By now most of us have heard about Chumani Maxwele and his inability to keep that middle finger down. He was arrested and allegedly held for 24 hours because of swearing and making “rude” gestures at the presidential cavalcade last week. Basically he’s been arrested for something that many people want to do, talk about […]
Jen Thorpe
Jennifer is a feminist, activist and advocate for women's rights. She has a Masters in Politics from Rhodes University, and a Masters in Creative Writing from UCT.
In 2010 she started a women's writing project called 'My First Time'. It focuses on women's stories of significant first time experiences. Buy the book on the site http://myfirsttimesa.com or via Modjaji Books.
Jen's first novel, The Peculiars, came out in February 2016 and is published by Penguin. Get it in good book stores, and on Takealot.com
Posted inGeneral
The backlash…quapissssssssssssh
I’ve made a mistake. How silly of me. Women’s abuse isn’t important. How naive of me — democracy is about equality, about sharing the rights granted in the Constitution. So of course women’s rights are no longer something to consider — I mean they’re already achieved in some pretty paper in some high office in […]
Posted inGeneral
Looking through a different lens
Yesterday a friend of mine implied that I was racist. It all started because I received this joke Click to enlarge on email. I’d seen it before, it gave me a little bit of a chuckle and so I forwarded it. To me it was no more than another joke about the jokes we have […]
Posted inGeneral
Scary stats for the average South African
You’ve heard them before. They’re the type of stats that you hear and shake your head in disbelief. For example, you’re more likely to die from eating shark than from being eaten by a shark. Can you believe it? If you can believe that what do the stats say for ordinary South Africans. What are […]
Posted inEquality, News/Politics
Does the ANC Women’s League exist?
The ANC is the ruling party. The ANC has the power to enact positive change through effective leadership and policy. Yet, South Africa is still one of the most dangerous places to live for a woman. At least three women are raped every minute in South Africa, and many more are sexually assaulted, harassed, verbally […]
Posted inGeneral
Shhhh, don’t say anything, he’s the president
Of all the crazy things I’ve heard since JZ came into power, this is one of the worst. The idea that the media and the public (yes readers, you and me) should not say anything critical of Jacob Zuma because he’s the president is a slap in the face of our already colander-like democracy. Enough […]
Posted inGeneral
Stigma and sex
Of ten women interviewed in Kenya for a television documentary, the majority of them would rather contract HIV than fall pregnant. Despite being openly promiscuous, and or regularly having unprotected sex, they say that they trust the men that they sleep with. They regularly use the morning after pill (MAP) to avoid becoming pregnant, and […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Zuma is part of the problem
JZ has now put 20 candles on the cake of his loins. Twenty kids, five wives (or are there more yet?) and a whole lot of polygamous loving going on (wife or not). He very obviously has multiple wives, but he also has multiple partners — the latest baby’s mother was not married to him […]
Posted inGender violence
Why women say no to sex
I had a horrible flashback yesterday of this terrible sociology course that I took while at university. The course material and lecturer were stimulating enough, and the course was focused on gender, so it was really right up my alley. However, each session my temperature and the acerbity of my tone would slowly rise as […]
Posted inGeneral
Is murder sometimes ok?
Imagine a scenario where you have murdered someone without ever believing you could, or without ever wanting to. Nevertheless, you have done it. You have done it and by some lucky chance, nobody knows. Or at least, those who do are too chicken to say so. What do you do? Who are you? South Africa, […]
Posted inGeneral
If Haiti were HIV
It is most certainly a humanitarian crisis. Thousands dead. An impoverished nation battling to deal with the human carnage left behind. An inadequate health system to provide the care they need. A nation shaken to its core. But here I don’t speak about Haiti. Here I speak about us. South Africa has been shaken to […]
Posted inGeneral
Do you recognise yourself?
Would you do something great if you knew nobody would ever know? Would you find the cure for cancer and share it without putting your name on it? According to many philosophers (Hegel being the most adamant on this subject) we don’t do anything unless we are going to get recognition for it. We want […]