Photos by Yaya Mavundla &…

by Bridget Ngcobo

What does it mean to be living in post apartheid South Africa?
Does it mean, as the name of the generation alludes that we are (re)born free?
Are our eyes open to the colors and sounds of this new dawn?
­­What does our mo(u)rning look like?

Mo(u)rning photos by Zanele Muholi (2014/01/10)

Knocking on the door of twenty years of democracy we are all gathered today in the name of art and activism. I implore you as you go through this exhibition to not forget why or how you got here.

If we were in Uganda, those of us who are homosexuals would be considered abnormal and in the words of Ugandan president the question would be, “do we kill him/her?
Do we imprison him/her?
Or we do contain him/her?”[i]
Us occupying this space, in this way, baring witness and sharing testament, to violent homophobia might be seen as coercing children towards a homosexual lifestyle. As such, if we were in Nigeria we would be subject to life imprisonment.

Instead we are in South Africa at the dawn of celebrating a constitution that includes every person regardless of sexual orientation, so here we stand in this gallery, in this part of the city knowing that a barrage of policemen cannot knock down the doors and arrest us all but do not be illusioned – we are not all safe and we are not all free.

Today, Duduzile Zozo’s family convened in a courtroom facing the neighbor who murdered and left her half naked body few meters away from her house.  Duduzile was 26 years old.  She saw the scenes of Mandela’s freedom, our transition to democracy, she heard as the world applauded for the progressive laws of her country including her inalienable right live freely in this country as Black lesbian women.
Yet in June of last year her neighbor decided her sexual orientation meant she should be raped and killed.
Her murderer left her mother asking, “What is it that my daughter did to you, because I don’t understand why an outsider can be affected by her being a lesbian. Was she not good enough to walk in the streets?” [ii]
There is no doubt in my mind that LGBTQ organizations and friends and family united with placards outside the courts for these are now sites of activism. Where South Africans question the state of country and fate of the very generation that we say is born is free.

Some Faces & Phases portraits exhibited

What you see on these walls of Zanele Muholi’s Mo(u)rning exhibition is an activist holding up a mirror reflecting the lived meaning of ‘freedom’ for Black queer South Africans living on the margins.
She brings to the center the aesthetic of the cracks of this 20-year-old democracy that purports to keep swallowing it’s children whole for loving how they whom they want to love and defying gender conformity.

Do not be mistaken however, this exhibit in as much as it commemorates the senseless loss and violent victimization of Black queer South Africans and trans community celebrates the beauty of Black queer aesthetic and the sheer will to live each day from it’s morning to evenings regardless of threat. Muholi paints a vivid image through every story of every piece of South Africans banging at the door of democracy and shouting we are who are and we will be who we will be.

Through her sharp focus on the lives and stories of the art she produces forces us to question the perimeters of space and who occupies it.  She brings to the forefront queer South Africans on the margins, reverberating Black voices on white museum walls. This disruption of our notions of space asserts that the lives of Black lesbians cannot be relegated to violence, courts, placards and academia.
Instead Muholi asserts the complexity and visibility of Black queer lives while simultaneously not obscuring the reality of pain and loss. This exhibit thoroughly disrupts our sense of space merging the politics of geography and the politics of existence.

Muholi lives her activism. She knows the names and narratives of  individuals featuring in her photography.
She attended some of the funerals you will consume.
She pressed record on the testimonies of survivors that you will hear. She went to the reconstructed scenes of hate crimes and as a Black lesbian woman captured the scenes where woman just like her were tortured and killed. She has said each prayer on the rosaries that hang on the walls, she has been to the courts and seen how hate crimes are devolving into games being played in the courts of this land. She has prayed for the healing of homophobic priests who believe queer South Africans are the ones in need of prayer.

Zanele Muholi is firmly straddling the cracks that threaten to swallow the children of this country whole calling for you to open their eyes to the mo(u)rning, calling to you to imagine a South Africa where freedom does not only exist in theory but in practice.

Who of you can be here today?
How did we get here?
Are we in danger of being killed when get home because of how we are dressed or because of who we kiss good night?
If this answer is no, then remember that you are here for yourself as much as you are here for those who, for the women in the photographs, for the spaces between them representing those who are no longer with us, for their future of those who will be born free in South Africa and also for yours.
Your liberation who ever you may be is tied to the liberation of the queer South Africans you will see today.
In the words of the words of Arudhathi Roy, “once you see it, you can’t unsee it. And once you’ve seen it, keeping quiet, saying nothing, becomes as political an act as speaking out. There’s no innocence. Either way, you’re accountable.”

Portfolio #1/2014

A photo album by Nqobile Zungu

L-R: Meme Motaung, Shaz Mthunzi and Refiloe Pitso, all the three participants featuring in the Queer Born Frees series (2014)

Pregs Govender who opened with keynote speech…

Gabrielle Le Roux, artist showing the trans series…

Melissa Steyn speaking on behalf of WAM…

Charmain Carrol & Le Sishi whose photos graced the walls of WAM

Thekwane Mpisholo featuring in both Le Roux and Muholi s work.

Muholi is the mo(ve)ment… not alone but with the black LGBTI at large

Kgomotso Mashapa playing own character as you can see in the photo

L-R: Sebenzile Nkosi also in Faces & Phases with a friend Tiisetso

Handsome Meme Motaung posing next to own photo.

“I’m a fan…”

Amongst the groups who came to celebrate with us was the Tembisa crew organized by Busi M. on the far right…

Her name is Fifi and she is beautiful…

on the right is Joyce Machepha with a friend…

Thola Sithole & girlfriend Jo… posing beauty at the exhibition…

Julia Charlton speaking at the opening…

A BIG THANK YOU!

Wednesday the 29^th of January 2014 history was made at Wits Arts Museum (WAM) when the  queer & trans Art-iculations collaborative art for social change exhibition opened.
What a great way to reconnect, for people re-claiming their space, sharing ideas, their fears and celebrating life.

Without all the ‘participants’ as Muholi put it refusing to call individuals photographed “subjects”, let us be honest the exhibition would have been impassable.
Wits Arts Museum, Centre of Diversity, Stevenson gallery, installers, curators, organisors  and each and every person who took great efforts to ensure that the show was a success, we’d like to express our gratitude.
Please forgive me if your name was omitted somehow, note that it is not intentional.

We thank the activists/ artists: Zanele Muholi and Gabrielle Le Roux for producing the well articulated trans and queerly great work!
People would not have been able to come together in one space for a common cause as they did but some wanted to see, to learn, to converse, to re/connect and get a grip of visual – art activism.

We thank all the attendees that came in large numbers from various Gauteng townships:  Daveyton, Ratanda, Alexandra, KwaThema, Thokoza, Vooslorus, Vutha LGBTI, Katlehong, Soweto, Tembisa and not forgetting individuals who came from Joburg suburbs, city and surrounding areas.
The space would have note been packed had it not been for you.
We thank the taxi drivers and everyone who co-ordinated logistics around transportation.
Thank You!

