The continent’s image can change when the majority of the countries pass several economic and political thresholds
stereotypes
Posted inEquality, Gender violence
Transforming higher education: UCT students’ visions for the future
By Josie Cornell Vicky* had not thought much about her blackness, or what it meant. This changed rapidly upon her arrival at the University of Cape Town (UCT) as a first-year student where, for the first time, Vicky felt black. This “feeling of blackness” for Vicky and for other black students like her, particularly those […]
Posted inEquality, General, Lifestyle
Please, mind your language
By Yolanda Mitchell Human dignity, the achievement of equality and the advancement of human rights and freedoms. This is a core value on which the Constitution is founded. Who doesn’t want to live in a country founded on such a noble base? It sounds like the Promised Land after all — especially to as many […]
Posted inMedia, News/Politics
The shameless violence of Chicky Lamba
A recent video circulating on social media called “Chicky Lamba” has caught the attention of the Indian South African community, and despite the appalling violence displayed, has become somewhat of a joke. It was first published on mybroadband, GunSite South Africa and Carforums before local comedian Riaad Moosa posted it on his Facebook page last […]
Posted inEquality
Rethinking ‘townships’
By Lucille Dawkshas What are “townships”? I’ve often thought of them in terms of the visual meaning of outlying “ships” to the central harbour of a CBD, but what makes suburban areas any different? Wikipedia’s contributors tell me “townships” are: “the (often underdeveloped) urban living areas that, from the late 19th century until the end […]
Posted inEquality, Media
Beeld’s irresponsible journalism leads to irresponsible conversation
Let’s talk about the front page of the Beeld newspaper today and the way journalists need to be held accountable for the kind of conversation they inspire. The cover story in the paper is about a father who was upset about the relationship his daughter was having — he then went ahead and shot his […]
Posted inMedia, News/Politics
Zuma doesn’t read and other myths
“This is not a pipe,” reads the caption beneath the painting. With only a cursive scribble and signature — “Magritte” — you begin to wonder if this isn’t one of those overdone visual puns. Magritte, the Belgian painter and provocateur is right. This is not a pipe; it is an image of a pipe. One […]
Posted inEquality, Lifestyle
An Afrikaans arts festival and fish out of water…
I always wondered about that phrase, “a fish out of water”. To me, it always seemed like a chosen emotion. That is, you can only be a fish out of water if you chose to be one. In my head, any situation can be accommodated by opening yourself up to it, learning about it and […]
Posted inLifestyle
African artists perpetuate stereotypes
The common objection to the work of many African artists is simple: they oversimplify reality and dehumanise the African experience to please a so-called global audience. As a result, their content is predictable and monotonous. In fact, it is not just an insult but, to a large extent, also a lie. What I mean is […]
Posted inGeneral
Dispelling a stereotype: Women in the Arab Gulf
By Richard Ferraris Stereotypes. The fast food of our intellectual age. They are available on every corner and appeal to every taste. In the developed world, it has become fashionable to cite the example of the stereotypical oppressed Muslim woman, which lends credence to a Western view that must inevitably triumph. The Muslim woman. Veiled. […]
Posted inLifestyle
Sticks and stones: I’m learning from personal discrimination
“So nigga-boy, what you doing in China?” said the taxi driver to me, a smile on his face. “I am teaching,” I muttered. “What do you teach, nigga-boy?” “English.” “English??” His smile turned into a big grin. “You mean you can speak English – nigga-boy?” “Yes I can,” I retorted, fixing a smile on my […]