What I Have Seen of It So Far

visited 5 states (2.22%)
Create your own visited map of The World or jurisdische veraling duits?

Not much but when the employment provides a serious income, it shall get better!

Why Call Yourself a "King"

It's foolishness how Nicki Minaj and Beyonce find it cool to call themselves "kings" as a way of reinforcing their dominance. Doesn't this just come right back to the patriarchal notion which tells us that to have power is to be male or masculine. This is just positive reinforcement of the gender binary. These two could not do anymore to disappoint me in my books.
MASSIVE FAIL, Nicki Massive Fail and for Beyonce, what else would you expect from someone married to Jay-Z?

The Dark Skin Thing

Alright, wow! I could not actually watch this video from start to finish without pausing and taking the time to digest some of the things these women were saying. They are all my kindred souls and I can relate to them so well. This is certainly a movie I would love to watch!

Bottom-Up Scenario

In the white-dominated academia, it seems that success is predominantly owned by those that own the school themselves white males. I try and google African female graduate and what do I see, pictures of white women in graduation garb. What madness is this? Not even google algorithms can stand the thought of a smart black woman finishing college.

Personally, I can't stand these insecure losers. That is essentially what they are. Secure white men have no problem with others rising up but there are so many weak pathetic losers out there and some of them happen to be in the academia. I will name no names. The point is, they need a foundation upon which to believe themselves smart, good, great. That foundation is anyone they believe inferior, often times, a person who is female and a person with darker skin. So, they keep you down in order to stop themselves from falling. It's a typical bottom-up scenario. But one has to be aware of it and counteract it by acknowledging the fundamental weakness in character that exists in people that put others down for their own gain.

Proscovia Njuki, Engineering Graduate and the first of her kind in East Africa

Time-Wasters, this one is dedicated to you.

What irritates me? People that cannot seem to make up their minds. What irritates me even more? People that cannot make up their minds and leave you hanging in limbo about where they stand with you. Some months ago, this dude kept agreeing to meet with me but would postpone at the last minute. I was interested in meeting him but he would text to cancel at the last minute. Now how is that for inconsiderate? Why not just say "No, thank you." A person who doesn't have as good an intuition can continue being strung along by that foolishness but I caught the game quickly and dismissed him but for the time he wasted with me, boy was I irritated.
Sometimes, all a person wants is someone to stroke their ego! Now, that's what I call insecure.

The Unsung Hero of Quantum Physics

Tomonaga Shin’ichirō



Spent much of his working life as a theoretical physicist working quantum electrodynamic theory and won the Nobel Prize in 1965. Unlike the Einsteins, Paulis, Rutherfords, Feynmans and the like, Shini'chiro has not been hailed to the point of immortality. Nevertheless, his legacy still stands.

Dear Gareth "Douchebag Motherf****er" Cliff

Listen Mate,

So you think that all or the majority of the 22-year-old women out there are only interested in lying on their backs with their legs open. Listen here, you nutter I am a 22-year-old woman myself and I can tell you that there is a lot more going on in my mind-space than the thoughts of having sex. You loser! In your wretched porn-infested mind, all you see is young women with their legs open anyway to the point where all you are really capable of seeing (or perceiving) when you catch the sight of a young lady is her lying back with her legs open. We are not the ones with the problem, it's you you diabolical beastly idiot!

This brings me to another point, about how foolish people (like yourself), fail to view women and girls as complex beings with deep minds, souls, hearts and intellects. You fail to see women as people and reduce them to nothing more than their genitalia. In other words, a woman is either a chaste virgin or the whore that you imagine 22-year-old women like myself are. Well guess what bozo, many of us are not whores. We are gifted, intelligent, hard-working colleges students, career women and for those of us that are mature and strong enough, mothers too. So back off with your unilateral one-dimensional thinking and bite your tongue before you say something you will regret.

You should count your lucky stars too Gareth, because your white privilege will probably help you keep your job unlike the unfortunate Khuli Roberts lost her job entirely.

Love, peace and happiness.