We say a special thank you to people who travelled from Botswana, Germany,  and all over South Africa to attend the exhibition opening.
You made history!!!
We thank the Inkanyiso crew for amazing work – may you shine all the time!

Thank you to Big Fish for recommending one of their students, Itumeleng to document as well as the African Leadership Academy for support.

We thank Lizzy Muholi for all the work well done! Bongani for the setting up and tearing down, Lerato Bereng and Stevenson Gallery for smooth coordination, Leigh Blanckenberg for being there all the time even when exhausted,  guiding us all the way.

Most importantly we would like to thank everyone who was featured on the pictures.
Without you, galleries would be empty.

To share your thoughts about the exhibition  and more please e-mail:  inkanyiso2009@gmail.com and yayamvundla@gmail.com

Follow us on twitter @Inkanyiso_Org or @MuholiZanele or myself @YayaRSA

by Thuthula Sodumo

There are a few things in life that are comfortable and uncomfortable at the same time and a paraplegic’s bed is one of them.
It is comfortable because it is made with care with a “sickly” person in mind and God knows they need the comfort.
It is uncomfortable because it is the most unpredictable bed you’ll ever share with anyone.

Chances are honey you’d wake up with your eyes unable to open because of the stench of the urine of a fully grown ass woman.
Your mouth dehydrated and your nasals burning – yes urine does that, it is acidic remember?

Chances are you’d fall out of love that moment or you’d fall deeper in love because well what’s more embarrassing than waking up and your right side is soaking wet.
You have no fucking idea what happens.
The trauma and the shock, you feel it and you think…”heck no I didn’t pee it’s not me, then who?”
You check your partner and then voila you find the source of your misery or your comic relief.

Because really there are three ways to look at it and that is through laughter, anger or minimizing the situation by letting your paraplegic lover sleep and then deal with it later.  Of course this isn’t for everyone.  This isn’t for that woman who buys expensive silk for bed. This isn’t for that woman who’s never experienced that spontaneity of life, nor for the planner or the materialistic one.
This is for the gypsy hearted – ones whose sole purpose in life is seeking adventure in life.

You are busy fucking and as you are busy finger fucking and eating your paraplegic lover’s pussy, a gush of something watery comes out.
“Ooohhhhhh yessss I’m good!”  you think and she says with anguish in her eyes, “I’m sorry I didn’t mean to. You wonder,” woman what you talking about I just made you cum” and she says…
“no I..I think its pee, I just peed”.

You think “not in hell I just made you squirt I’m good at this, baby I just made you cum in floods”
Two things can happen here, you can stand up and freak out with you ego bruised and disgusted and again fall out of love or you can spend the entire time debating and licking and trying to distinguish the taste if its cum or urine either way it won’t matter cause you made something come out of her pussy and love her silly.

You could be in bed playing and you playfully get on top of her tickling the devil out of her and she screams for her catheter because by sitting on her and making her laugh that much for some reason made her want to pee.  She inserts the catheter maybe a little too late and wets herself then what?
Is the fun over or fuck this where were we babe?

See the aim or goal of this all is letting you know dating a paraplegic isn’t anything you can ever be ready for.  There is no school that will ever prepare you just like there’s no school to teach one how to love.
It is like a battle field of fun and frustration, all in one.
There are few things that would ever demoralize a paraplegic woman and one of them is acting like being with her is a duty, a job and some obligation.  Treating her as if she went and bought the disability is an insult. Whatever you do, prepare for adventure and some indecisiveness and maybe some of the most frustrating times but in all that be with her because it is where you want to be not out of pity or some twisted reality.  Enjoy her.

Bon appetite and be kind.  Always.

© 2013 Dec. 21

Previous by Sodumo

2013 Nov. 12: God, the lesbian, the sin

and

2013 Sept. 11: The touch

and

 2013 June 11: Double Trouble

and

2013 April 3: Reflecting on InterSexions

and

2013 April 4: Gender blind

Umbhalo nezithombe

by Londeka Dlamini

Ibiseqophelweni eliphezulu inkonzo yokugcotshwa kwabefundisi bebandla iVictory Ministries Church International (VMCI) eThekwini ebibanjelwe ehholo lomphakathi eWiggins endaweni yase Mayville, ngoMgqibelo zingumhlaka 1 February 2014.

UBonisile Magwaza kanye no Skhumbuzo Sbisi sebegcotshwe ngokusemthethweni ukuba ngabefundisi, kwazise ibilindelwe ngabovu lenkonzo ebandleni laseVMCI. Ububona nendlela obekuhlelwe kahle ngayo. Ngenyanga edlule umama umfundisi uZungu ekhuluma nebandla, wanxusa abazalwane ukuba baxhase kubanjiswane ukuze into yebandla ibe yinhle esho nokuthi kukhomba ukukhula kabandla uma kwanda abefundisi.
”Kugcotshwa umyeni wami lalingakandi kangaka ibandla ngakho ngifisa lenkonzo ibe sezingeni ukuze nezwe libone ukuthi nebandla eliwuloluhlobo liyakwazi ukwenza into enhle” kubeka umama umfundisi.

Ibihanjelwe abefundisi abaningi lenkonzo phakathi kwabo kukhona nomfundisi uNokuthula Dhladhla wasesifundazweni sase Free State naye oshade nowobulili obufana nobakhe. Kubekhona isikhathi lapho omunye wabefundisi ecele khona ukubeka umfundisi uZungu nomndeni wakhe izandla ngenjongo yokumqinisa emsebenzini awenzayo wokusebenzela uNkulunkulu.

Izolo kuyiSonto siphinde sahambela lona lelibandla iVMCI inkonzo ibemnandi kakhulu. Kusabungazwa ukugcotshwa kwabefundisi, ikomidi eliphezulu ebandleni lidlulisa ukubonga kubazalwane ngokusebenzisana kahle inkonzo yomgcobo yaba impumelelo.
Inkonzo ibiphethwe umfundisi uDhladhla obekade ekhona nasenkonzweni yomgcobo.
Eqala intshumayelo yakhe usilandise kafushane ngaye ukuthi akayena ubaba umfundisi kodwa uyakuthokozela ukubizwa ngomfundisi uDhladhla nje noma uNokuthula, wasukumisa nesthandwa sakhe athe usithanda kakhulu, enxusa nabazalwane bonke ukuba uma uphila impilo yobutabane kubalulekile ukuba uzazi.
Kanti-ke uma ungathanda nawe ukuhlanganyela ne VMCI ungabavakashela eThekwini eDiakonia Centre.

Hhiya-ke, kuze kubengokuzayo!!!
WOZ’ E-DURBAN!!

