lifestyle, Media
Do we still need an International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia?
By Pierre Brouard Do we still need an International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia (IDAHOT), to draw attention to the violence and discrimination experienced by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people and all other people with diverse sexual orientations, gender identities or expressions, and sex characteristics? If this year’s events I attended are […]
Posted inGeneral, Health, Lifestyle
The first rule of large group awareness trainings…
By John Hunter, Ph.D If you have ever been invited by an enthusiastic family member, friend, or work colleague to attend the graduation of a seminar that “transformed” their life, but they refused to provide details about what actually took place in this seminar, then you were probably being invited to a large group awareness […]
Posted inEquality, Health
An open critique of the Nieuwoudt et al (2019) study on coloured women
By the Division for Research & Methodology (DRM) The Psychological Society of South Africa’s (PsySSA) Division for Research and Methodology (DRM) is committed to the teaching, practice and promotion of relevant, appropriate and ethical scientific research in South Africa. We are disturbed by and strongly opposed to the practice of misusing racial classification in scientific […]
Posted inEquality, Gender violence, Health, Media, News/Politics
Creating space to talk about the politics of shame
By Rebecca Helman and Neziswa Titi In their interview with Elspeth Probyn, Vivienne Bozalek, Tamara Shefer and Ronelle Carolissen argue that “[s]hame has typically been understood as a negative emotion, a view which is prevalent in individualist, psychologising discourses about human experience”. Conversely Probyn argues that shame can be a generative force, one which is […]
Posted inEquality, Gender violence, Health, Media
Reattributing shame as an act of social justice
By Rebecca Helman I remember the first time I gave a talk to a group of strangers about that fact that I had been raped. The shame of it felt like a weight, trying to crush me into the floor as I attempted to stand up tall and look unblinkingly out into the room. In […]
Posted inEquality, Gender violence, Health
An open statement supporting Caster Semenya’s human rights and dignity
It is with great concern that the Sexuality and Gender Division (SGD) of the Psychological Society of South Africa (PsySSA) has been following Caster Semenya’s¹ quest to compete in international athletics. The International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) is proposing a new ruling to set a limit on female athletes’ testosterone levels in certain track […]
Posted inEquality, Gender violence, Health
The Depo-Testosterone stock out must never repeat itself
By Chris/tine McLachlan It was with great concern that the Sexuality and Gender Division (SGD) of the Psychological Society of South Africa (PsySSA) became aware of the shortage of Depo Testosterone in South Africa during the period December 2018 till mid-March 2019, resulting in trans masculine persons / trans men being unable to access their […]
Posted inHealth
Reflections of an intern psychologist burning out in a public hospital
By Jordan du Toit There was a strike at Bara yesterday. Someone from Soweto came to watch and said, “Ask anybody here in Soweto and they will tell you they don’t want to go to Bara because they might come back in a coffin”. I couldn’t go to the protest. I was literally too busy […]
Posted inEquality, Lifestyle
‘Ubuhle bendoda, izinkomozakhe’ and the trouble with paying lobolo
By Refiloe Makama “Men are never ugly”. Nnu Ego makes this statement in Buchi Emecheta’s novel, The Joys of Motherhood, set during the colonial period in Nigeria. In a scene between two friends, the protagonist Nnu Ego had recently lost her first child, and Ato, her childhood friend comes to comfort her. In a memorable moment, […]
Posted inEquality, Gender violence, Lifestyle
Being Cuban and black in post-apartheid South Africa
By Sol Maria Fernandez Knight Growing up, my mother always told me that I was a special child. But then again many parents want their children to feel unique and valuable, to instill a sense of pride in their identity, and to remind them of their heritage. As a child I did not think how being […]