Last week after a talk at Idasa on feminism, one of the audience members asked me “how do you reconcile the idea that feminism should engage with men, with your belief that they are still after us?” The reason she had got the idea that I believe that “they are still after us” was from […]
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 inGender violence, News/Politics
‘Lesbians don’t take the train’
You cannot rape a woman to make her straight but some men are trying their damndest. In fact, some men in South Africa are trying their damndest to rape women, children and other men (particularly young boys and those in prison). The trains in Cape Town, although irregular, are the cheapest form of transport. Normally […]
Posted inLifestyle, News/Politics
Teenage pregnancy — let’s talk about sex baby
The sad discovery of a dead baby in a school bag should bring it home to all of us how scared young women are to talk about sex, sexuality and pregnancy. And perhaps it also shows how poor our tactics of talking to them have been. The Oprah school saga is only one fragment of […]
Posted inGender violence, News/Politics
The real state of the nation 2011
Last week President Zuma gave his 2011 State of the Nation address to much applause and sometimes laughter as well. If I had been playing a drinking game, these would have been the rules: When the President mentions specific deliverables have one shot. When the President mentions the rights of victims of crime have one […]
Posted inGender violence, News/Politics
Nothing to correct
When children are born, parents and those around them begin the work of “correcting” them. They correct their poor eyesight with glasses, their spelling and grammar with extra lessons, and perhaps their posture with etiquette classes. There is a common feeling in today’s world that everything is possible, and there is no reason not to […]
Posted inLifestyle, News/Politics
An unsanitary state of affairs
The average amount of blood lost in a menstruation is about 35 millilitres, which means that if a woman has 12 periods a year, she loses about half a litre of blood a year for about 30 years. The age at which women start menstruating is getting younger and younger, meaning that girls attending primary […]
Posted inEquality, News/Politics
Pandora’s box
Tick the appropriate box. White or black or other? Xhosa or Tswana or other? Jewish or Hindu or other? African, European or other? Male, Female or other? In Nepal they recently added a third box for you to tick in the area of gender on their voting registration forms and it’s time to start wondering […]
Posted inEquality
The feminist mistake
When I say I’m a feminist, I bet you have a clear idea in your head about who I am. If I said I was a liberal, environmentalist, socialist, or activist, you’d probably also tick off a few boxes and have me neatly labelled. Is this realistic in a world where communities are no longer […]
Posted inEquality, Lifestyle
The F word
It’s 2011 and it’s hard not to wonder what happened to feminism? People, and sadly women in particular, are scared to label themselves as feminists because it is seen as outdated, and irrelevant. Feminism has become the official dirty F word for women. The world of post-post-feminism tells women that we’ve arrived, we’re here, we’ve […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Zuma makes a joke of justice (again)
The rush. The people asking you questions like you’re someone important. The small glass of water for your gentle sipping between questions. The cameras on you. The lights. The news coverage. Is our president addicted to court? I can’t see any other explanation for his decision to once again waste taxpayers’ money on suing someone […]
Posted inEquality, News/Politics
Two queer decisions
A soccer World Cup in Qatar and a UN vote. What do they have in common? Both of them deny the rights of gay and lesbian people. Queer decision number 1: Executions for homosexuals In November, the South African representative to the UN voted with 78 other representatives to remove the clause “sexual orientation” from […]
Posted inNews/Politics
What happens on day 17
Today marks the end of the 16 days of activism for no violence against women and children. It is also International Human Rights Day commemorating the day that the UN adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It is also … a Friday. Tomorrow will be a Saturday and then comes Sunday and then comes […]