Previous by Londeka and related articles

2014 Jan.5: Ishaya ngolunye unyawo I-VMCI kulonyaka

and

2013 Dec. 22: ”Indlela enilingwa ngayo ukuba nibizwe ngezitabane”

and

2013 Dec. 16: “Sibonga uMadiba ngokulwela inkululeko yethu”

and

2013 Sept. 19: Ikhiphe Icwecwe layo lokuqala i Victory Ministries (VMCI)

and

2013 September 1: Bafake umfaniswano omama nobab’ umfundisi

and

2013 June 18: New Brand For House Music Lovers

and

2013 June 16: Zishade libalele izitabane

and

2013 June 15: The Durban Lesbian Wedding of the Year

Portfolio #2
by Charmain Carrol

Previous by CC.

2013 Dec. 25: Christmas that was

and

2013 Dec. 15: Photos from the funeral of the recently murdered lesbian in Ratanda

More to come…

by Charmain Carrol

I am back from Europe and am reflecting on all the things I did, people I met, and what a wonderful and productive time I had.  But I cannot stop thinking about how this trip almost never was. I nearly gave up on the trip because the visa application was a nightmare.   I did not anticipate the problems I encountered when I initiated the application process.  After all, I had observed some of my friends process their applications in Pretoria.  It always seemed quick and easy.

Well my journey was not quite as cut and dry.  Here goes…

2013
June 29

I gathered all supporting documents needed to apply for my visa to Barcelona, Spain.
I was granted an appointment on Monday, July 1^st.  In my head, I thought that was ample time to apply for a visa to travel on the 10^th of the same month.

July 1

Nqobile and I travelled to Pretoria and we were quite eager and excited for our appointment.  We arrived early with our pictures on hand.  We went on to meet with a consultant, who went through the supporting documents that we had brought and set them against his checklist.  When he was done he advised us that we had missing documents that needed to reach him no later than Wednesday if we planned to leave on the 10^th, as a visa took 5 days to process.

The outstanding documents were a letter of invitation from the person who would be hosting us in Spain and France, along with their passport copy and a copy of an electricity bill.  We had to show that we had means to travel from Spain to France by showing proof of train tickets from Spain to France.
We each had to have R7000 in each of our accounts, even if we were unemployed.

Reality set in fast and our hearts sank.  We were fazed but not out.  We contacted the organization that had extended the invitation to us and relayed the feedback from the visa office.  They promised to email the required information by midday.  In our stance to be proactive, we arose early to catch taxis to Pretoria, as we live two hours away.  We waited for the emails to arrive so that the application process could begin but nothing came through.  The embassy closed at 2.30 and we had no choice but to turn back.

When we got back home, our hosts had emailed copies of their passports and electricity bills.

July 2

This was our last day to hand in all outstanding documents but we simply did not have them all.  We travelled to meet with the consultant again and explained the status of our document gathering process.  We also explained that we would be travelling to France by private transport; therefore there was no train ticket to present.  He said that it would be his supervisor’s call but he will forward it.   He also advised us to get the required money, print bank statements and come back and see him the next day.
We felt dejected because we had no clue where we would get R14 000- from since both of us were volunteering for Inkanyiso with no salaries.  Let alone to state the collective we volunteer for does not get any funding from any LGBTI funding donors.

Nqobile and I went our separate ways and went home where everyone was discussing the senseless and gruesome murder of Duduzile Zozo.
Later I went to bed.

July 4

In the morning I was running some type of fever and I could not even get up from my mattress.
I was cold and yet my body was so hot. I had a meeting to go to but I could not make it.  I instead had the meeting at home, dosing in and out of slumber.  I had taken some cold medicine and it might have continued to my being woozy.  My flat mates were getting ready to attend Duduzile Zozo’s night vigil. Try as I might, I just could not get my body to cooperate, so I had to stay behind.  I slept and after I woke up, I checked my email and the invitation letter that we had been waiting on arrived and it said all the right things, and more!!!
They stated that they had sent us the required money and that we should go back to the visa office again.

July 5

As sick as I was, we journeyed back to Pretoria.  We met with the consultant who gathered our documents and passed us on to another consultant for processing.  She went on to inform us that since our documents were all in Spanish, we would have to get our documents translated as well as apply for a French visa because we would be spending more days in France than in Spain.

At this point I was beyond all manner of being restrained and I announced to the lady that I would not be leaving the embassy without the visa, since I had been coming to the same place at the beginning of the week.  She made us wait for the consultant who initially helped us.  Towards 3:00pm he came through and took all our documents again and said we should wait while he pleaded our case with his counterparts.

At 3.45 he came back with a sliver of hope and told us to pray that everything worked out.  In the interim, he advised us to pay our processing fees.  We were advised that we would know the verdict by July 9.  Sometime in between, I received a call from a Jacqueline from the embassy asking me to send her a letter from Inkanyiso stating that the organization had appointed us as representatives to go to Spain.  As the stars would have it, Zanele Muholi arrived on that same day and she wrote and emailed the letters.  We did not hear anything on the 9^th July. Maybe it was not meant to be!

July 10

I was on my way home to Heidelberg when I got a call to come and collect the visas before 2:00pm!
That was 10:00am.  I rushed home, packed for the trip, called Nqobile to meet me at the Embassy and then rushed to the visa office to pick up our visas.

I really thought we were not going to leave that day but we did.  We passed through the flat but there was no one at home.  We wanted to say goodbye – for now – to our friends.
We left for Spain…

To be continued…

Previous by CC.

2014 Jan.29: WAM Photos

and

2013 Dec. 25: Christmas that was

and

2013 Dec. 15: Photos from the funeral of the recently murdered lesbian in Ratanda

4 months later … marital bliss.

Ayanda Magoloza got married to Nhlanhla Moremi on the 9th Nov. 2013 in Katlehong.
They exchanged the vows at Kwanele Park in Katlehong.
Their wedding union was blessed by Pastor Tebogo Moema of Dominion Life Ministry Church.
Later that day the wedding proceedings took place in Vosloorus township at Nhlanhla’s home.

The video was captured by Nqobile Zungu, Themba Vilakazi and Zanele Muholi.
Edited by Malibongwe Swane for Inkanyiso Productions (2013)
Translated by Nomfundo Mgabadeli.

Ayanda & Nhlanhla Moremi’s wedding transcript

Pastor Moema: Corinthians 14:1 says; above all else seek love, love doesn’t seek its own, love seeks the other’s interest more than its own, love forgives, love has got understanding.

JOYOUS SINGING AND PRAISE

Andile: Hi, I’m Andile, …
Ayanda I wish you well in your marriage.

Nonka: I’m Andile’s bride maid and friend, I hope she stays happy and that her marriage walks hand in hand with God so that it will last forever, I’m happy for you girl.

Sister: I’m one of the bride’s maids, I wish my sister joy in her relationship as well as all the obstacles they still need to overcome that they trust in God because ‘Through God’s Grace anything is possible.’

Ayanda’s Aunt:  Ayanda we as your family love you, please respect Nhlanhla,
love each other and enjoy your marriage.

Thobeka Mavundla: She’s a beauty, a natural beauty.  All I can tell you is that you have opened up a path for us. We see you and we will hear from you how marriage is before we commit as well.

