A Black woman stands surrounded by what we can assume to be local Turkish people, photographing and wanting to be in pictures with her, and attempting to touch her hair. At first glance, the TikTok video of this scenario creates notions that this woman must be someone famous—someone adored. However, this is not the case;…
“No level of individual self-actualization alone can sustain the marginalized and oppressed. We must be linked to collective struggle, to communities of resistance that move us outward, into the world.” bell hooks, Sisters of the Yam: Black Women and Self-Recovery Unrestrained individualism, materialism and the misuse of concept such as self-love, have fuelled an environment…
Release ya anger, release ya mind Release ya job, release the time Release ya trade, release the stress Beyonce’s voice skates on the uncannily timely house song released this past June 2022, paralleling the idea of a “renaissance”, a big moment of change in our 2020s: The Great Resignation. The hit single featuring Big Freedia…
*Statistics mentioned all in relation to the country of South Africa* Recently, TikTok user @kimaotung sparked a conversation about marriage by framing it as social currency. She mentions and elaborates on this point by saying that younger femmes today are not as confined to the pressures of marriage as older femmes were 20 to 30…
One of the most jarring and painful taboos that exist in many societies around the world is the existence of “regretful parents”. The way parenting is regarded is that it is a beautiful thing that you will definitely enjoy and most of this rhetoric is accompanied by a very vague warning: “it’s hard”. When we…
Through bold representations of queer identity, queer Kenyan films have catapulted Kenyan cinema from the African continent and into the spotlight of the global film industry. Jim Chuchu’s Stories of Our Lives (2014) received the Teddy jury award at the Berlin International Film Festival, Wanuri Kahiu’s Rafiki (2018) was the first Kenyan feature film to…
“Dig deep and think about the messiest person you know… it’s a man isn’t it?” It has been a couple of weeks since the start of the highly anticipated Love Island UK season 8. Although the last season was a bit of a disappointment, it is obvious that the producers have gone back to their…
The overarching interest in mental, physical and spiritual wellness amongst various groups of people is high. The need to do better for yourself in the life that you live is of interest to many. The wellness “movement” has been wildly successful, especially online. There are coaches, gurus and influencers who are constantly giving out tips…
Defined as the ‘nepo baby’, this is one of social media’s more recent fascinations that has exposed the ordinary person to the fact that 50% of Hollywood – if not more – is a product of nepotism. Nepotism is essentially a system or structure whereby people with power and resources extend their assistance to their…
Morena boloka sechaba sa heso… What a special yet haunted place South Africa is. Thapelo ya Enoch Sontonga ents e le yona. Vuyiswa Xekatwane, June 2022 “Why is it so abstract yet tangible at the same time and all encompassing?” (Julie Nxadi). … Interlude in muffled echoes from the Wake. I had inherited her loss,…
In the early years of the 1800s, the English language arrived with the British in the Cape. From soldiers and settlers to missionaries, the prevalence of English travelled through various areas of the country, even in Dutch/Afrikaans areas where its arrival created a sense of animosity and was deemed ‘die vyand se taal’ (the language…
Sensitive. Delicate. Perspective. Precise. // A connection to life The most terrifying thing about being alive is that it really is an experience filled with small intricacies. It is probably also behind what makes life so beautiful. The combination of thoughts and behaviours from multiple people that accumulate and take shape within a community is…