But honestly, get a life. You're utterly pathetic and a complete bore in any case.

Sincerely,

the Unspoken Word

Black Leather Jacket

Gossip Withdrawal

I love the feeling of not being in the know-how about what celebs are up to which is why I avoid radio and TV like the plague for the majority of the year. Our culture is so obsessed and fixated on the things these so called famous people say and do. I will not for a second say that I am not one of these people. I too have spent hours of my life watching E! Entertainment Channel and following up on the latest gossip being dished up by Sal Masekela but you come to a point of realization where you begin to wonder why you care so much about the lives of these people who care little for your own existence. It's quite silly actually.

For this reason, I vow to take a serious break from all celeb-related news, gossip and fanfare. We'll see how long this one lasts!

Understanding lies at the Root of Healing

What I have come to know for sure is that all people want and yearn to be loved. That is fact and not speculation. When that thirst is not quenched it turns people angry, butter, spiteful, aggressive, tyrannical and always willing to hurt someone else to transfer the pain. To hurt the way they have been hurt. It's true "misery loves company", rather I cry with you than alone and my injury provides certainty of that.

As much as understanding and having empathy for your fellow human being heals. Not understanding or trying to understand destroys even more. One reason why I believe empathy should be at the cornerstone of every person on this planet's principles.

Friday Throwback: Ladies Night 1996

I may have watched this video a total of 200 times between the years '96 and '99.

Policing Women's Attire in Rape Society

WE recently had our very own SlutWalk at Greenpoint here in Cape Town on Saturday the 20th and it had a good turnout which I am very happy to see. Rape is still an issue in this culture that seems to adamnat to condone it and women are still being blamed for crimes involving forced penetration and violent assault that are committed against them. But some reactions from some individuals today made me think about the way in which a protest like this is received in this Rape Culture Society of ours.

"I disagree with the whole SlutWalk thing because it is degrading to women":
In the same manner that the idiot officer from Toronto sought to blame victims of rape based on their manner of dress, this individual missed the entire point of the protest and aimed to focus more on how wrong the protest was and not how wrong rape itself actually is. Instead of showing some smidgen of sympathy for the victims and complaining about how awful rapists themselves are for violating the physical boundaries and private spaces of women.
So, how does the protest itself become degrading. Well these women are calling themselves "sluts". NO! They are making the point that a woman's clothes should not in any way be a precursor to a sexual assault committed against her. It is extreme but of course it should be bold. Perhaps that is the issue this young man has with it. That it is bold, blazing and brazen and therefore a massive hit to the male ego. No woman in her right mind could possibly claim that an anti-rape protest is wrong in anyway.

"The word slut is degrading":
Yes it is. It is a word among several that was created to shame women for expressing sexuality. It is a word that sought to weaken and silence women in sex thus giving men a sense of domination of the so called "weaker sex". These words are simply a kind of verbal genital mutilation. An attack against a woman who feels no shame about her vagina, her clitoris, her vulva and the pleasure that she feels during the act of coitus. Women in more civilized society's may not have their genitals mutilated like the many unfortunate one's living in primitive states and following primitive religions but we have a kind of mutilation of our own going on and it is called slut-shaming.

One of the most prominent tools for slut-shaming is of course the media where the perpetuation of this practice is simply overwhelming. No wonder these attitudes filter through into uncritical and unthinking minds.

The word "slut" and its many variations should not even feature in the English language. A woman expressing desire is not a thing to marvel at, be ashamed of, stone to death, hate or assign a name to especially one that has negative connotations.

Its roots lie deep in patriarchy which asserts male dominance in every form and sex is just one of the ways in which men define their power and identity so that in the act of raping, objectifying, they reinforce what they have been told by patriarchy they are entitled to: dominance and complete control over the female gender. That's all it is about: power. The moment a woman begins to apply a power that is on par with this, she is attacked and weakened by those who believe strongly in the male order of things. And that is why the word "slut" is degrading, because of the very same system of thinking that encourages rape: patriarchy.