Ayanda’s Aunt: You have made a decision, not many make this decision, and these days people don’t get married they just live together. Today when they said the ceremony would start at 10am, my tummy started turning and I started thinking about your mother, my sister…if she was here…you have chosen who you want to marry and that has nothing to do with us. You and Nhlanhla must be strong till the end.

Pastor Moema: There is love above all, love remains and love is the greatest. Even if I can doll out everything, give to the poor, sacrifice even my own body, but if I don’t have love, the whole process is diminished to nihilism, it is nothing.

Vows: I take you today, as my wedded spouse, to love, to cherish, to celebrate you, in sickness, in good times, when we are bounding. When we do not have, I will always be by your side. I will hold you, lock you into my heart, as a bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh, my mate, my soul mate.
I say to you, I do.

Nhlanhla Moremi: With these rings, it’s a symbol of unification, remember at all times when you look at them, that I, Nhlanhla love you.

Pastor Moema: Father bless this couple, bless them to be one, let that which God has put together, let no man separate declare you today married spouses, we bless you.

Nhlanhla’s Mother: I am very proud, when Nhlanhla turned 15, like any 15 year old boy, Nhlanhla’s voice changed. Nhlanhla‘s movements changed, and became a boy. As I stand here before you, I want to tell you not to be confused because I am not confused. Nhlanhla is mine. Nhlanhla is not a lesbian, Nhlanhla is not lesbian, he is a gentleman. I have two sons and two daughters.

Zanele Muholi: History is to be made, for those who are allergic to photos, it makes no sense. It is nice to be together when people get married and are happy because most times, the community comes together only when a lesbian has been abused or killed.
We end up saying ‘Amandla. Amandla’ knowing very well that we are powerless to the one of us that has been killed.

Featuring in Zanele Muholi’s Faces & Phases.
Ayanda Magoloza, Kwanele South, Katlehong, Johannesburg, 2012

Related link

Ayanda and Nhlanhla’s wedding photos

and

Lesbian couple seal their bond

Photos by Zanele Muholi
Where: Oakland, CA
With:  Valerie Thomas and Selaelo ‘Sly’ Mannya
What: Brown Bois Retreat
Link to:
Brown Boi Project
Topic: How to increase Personal Communication Skills chaired by Melvin

by Yaya Mavundla

Bubbly, honest, fashion forward, dramatic and of course smart are some of the things that comes up when one thinks of the KwaZulu Natal, Durban born Mzamo Gcabashe.
Amongst so many things that he does, he’s such a great dancer and singer. I remember when I first saw him dance to a Beyonce hot single “Single Ladies” at Miss Gay Durban 2010 that I had booked him for to perform at I was blown away!
I literary melted!
Such a great performer that some of our artists fail to deliver in their concerts.

Mzamo Gcabashe (2013)
Photo by Zanele Muholi

I then saw him perform again at KZN LGBTI Fashion Show where I was one of the models in 2010, such a great voice. He sang a song by Lady Gaga, “Bad Romance” and the whole auditorium came to a standstill.

When he told me he was in Joburg I knew he is here to work and he will make it, especially with such a great combination he has, they call it a full package. I always say talent isn’t good enough on it own and I know with Mzamo it is indeed a full package.

Early last month I heard he will be on Big Brother Mzansi and I was so excited. Not only because I know him on a personal level and as a friend but with the fact that he is openly gay, smart, knows his story.  What was the most important fact was that he won’t make fun of us on national television and will be the total opposite of what the society perceive when they think what Black Gay Man is like or how  he behaves. I knew I could count on him to changing such stereotypes and I was right.

On the first day of Big Brother I checked my twitter and came across @TrendsSouthAfrica tweet “#Mzamo is now trending in South Africa” I was not worried at all that he might be trending because of the wrong reasons.

I then clicked on #BBMzansi which is a hash tag of Big Brother on twitter and what I read there was amazing. The fact that people acknowledged the fact that Mzamo is Gay but behaved just like anyone else who the society consider normal.
People were praising Mzamo on twitter, I was so happy.

I knew he was not going to win million rand, for one, they expected a Gay guy who will be over the top, too much make-up, someone who will subscribe to what seems normal and exciting on Big Brother and someone who will basically seduce men because they are Gay. We all know that in the world we live in, Gay people are associated with sex and drama which is what I always thought it’s sick and I can’t associate with people who think that about me! Mzamo didn’t do that, he proved the whole nation wrong.

As smart, consistent and frank as Mzamo is, that not what Big Brother wanted for them to survive and get more viewers. We all know, TV programmes survives not to be canned because of the numbers, no numbers, no slot on TV. Mzamo was perhaps a let-down to the producers and people at home who find entertainment when a black gay guy or anyone else do silly things such as the incident of Lexi and Mandla who had sex and their pictures of the two naked men went viral on social media, and of course that attracted more people to watch the show.
Mzamo didn’t do any scandals that will attract more viewers and it was time for him to go.

What I know is that most people especially his parents and friends are proud of Mzamo.
 No one will ever search for Mzamo on google and read about his dirty laundry.
For me, Mzamo being on TV is so much about activism and that will help sensitize most people in our society.
I’m sure there are parents who have changed their minds about their children after watching Big Brother. There are parents who now understand that all the stigmas that are associated with LGBTI people are actually not valid. Mzamo made us as LGBTI people look normal, which is what the people we grew up with fail to understand about us. I am proud.

Mzamie, a photo grabbed from his facebook album.

When Mzamo was announced as one of the house mates that were evicted I was sad, I went on twitter to check what the rest of the people who follow Big Brother Mzansi thinks.

People were furious, they were sad and they didn’t expect it.

The eviction happened after I read a tweet from Candice Nkosi “@Leornard_Sifiso: Umzamo akayi ndawo” she tweeted.
I read harsh tweets from others that read: “BULLSHIT! I’m never watching Big Brother, how could they let Mzamo go”, the other one read “They want people who will have sex, kiss on screen and abuse alcohol and Mzamo was the total opposite hence the eviction” while the other one read, “Ay ave ehleba, akahambe”.

Reading all these tweets made me realise that Mzamo made such an impact while on Big Brother.

“This is our starlet … watch out this space”

To interact with me please follow me on Twitter and Instagram @YayaRSA or follow Inkanyiso AND Muholi on twitter @Inkanyiso_Org @MuholiZanele

Previous by Yaya

2014 Feb.8: Mixed emotions at Miss Valentine 2014 in Daveyton

© Zanele Muholi

Where:  San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge
Country:  United States
Featuring:  Selaelo ‘Sly’ Mannya and Valerie Thomas
When:  14th March 2014
Camera used:  Canon 6D with 85mm lens. f stop: 2.8
How: The photos were taken set on multiple shots.

The story about how we ended up doing this will follow.
Sly and Val will share their part.

To be continued…

L-R: Jelena Kuljic and Maureen Velile Majola at backstage before their performance at Studio 44, Constanza Macras in Berlin last night. 

Jelena Kuljic about to sing “Senzeni na?” 

