As a new mother, I spend a lot of time obsessing over the future, I wonder what my daughter’s speaking voice will sound like, whether she will be stubborn like her mother or kind and generous like her father. I think about what career she will choose and agonise over how best we can prepare […]
race
Posted inEquality, Gender violence
How is one to be gay, black and free?
Simon Nkoli once said “In South Africa, I am oppressed because I am a black man and I am oppressed because I am gay. So when I fight for my freedom I must fight against both oppressions”. This is the dichotomy that many black gay men find themselves in. What comes first, what is more […]
Posted inEquality, News/Politics
Poo-pooing the Rhodes historical narrative
In two years, Cape Town has experienced two rather rude awakenings in the form of “poo protests” in normally sanitised areas meant to represent the best of the Western Cape’s development. The first protest, organised by the disenfranchised Ses’khona People’s Rights Movement, was meant to highlight the deplorable conditions of toilets in informal settlements and […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Mvoko mugging video: Racial divisions find life in the comment section
Vuyo Mvoko, an SABC contributing editor, was mugged last night. Did you hear about it? Perhaps you’ve seen the viral video that caught the offenders’ faces. It’s everywhere; on all major local news websites. Maybe, upon seeing it, you feel you have a sympathetic message to share, or maybe you’re just outraged at the frequency […]
Posted inEquality, General, Media
Is psychology serving humanity?
By Suntosh Pillay Do we have the intellectual courage to ask what is “post” about “post-apartheid” South Africa? This question was, interestingly and perhaps not coincidently, raised at two separate conferences happening at the same time in Durban last year September. At the Steve Biko National Conference, Veli Mbhele raised this provocative and necessary question […]
Posted inEquality, News/Politics
Resilient racism will derail our national transformation project
The Constitution, in its preamble, states that we need to “heal the divisions of the past and establish a society based on democratic values, social justice and fundamental human rights”. We therefore adopted the theme “a better life for all” as our driving vision to transform our society and eliminate the inequities of the past. […]
Posted inEquality, General
Racism, sexism and homophobia: Which prejudice is worse?
By Matthew Beetar Racism is more of a problem than sexism. But sexism is more of a problem than xenophobia, which is less of a problem — occasionally — than homophobia. Transphobia we deal with sometimes, and ageism — what is that even? And dealing with ableism — let’s not take this “reconciliation” thing too […]
Posted inEquality, General
Racism in SA is real and it matters
By Andrew Ihsaan Gasnolar We have seen the distractions all around us. We have been confronted with a great deal of flash but not much substance: from the protection orders urgently brought (and then discharged), to the newsletters from Helen Zille to the battle between a Chester and Ms Zille. However, this sideshow distracts us […]
Posted inEquality, News/Politics
Rampant racism in the US, the land of the not so free
I recently got my visa to visit the US of A. By recently, I mean three days ago. And as much as I’m excited for this much-anticipated holiday, I have many misgivings. The woman behind the glass at the United States Consulate in Johannesburg looked stern as she asked me if I have reason to […]
Posted inEquality, General
On being mis-recognised: Julian Hewitt and the angry black woman
People think I’m an angry black woman. People who know me well, know that this is a misrecognition of me. I’m a nice person. I hate foot-in-mouth interactions: that awkward moment when someone says something they shouldn’t have said, and someone else has to salvage the situation or we all walk away. I save face. […]
Posted inNews/Politics
If you think you’re white, liberate yourself now
In case you were not aware, the white nation is dead in South Africa. It does not exist, not anymore. In fact, there has not been a time in over three centuries when so-called white people have been so on the defensive and their superiority complex shattered. After all, the only thing that made most […]
Posted inEquality, General
Education: What’s the point of it all?
A few weeks ago, I read an article to my grade 11 students with the headline “Youth unemployment in South Africa – apartheid is alive and well”. My students are usually opinionated when it comes to certain issues, but not this time. They walked out of the classroom in silence. I noticed their quizzical looks […]