Last night I attended a planning meeting for #occupysandton the Johannesburg branch of the occupy movement that is spreading around the world. It began on Wall Street with a focus on the greed that has begun to characterise the economic order, and the inequality between the 99% and the 1%. They call themselves “a horizontally […]
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 inEquality, Gender violence, News/Politics
Metro police would rather police women’s sexuality than men’s violence
According to their Facebook Page “V-Girls is a global movement of girl activists inspired by I Am an Emotional Creature” — Eve Ensler’s latest collection of monologues for and about girls. The aim of the book, and of the movement is to inspire girls to take agency over their lives, and to encourage them to […]
Posted inMedia
‘Good’ girls, sex and Gareth Cliff
The Independent Online reported today that Gareth Cliff has been reported to the BCCSA for sexist comments while interviewing Angela Larkan, a young female philanthropist. To begin the interview, Cliff praised her for starting her work at 22, saying it was unusual because most 22-year-olds “do nothing but lie on their backs with their legs […]
Posted inEquality, Gender violence
‘I’m too sexy to rape’
You may have read that DA MP Masizole Mnqasela was acquitted on rape charges in Cape Town a few weeks ago, and claimed that he was “too sexy to be a rapist”. You may also have read that Public Enterprises Minister Malusi Gigaba thought that the Slutwalk was an opportunity for him to “get lucky”. […]
Posted inEquality
Gay love is here to stay – hooray
This weekend in New York hundreds of couples got married. For the first time in their (sometimes very long) relationships, they were able to commit to one another in public and be legally married. If you need any more convincing of what a wonderful, happiness-inducing state of affairs this was, then check out these 60 incredible […]
Posted inEquality
Feminism is not a wave, it’s an ocean
Dear Jacques, Firstly, thanks for the links to FeministsSA — I appreciate them. The more interest in feminism, the better (even if it is misguided as in your case). A few points where I beg to differ: 1. Andrea Dworkin represents a particular segment of feminism — radical feminism. It’s not called radical for nothing, […]
Posted inGender violence, News/Politics
Zapiro used rape to show severity
I have read both Michelle Solomon’s and Lili Radloff’s pieces on why they think the latest Zapiro cartoon was offsides. I share Michelle’s feeling of looking at the cartoon and feeling powerless to help the two women, and of feeling viscerally nauseated at the image of the unbuckled belt. This cartoon is shocking, and it […]
Posted inEquality
Is genderless worse than gendered?
Most of us will remember lessons in how to be either female or male. We were told, no my girl, don’t play in the mud. That’s not for girls. Or no, my boy, fairy wings are only for girls. I was given an incredible poster by Andreas Spath about how so much of our gender […]
Posted inBusiness, News/Politics
Fracking and feminist concerns
We’ve all heard a lot over the past few weeks about the dangers of fracking for our pristine Karoo environment. Shell, the master of disaster when it comes to environmental damage, has requested the rights to explore the Karoo for natural gas. This is not the type of exploration where you shade your eyes with […]
Posted inEquality, News/Politics
Girls, boys lead different lives because of govt services
If the leading cause of death for girls under eleven is HIV and the leading cause of death for boys of the same age is road traffic accidents, what does this tell us about the way our lives are gendered?
Posted inEquality, Lifestyle
Gendercide
If you could, would you choose the sex of your unborn child? I was browsing my Blackberry App world on Sunday and found a scary little app. Some might think it’s cute, or useful or even a great thing to pass on. The app in question is called “Gender Predictor” and its message says: “This […]
Posted inGender violence, Media, News/Politics, Tech
#itisrapeif
I feel the need to repost this statement here. I hope that all of the survivors of rape who read it feel supported. 8 April 2011 Rape Crisis Statement on the #itsnotrapeif Twitter phenomenon We heard via the online grapevine about a revolting Twitter hashtag topic — #itsnotrapeif — and due to some masochistic compulsion […]