Maureen Majola lit the candles and prayed hard… God please end hate crimes in South Africa

L-R:  Tamar Saphir, Zanele Muholi responding to questions, Eckhard Weber (moderated the session after the performance and ‘We Live In Fear’ screening) and Maureen Velile Majola on the far right.

Lerato Shadi, Tamar Saphir and Sabelo Mlangeni

Zanele Muholi franked by Arnold and Ulrike Sommer of Kultuur.21

Emma & Mamello chatting after the performance at Studio 44

Our friends in Berlin.
L-R:  Signe, Muholi, Eva, Lerato, Maureen, Tuleka and Michelle

Photos
© Zanele Muholi and Erik Dettwiler
(2014/04/05)
BERLIN

Part of the text below was first posted on Dorkypark website

The performance SIFELA I AYIKHO - which is a Zulu expression translated loosely to WE ARE BEING KILLED FOR NOTHING - is exploring parts of South African social landscapes in which the lives of black lesbian and trans women in South Africa, including our own, is always exposed to danger.

The project is an effort to reclaim citizenship and is also a call for an end to queercide, a term coined by Zanele Muholi for the systematic atrocities and hate crimes against lesbians, gay men and trans people in South Africa.

The project is motivated by the ongoing epidemic of brutal murders of black lesbians in the post-Apartheid South Africa.

© Zanele Muholi  (01/04/2014)

We are in a crisis.
One lesbian death is a loss to the entire nation.
Children have been orphaned by hate crimes.
Lovers lost their beloved.
Family members mourn their relatives and children.
The workplace and classroom is robbed of its professions.

South Africa’s democratic laws instituted by the Constitution of 1996 are meant to protect the LGBTI community from all forms of discrimination, but our communities have been invaded by an epidemic of violent hate crimes, including callous murders and ‘curative rapes.’

Therefore we need to take action as concerned members of larger the society.Innocent individuals have been dismembered due to sexuality and gender expression.

The performance takes form of a stage protest, poetry, song and musical instruments are used to emphasize the ongoing incidents.

The performance will expand on an existing body of work that documents hate crimes against black lesbians that Zanele Muholi developed since 2004 and consists of three parts:
PART 1 – Blank Portraits
PART 2 – Crime scene memorial (motion picture)
PART 3 – Previous Film titled ‘Isililo’ – projection

Zanele Muholi is a visual activist born in Umlazi, Durban and currently lives in Johannesburg. Studied Photography at Market Photo Workshop, Newtown, Johannesburg and later, MFA: Documentary Media at Ryerson University, Toronto. Muholi is the founder of a collective call Inkanyiso with a Queer Art Activism media outlet. She has contributed her photography to many queer and art publications and academic journals.

Maureen Velile Majola is an activist, poet and writer from Alexandra township, Johannesburg in South Africa. She is a young feminist and currently associated with Coalition of African Lesbian (CAL) as the Documenting Officer. She is a crew member of Inkanyiso.org founded by Zanele Muholi.

Jelena Kuljic was born in Serbia and moved to Germany in 2003 to study singing at the Jazz Institute Berlin. Along with her own band, Yelena K & The Love Trio (Double Moon Records 2010), she has been a featured guest in many music and theatre projects through-out Europe. Jelena has worked extensively as a singer and actress with the director David Marton. Some of the their productions have included such important theatres as Vienna’s Burg Theater, The Royal Theater of Copenhagen, Volksbuehne Berlin, MC93 Paris/ Schaubühne. Since 2013 Jelena is working with Constanza Macras/Dorkypark. In March 2014 Jelena’s band KUU! is releasing their first album Sex gegen Essen.

by Buli Vimbelela

On the 30^th of March 2014 a crowd of people gathered in Zola, Soweto to witness Promise Mavundla and Sanele Shabangu’s umqomiswano (engagement), a gathering which many were unsure of, but had piqued their interest nonetheless. There were unsure if it was a wedding or what? They were peering into the home of Mavundla, who identifies as a butch lesbian who was welcoming her soon to be wife, Shabangu, who identifies as a femme lesbian.

This is how it all started…

When asked how the two met, Sanele said, “For a while, I had been keeping an eye on S’thembiso, as she affectionately calls her, when one afternoon my sister and I bumped into her along the road.
I was too shy to ask for her number, but my sister did on my behalf”, she chuckles!
“From then on, I contacted her and initiated a relationship”.  She says she knew she would marry her one day, as they hit it off on first contact.

It was in January 2014 when Promise introduced Sanele to her sister as “a woman I’m going to marry”. There weremixed reactions from both sides of the families. When Promise introduced Sanele to her mom as her girlfriend, they instantly hit it off and built a strong relationship as mother and daughter. She was receptive because she had already accepted her daughter’s lifestyle as a lesbian. On the other hand, Sanele had reservations about introducing Promise to her mom, because she had not been too impressed by her daughter’s previous partner. She was subsequently encouraged by a woman close to her, to tell her mom about Promise. She eventually did and her mom requested to meet Promise.

The woman in love and loved… ‘itshitshi’

It was then that Sanele’s mom informed Promise that since Sanele was  a tshitshi (virgin) and their family still followed tradition; they needed to perform the umqomiswanoceremony.  She agreed. Umqomiswano is a ceremony where one says ‘yes I am now ready to date steadily’ and put a beaded necklace around the man’s neck to show other women that he’s ‘taken’.  In this case, it was the femme giving the necklace to the butch-. It may be likened to an engagement ceremony.  Preparations began as they gathered all the ‘amatshitshi’ to practice song and dance for the day. They were also expected ‘ukugonqa‘ loosely translated to mean to fast and ready oneself for the day.

Fast forward to 30 March 2014, we attended their umqomiswano/ engagement ceremony. The day started off quietly at the Mavundla home, where they were expecting the arrival of the amatshitshi and preparations for lunch were happening. Meanwhile at the Shabangu home, singing and dancing was heard aloud, as they were about to depart for the Mavundla home to hang the flags before the bride-to-be gets there.

It was beautiful seeing the procession on the streets of Soweto, as people stopped along the road to watch as this was an unusual sighting around the township. On arrival at the Mavundla home, members of the family, friends and some more people were waiting in anticipation. There were some passersby who asked amongst themselves what was happening, “was someone getting married?” they asked.

As the tradition goes, the procession got closer to home. They stopped to dance as they waited for a family representative to welcome them, with a specified amount of money. After that was taken care of, they proceeded to the yard, amatshitshi bearing gifts for the groom and all the while, the bride-to-be was amongst them. Promise, being the shy person that she is, was called in to sit in the center to receive her gifts. I must say she rather looked different, yet cute, in her men’s traditional outfit. More gifts were exchanged from one family to the other.

The dancing to Zulu songs started again, while amatshitshi took turns to dance with Promise also showcasing bits of her dancing. Then the biggest surprise of the day came, Promise immerged carrying a beautiful jewelry box. She got everyone’s attention and asked Sanele to join her at the center where everyone was watching. They were both kneeling down and in her shy voice she asked Sanele to marry her and she without hesitating, said yes! There were loud cheers and ululations as the beautiful ring flashed around and pictures were taken.