"What would Christ say about this?":
Well, of course, I have no idea but if this individual was trying to assert that Christ would frown upon the protest then that means Christ would have a problem with people who have a problem with injustice. The Christ I know from my readings of the word. The Jesus who's good friend was a former prostitute, the Jesus who healed the woman with the issue of blood, the Jesus who sat down and had a sincere conversation with the woman at the well who had a history with men i.e. a run-of-the-mill slut would probably grab a banner and join right in with the protest because He would, more than anything frown upon the abuse, misuse and maltreatment of God's children that is all the women and girls who have been forced against their will by selfish, malevolent, egocentric, megalomaniacs of men who have zero empathy. Christ, in my mind, was no one to disgrace a slut in any way but sought to love, heal, empower, forgive and help those in need spiritually and mentally. This would be a girl or woman who has had her spirit broken by the forced entry into her sacred temple by a man she may have trusted or been related to.

Religions are not exempt from scrutiny when it comes to matters of gender inequality is because the Church has been built on the same system of male domination that most societies and cultures in the world has.

A while back I heard some young man defend the fact that a man should head the household because it said so in the Bible. I told him that that attitude is also used to justify abuse of women and he responded by saying that believers should follow Biblical standards and not those of the world. He is blind, totally blind to the fact that those so called holy standards are in complete alignment with the world's. Males rule, females submit. That is patriarchy and yes it is found in the Bible, pity, but it is there. The fact that so few women are excluded from positions of authority in churches. (The Vatican has stringent rules on this, clergy have their genitals examined before being ordained). Female subordination happens in religions too and men use these tools well because many women seek to be loyal to their God not realizing that all their being loyal to is patriarchy.

The SlutWalk was a brilliant idea and if I had known about it ahead of time, I probably would have been there. Being nothing but big ole slut. 

The Exceptional Kola Boof

”Anger comes from hurt and that is why nobody likes an angry woman, because she’s hurting inside.

An angry woman is dismissed as ‘bitter’—which is just people’s way of excusing themselves from having to heal that angry woman or to care about or understand her.

And whereas Roman Polanski can be known worldwide as a child molester and still manage to win an Academy Award in the year 2003, and whereas angry black men can rap and hip-hop their age, uncut and completely raw, into the public consciousness and become celebrated, well-respected millionaires from defiling their own mothers and poisoning their own communities…a woman being angry and exploring that ager…even in art…is still not acceptable, understandable or even pitiable by most of the people who order the society and think of themselves as fair judges of ‘rational behavior.’”

--Kola Boof, Diary

of a Lost Girl

Women's Day South Africa

Wathint' Abafazi Wathint' Imbogoto!

The Obsessed

I have never been stalked before but what do you do about someone who continues to contact you long after you have said goodbye to them more than once? It is guilt-inducing but at the same time very frightening. Akin to attempting to get a message across to a brick wall.

Obsessions smack of not having self-control and being terribly insecure. Why should one person be your only hope at having your desires fulfilled. There are so many more opportunities to find joy and satisfaction.

Its pitiful watching someone deteriorate in this way. Unable to simply let go. You want so desperately to tell them to sod off but you pity them knowing that at the centre of all that insane behaviour is someone desperate for validation.

Wisdom tells me that for the sake of not fanning flames, all communication must be shut off. I will only be rewarding this individual by contacting them.

Sex Appeal: Not Woman Enough

In this patriarchal world, it seems that any woman who hones and focuses on anything more than having sex appeal is dismissed as immature, boring, less female and unattractive. The very basis of this form of female subjugation demands the display of skin for the purpose of enticing a male gaze.

This kind of attitude is not hard to miss and I see poor teenage girls falling prey to this shoddy ideology, dressing in ways that do not fit their age and spending more time being attractive for boys than channeling energy into excelling at sports and academics, thinking about what potential career paths are fitting for their particular personality types.