Quick words of congratulations and encouragements were said by both families. Promise’s mom had this to say, “Today I’m happy to see our kids do the right thing, the right way. What makes my daughter happy makes me happy”. She urged Promise to take good care of Sanele. What struck me most was Sanele’s mom’s words when she said “Today I’m a proud woman, proud that my daughter kept herself pure to this day. I’m proud to show the people of Soweto that there are still 22yr old virgins” – she said. To Sanele she said, “Just like you came to us saying you love Promise and you wanted the world to know, I want you to know that we didn’t take that lightly and there’s no turning back now. I will not have you say you don’t want it anymore”. And to Promise she said, “I know you will do the right thing and marry my child, I wish you well”. And to that there were more cheers and ululations and the party began.

It was indeed a beautiful and colourful day as we experienced our culture within the LGBTI community and of course the Inkanyiso crew was there to capture it all.

Previous by Buli

2014 Jan. 21: Living an active life

and

2013 Nov. 19: Love is a beautiful thing

Inkanyiso member on the left meeting our stars…

Where: Joburg Theatre
When: Sat. 2nd May 2014
Featuring who: L-R: Smanga Shange and a friend, Lebo Mashile and Pamella Nomvete.

Photo by Zanele Muholi

by Sebenzile Nkosi

I have been in good spirits the whole day I can’t wait to get home, it feels like forever and it feels good I can’t wait to see them. I have not been home since October 2012. See I always made it a point to go home at least once a year, since I moved to Johannesburg from Mpumalanga. When I got sick I had appendicectomy done and then I got worse when it went septic about 4 times. My family was not at all supportive, that was when I stopped going. What they did just broke me. Of course I missed them, but a phone call just seemed enough. I did not seem to be able to get past the hurt.

However they had been reaching to me because they are missing me.  Even my mother, whom I can describe as being stubborn is said to be staring at my pictures. My father such a loving man, but not very expressive when it comes to his feelings, even called to say he loved me. I admit I have missed him the most. My baby sister sent me a picture of herself last December and I hardly recognized her!  She had morphed, her hips and all. In my mind, I thought she would always be 12 forever.

My cousin has been nagging me, asking when was I coming home. I know my parents are going to insist I go see my grandparents.  I did not like going to my grandparents’ house because I don’t like being paraded around.

I cannot say I am looking forward to that visit. Oh yes then there is my brother and his wife both whom I have on my Facebook and by now they know I’m coming and yes I would have preferred if they didn’t because they are just too much. Oh but I miss my nephew, yes the niece too but I don’t know her that much. They bought a house and as the first aunt, I have to go and set foot there. I hope they do not get ‘kidnapped’ by them like last time when I visited. They live in areas that are not accessible to public transport so one has to depend on them for transport, which can be so frustrating because you will be operating on their time

So much has changed though. There are so many people in this taxi who speak Sotho, though I can tell the difference from it to Pedi and Tswana, and I can hold down a conversation. Makes me wonder though what happened to Ndebeles, Xhosas and Swatis?
The taxis are still too expensive for an hour ride at R90.

It had been just two weeks since I had been last home, when I got a message on April 25, 2014, that my grandfather had passed away.

He was not my paternal grandfather, but my mother’s only living brother, making him technically my uncle. but we were very close. On the April 23, during my lessons, one of my grade six girls, Paige was busy asking silly questions and we all ended up laughing, then I told them about my very funny grandfather who gave two of his sons a name that meant the same thing.  One is Phepha and the other is Khasi – which both mean paper. He was an interesting man.

Getting the news couldn’t have come at the worst time ever. I was still angry about something plus I had so much work.  I was with one of the grade 7 girls when I received the call. The girl had upcoming auditions at the National School of the Arts in the room with me when I received the news.

The first thing that came to my mind was denial. My mother sent me messages about four times. She probably was not sure if I had received it. Each time I would look at the messages I would pass out and eventually I broke down and cried.  The student hugged me but she did not know what was going on.   I explained why I had just had a breakdown like that, and assured her I would be fine. It was still early in the morning and I did not want to upset her. I told her that I needed to calm down and did not want to upset her and that she should probably practice during one of her breaks and sent her away.

We called my mother’s uncle Mkhulu Kaiser, loosely translated to mean grandfather Kaiser.
So many memories of him just kept flashing through my mind.  I remember that after my father suffered a stroke he got very depressed, probably from the feeling of helplessness. Mkhulu Kaiser always came to visit with him; this would leave my father jovial for days. Mkhulu was a very funny man.  My dad would always ask him “umkhukhu of umjondolo ukhetha ini?”,
It was funny when he said it in his husky voice. Of course we would point out that they both meant the same thing which is a shack, and we’d chose non.Mkhulu was a very educated man. After getting injured at work he had to stop working while at his peak. He always insisted that we studied hard.

After my grandmother got married, they never did umhlambeso, which is the exchanging of gifts between the two families, so we wanted to do that for my grandfather because everyone else who has been married after that cannot do it until my grandfather has fulfilled his requirements. As the grandchildren, we took it upon ourselves to do this on his behalf.
Mkhulu Kaiser is the last blood relative of my grandmother.
So what now?
I don’t know why I am even thinking about this now. I just wish he could have lived longer.

I eventually called my mother who said, he had passed away around 3am in his home.  During the mourning and burial, I had to appear strong as I had exams coming up.

I called my grandmother, who just broke down and cried, the softness of her voice just breaks my heart. She lost the last member of her family and I felt her hurt and pain. I know how fond of each other they were.

My grandmother calls my father umkhwenyana (son-in-law) or Nkosi.
In my family when a child is born, that child would be sent to her for naming. My grandmother would name the newborn (this is my maternal grandmother as my paternal one passed away long before we were born).
After my birth was I was taken to her and before she could name me, she took a look at me, and then my father and said uSebenzile Nkosi (which means you have worked Nkosi).
Everyone thought that was the name and they just loved it and do I.

About the author

Sebenzile Nkosi was born in 1985 in Witbank, Mpumalanga.
My parents got it all – a son/a lesbian and a daughter, I’m a lesbian.

I am a tenor saxophonist teacher and music arranger. I write to easy the pain, cope and find hope.
I moved to Johannesburg to study music in 2007 my dream was to play for one of the bands in the South African Defense Force. I attended one year at the Funda Community College in Diepkloof, Soweto. With no money to pay for fees, I kept my marks high and became the spokes person of the students there. That awarded me with a scholarship.  I later joined The Johannesburg Youth Orchestra Company that year and trained as a music teacher.
In 2008 I started teaching music to primary school pupils focusing on grades 4-7, while still teaching advance recorder for the Johannesburg Youth Orchestra Company.
I am currently completing my degree in education through University of South Africa (UNISA) focusing on Intersen phase (Grades 4-9).

Intersen phase refers to grades 4-7, whereas Foundation phase are between grades 1-3 and Senior phase is from grade 10-12.

I became section leader of the tenor saxophones in the South African National Youth Orchestra in 2010.

My dream is to have an Orchestra Company of my own that will do more than just teach kids to play instruments. I will motivate them to write their own music. South Africa have initiatives like Idols and SA’s got Talent, there should also be big bands showcasing in those platforms for the youngsters with music instruments to be given an opportunity to play and fully realize their talent.
I would move and inspire education department to employ individuals who are capable of reading music to be the ones teaching at our schools and beyond.

I’m featuring in Faces and Phases portraiture series by Zanele Muholi, my portrait included here was taken in Parktown (2012) at the place I shared with my partner, Sade. She actually introduced me to Muholi.

Previous by Sebenzile

2014 May 7:  Voting for the first time today

and

Related articles of some of the participants featuring in Faces and Phases series

2014 Feb.5:  “No one can live without love”

and

2014 Jan. 9:  “Enforcing my existence”

and

2013 Nov.25:  “We live in fear”

and

2013 Oct. 22:  I thought university was for the rich

and

2013 Oct.16:  I am a beautiful young dyke, a woman lover

and

2013 Oct. 12:  I just feel she deserves much better

and

2013 Aug. 22:  Am exactly where I’m supposed to be

and

2013 Aug. 12:  The importance of self acceptance

and

2013 July 15:  The virus has become a silent relative

and

2013 July 9:  Living in and loving the lesbian boarding house

and

2013 May 7:  Black lesbians on pap test

and

2013 April 30:  this summer

and

2013 April 1:  Who are you to tell me who I am?

and

2013 March 19:  The monster

and

2013 March 10:  “I love women and they love me”

and

2013 Feb. 12:  A dildo is not a man; it’s a fantastic toy…

and

2013 Feb. 28:  I am not a Victim but a Victor

and

2013 Feb. 11:  I almost wished

and

2013 Feb. 10:  Stolen Innocence

and

2013 Feb. 8:  “Let your voices be heard”

by Lebo Leptie Phume

 
Sitting in this taxi my eyes fill with tears from thinking about where I come from. Things were easy for me while my grandmother and my mother were alive, I never had to hustle because I got everything I wanted.  I was living the life.

26 May 2002 is a date I will never forget even if want to. It is a day where my life completely changed. Losing someone you love dearly is the most painful thing one could ever experience. It is worse if it happens on your birthday. Till this day I’m not over her death. I don’t know if I ever will.

Unknown to me things were about to get tougher. It was not long after I had lost my mother, that I had to bid goodbye to my grandmother as well. Sejana se setle hase jelwe I finally understood what that meant after losing my grandmother, the only person that made me have hope after the loss of my mother. I had known that with her by my side I could tackle the world.

It’s true when they say what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. I remember saying “Ketlo sala lemang” when  they lowered the coffin of my grandmother. I felt like digging a hole and burying myself because without her I felt like a penny with a hole in it.

Losing both my mother and grandmother at a tender age forced me to grow up fast.
I had to find the strength within me as I had no one to depend on but myself. It was time for me to make things happen with what life had thrown at me. I had to make adjustments as I had to then understand what it meant to need for the very first time, as I had moved from the world of plenty to nothing. It was not easy but I had to accept it and I purposed in my heart that I was not going be a victim of circumstances.
I started hustling just to have food for lunch at school.

I embrace myself through my love for fashion and I take out all my stresses through my God given talent – which is soccer. It is true what they say that “God has a plan for all of us” and I believe that.
Through all my soccer achievements He is the one who made them possible.  I started playing soccer at the age of 9 years on the dusty streets of Katlehong, where I grew up playing with boys. In Grade 3 I joined an all-boys soccer team called Two for Joy.
The love for football grew as I continued to play. I never got any special treatment just because I was a female. Instead they kicked me hard until I learned how to kick as hard as they did.

After the passing of my grandmother I moved to KwaThema. I joined an all-girls team called This is where I got my first big break. Coach Joseph “Skheshe” Mkhonza saw potential in me. Then he decided to take me to trials for Gauteng province. My experience of playing with boys came in handy as I feared no girls and tackled anyone that came my way like I tackled the boys I used to play with. Being selected for the Gauteng team and being named captain was a dream come true for me. I saw the light, I believed I was good enough.

That same year I saw myself flying off to France to represent South Africa in the Tour de France tournament. It was surprising and shocking how I had achieved so much in a short space of time. From being a nobody to being respected by your fellow team mates and opponents is great achievement and feeling.

I had never felt so good. My confidence soared and I believed that anything could happen if I put my mind and my heart to it. For a moment I forgot all my problems and I let soccer make me happy. Soccer became the drug I needed. When I was called up for the national under 17 team, I wished my grandmother could witness that moment.   I could not believe I was wearing the green and gold track suit on my first day in camp. It was like a dream. Being promoted to the national under 20 made me feel wanted, like I was needed to assist the team. There is no greater feeling than when I am inside the soccer field, should it be as a defender or as a goalkeeper.  I feel at peace, I feel like the world is right on the middle of my palm.

My love for football could not fade over night or ever even.  It runs through my veins. I take pride in being a no nonsense defender, and a hard tackler. The fact that my late grandmother passed on knowing and encouraging me to play and never stop playing, propels me to play with all my heart. Every time I step into the soccer field I play for her and my mother because I know they are smiling down at me and most of all I play for myself. Contrary to what people believe, my lesbianism did not influence me to play soccer. I became a soccer player before I even knew I was lesbian.

Soccer is not the only thing I am passionate about. For as long as I can remember, I have always loved dressing up and looking good, whether I go somewhere or not.
I guess I took it from my mother who was always well groomed and she loved clothes too. It is hard to define my style as I wear anything I think will look good on me. From being a sporty person I am, I used to love sportswear more than anything. But as I grow up my eyes opened. I saw there was more to life than sportswear. As time went by my interest in fashion grew beyond just sportswear.

2012 Dec. 22 After winning the LGBTI Recognition award

Dressing up is therapeutic for me, it eases my pains. I feel like it brings me closer to my mother as she loved fashion too. I am not defined by the clothes I wear and the price-tag on them. I simply love style and have great taste no matter the price. Being nominated for the best dresser award at the LGBTI Recognition Awards 2012 was a stepping stone for me. It opened my eyes, letting me know that people adore my style. That is when I knew I was doing something good. I want to be the voice of all the fashion loving lesbians in Africa and the world as a whole. I believe I can break the norm and show the world that lesbians also have a voice.
People always evolve, things evolve so it is time fashion did too.

‘Leptie’ the fashionista, soccer player… on vacation at the Durban South beach in March 2014.

I am hoping all the designers one day will take note that they need to expand their male range to accommodate lesbians too. There is nothing more frustrating than going shopping but failing to find the right size just because the male cuts are too big. Through me, designers can have a huge following as my fellow lesbians love looking good like myself and I know for a fact they will sell.

People break new grounds everyday, it’s about time that lesbians did the same and stopped conforming. I refuse to be seen under dressed as you will never know who you will meet while you are out. Every occasion is an opportunity to dress up and present yourself in the best possible manner. Appearance speaks for you before you speak.