The world we inhabit encourages girls to grow believing that their worth is measured by their appearance and, of course, ideological state apparatus' such as the media, family, and even religion has women thinking that they should work over-time at improving their looks. Once for wearing loose jeans, I had someone inform me that I was "selling myself short". Imagine that. Really? Not reaching my full potential is not achieving my goals. The last time I checked. My goals did not include wearing life-sapping skinny jeans that cause itching, sweat and blocked follicles that may result in rash for the sake of looking good.

These pressures put on women is one reason I was compelled to read 'The Beauty Myth' by Naomi Wolf last year which, though exaggerated and focused more on the plight of white, middle-class women in North America, struck a major chord in my mind.

The lack of coverage of female sports is, without surprise, also a consequence of this line of thinking. Without a sexist gender binary in place, women's sports would be taken just as seriously as males. This article at Gender Across Borders explains the link between this phenomenon and sexism quite well.

Tim Wise Delivers

Eloquently done and full of wisdom. Tim Wise's lecture on "white privilege" gives you insight into the workings of race construction, white privilege and systems of racial domination in the U.S. not dissimilar to other society's upon which apartheid has wreaked mighty havoc.

"I am an invisible man, I am a man of substance, of flesh and bone, fiber and liquids—and I might even be said to possess a mind. I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me."

 

-Ralph Ellison

 

 

 

 

 

 

She is (on her way to being) an Astronomer

The Dearth of Female Scientists: is there a non-sexist reason for this?

Reading an article which depicts an exercise that debunks a common myth that women and girls are incapable of scientific thought and success in science-related fields. 

Looking at how minimal the numbers of female graduates and tenured professors in science-related professions may be a discouraging factor for girls who display interest in the field. But there is also a level of socialisation that comes into play. Gender performance expectations sway some women away from fields that encourage the advancement of logical thinking skils such as engineering and the sciences.

The discrimination that women face through micro-aggressions delivered by male colleagues and superiors in the process of climbing the academic ladder sometimes also proves too much for some women and they crack under pressure.

I have to say that I can give personal accounts of shady behaviour from a tenured professor who is being considered for the Head of the Physics department making outright chauvinist remarks in a physics class where men outnumber women to even getting too friendly with female students. Now, there are boundaries that need to be maintained in the academic arena and to me, efforts to point out gender difference in a way that knowingly undermines female ability within a specific course of study is undoubtedly sexist. But this same professor claims that he will "not change" which brings to light another element of why women and girls could find themselves giving up on the pursuit of scientific excellence: run-of-the-mill douchebags that seem to have personal issues with members of the opposite gender.

These attitudes may stem from the common tendency in society to devalue all female qualities that remain disjointed from her physical appearance. Female intelligence is non-physical and for reasons that operate in the interests of a patriarchal value system must be dismissed without further discussion.

In a professor who makes passes at his female students, there is a chauvinist who seeks to strip a woman of any pride she may have at pressing hard at academic pursuits to nothing more than a female body that is or should be desired.

This also leads to the notion of expectations. It's beel long proven that the child that succeeds is most often the child who is expected to succeed. I saw this in my own life. Teachers at my high school, female of course, saw potential in me and on a deeper level, I made it my mission to live up to that greatness that they believed I could reach. When those around you anticipate your inability or failure, you, depending on how thick your skin and how firm your character, may easily lose sight of your goals and slip into the role those around you expect you to play. It takes a conscious reminder to oneself that external expectations are not the ultimate definer. A person incapable of defining themselves will give way to the opinions of others and become a product of their environment. This dynamic may occur with female students in science-related fields. You come into the game as a pariah and get treated as such. Without proper guard, self-doubt can seep in as a result and a downward spiral begins which would not have started had the work environment not been so exclusionary and pessimistic to the presence of a woman in the first place.

Women have made outstanding contrubitions to the science over the span of decades but the dismissal and sexism of our male counterparts has held us back in tremendous ways. Patriarchy breaks down at the point when men acknowledge the fact that their dominance over the lives and bodies of women does not define their worth or power. Until this fallacy breaks, the struggle to recognise female intelligence in male-dominated academic fields will continue.