As I would say “everyday is a fashion show and the world is my run way”.  That is the creed that I live by and dressing up is not a hobby but what I love.  They say dress up like you going to meet your worst enemy everyday.

Lebo ‘Leptie’ PHUME, Daveyton, Johannesburg, 2013. She is featuring in Zanele Muholi’s                                    Faces and Phases series.

You may see me dressed well and think that my life was easy.  Well allow me to tell you that behind the beautiful face you see is a lesbian who is torn into a million pieces, who is still in need of her mother and grandmother’s love and guidance. However life goes on.  I press forward gracefully for the love of soccer and fashion. This is my journey.

Previous by Lebo

2014 May 13: “Making love to it”

and

2014 April 9:  Born for this

and

2014 Jan.21:  My Woman

and

2013 Nov.14:  Photos from 2013 Feather Awards

Texts by Yaya Mavundla
Photos by Smanga Shange

I usually sit front row at Fashion Week, mingle with the crème de la crème of the entertainment industry at A-list events and I found myself at Miss Gay Jozi held at the Wits Theatre, Johannesburg on the 17^th of May 2014 seated at a very noisy block which was like 7 rows away from where I’d usually sit. Not to mention I had to buy a ticket to come watch drag queens lip sync for their life, mind you I’m used to getting an exclusive invite to watch Who’s Who sing live. Not that I’m complaining, just putting it out there.

Miss Gay Jozi 2014 logo

2014 May 17 Miss Tee Menu about to take her 1st walk as the Queen of Miss Gay Jozi 2014

Best pageant in Jozi

It’s been a while since I attended such a great pageant hosted by the LGBTI community. At Miss Gay Jozi I felt like I was watching Miss World Pageant. From the outfits the one MC wore Zsa-Zsa the girls and the performances. For the first time I was convinced that they did research to understand what we people want. The introduction of the Club Simply Blue reigning queens was the BEST! The traditional wear introduction the girls killed it! Out of 12 girls only 1 girl didn’t get it right, Thibi and if RuPaul was present she would have said “Sashe Away” and that will mean end of her journey in the competition. The swim suit, such perfection! For a second I imagined Miss Universe swim suit competition that’s how good it was. Like the usual, there will always be bad girls and this time around it was contestant number 2 and 4 who wore lingerie. Such disappointment! Listening is a skill girls, and you clearly don’t have it.

The cocktail wear all the girls were such stunners! Miss Tee and Somizy wore it best! I could see myself in Somizi’s white dress at this year’s Style Awards.

The best dress, as prize for the overall winner

And then there was evening wear, Ball Gowns… Well clearly contestant number 1, Sjarmante Diamante didn’t get the memo or she probably didn’t want to listen as she got it wrong! She was is in a wedding gown, more like she is about to walk down the aisle. My favourite was Somizy, Miss Tee and definitely Davy who looked like she was at the Miss Universe pageant. She looked amazing in a blue dress with open sleeves. She reminded me of Lwandle Ngwenya, Miss SA 12 finalist.

Too many performances

There was a point where I wished they could ask the audience if we still want more performances. Besides the fact that they were all AMAZING but truth is less is more. I felt like I was in a concert rather than a pageant. The opening performance by Divas of Drag was “OK”. Ella has grown, she’s more of a performer now than an entertainer. She sings! Perfect for the theatre.

Labelz D’Glamour, actually no! LABELZ D’GLAMOUR. Nhlanhla Ncinza of Mafikizolo would be so shy if she were to see this girl’s performance. She nailed it! If she was in attendance she would probably hide somewhere, when a drag queen gets a standing ovation for performing your song better, joh!
Tina Turner’s performance was Simply The Best just like the tittle of the song she performed! I won’t be surprised if some people were convinced it was her performing.

There were too many performances in a way that if I were to bore you with the details it will be two pages.
Drama at thee most dignified theatre

Wits Theatre is such a dignified space, more like you are on Broadway, there is no way you would imagine that people can let loose just like that. On arrival with Maureen Majola and Smanga Shange, just after paying for our tickets I asked one of the organizers if it was possible to interview the girls. “Not in this competition my dear, how can you arrive at 8pm and want to interview the girls, the media people did that at 6pm” that’s the response I received from one of the organizers. Despite me humbling myself saying “its owk I understand” he still made it a point to go on and on forever. I was so B.O.R.E.D I needed a drink to loosen up again.

Jerome Camp – one of Miss Gay Jozi 2014
organisers

Just like at any other pageant in the world, when close friends and family are proud of their girl they would go up on stage and hug the winner, take pictures with her, like Donald Trump at Miss Universe pageant would say. I will keep the memories and he does that through pictures. At Miss Gay Jozi it was a different story, when Lesiba Mothibe, Miss Tee’s mother and I were on stage to congratulate Miss Tee and take pictures, pageant organizer Dino Abrahams came on stage and screamed like someone who is watching scary movie One Missed Call. I couldn’t believe it! “Get out of my stage, you don’t belong here” He said.

While I was still digesting that, Dimpho all the way from Vaal with her friend Leroy were in such bad behaviour, in a way that Leroy was so drunk that she could not contain herself and found herself a comfortable corner inside the theatre to get some sleep, I don’t know if she passed out or she decided to take a break from the 5 litre boxed wine they were busy with and puffing smokes like they in a tavern, so embarrassing!

Labels the “it” girl

Labelz D’Glamour belongs in Rio! She was the BEST, basically the highlight for the evening. Her performances, I mean, I’ve seen the best girls on stage perform in Cape Town, CREW amongst other venues and at Miss Gay Western Cape but I can say they have nothing on her. More like how Beyonce did it at her “I AM” World Tour. Her Waka Waka performance was the best, from her grand entrance, the outfit and the whole performance, even RuPaul would give her a standing ovation had she been there.

The Mafikizolo performance. It will take time for me to think of Nhlanhla Ncinza when I hear Khona by Mafikizolo. She owned it.

Fake everything

Fake eyelashes are allowed, most contestants and performers wore them. Padding to add curves, I don’t get it but fine. Fake flowers for the winner! A NO, NO! I don’t know what the idea behind it was and where did they get it. Maybe they want the winner to hand them over to the next year’s queen when her reign finishes? I have never!

Girls at their usual best, not able to answer judges questions

Gorgeous girls wearing gowns that would pay a BMW 1 series deposit combined together but NO brains. Majority of the contestants couldn’t answer the questions. Even the simple question as “If you were to be on a cover of a magazine, which one would you choose to be on and why?”
I mean if the Acting Editor of True Love who was previously Editor of Real Magazine before it was canned was present, she would have been so embarrassed that there are beauty queens who want to be cover girls with no stories to tell.

Second princess was just lucky to place on the Top 3 as she also couldn’t answer the question. She explained something about the bible for about 5 minute and only made one valid point which was also not really answering the question.

The right girl wins

Despite contestant number 4, Cheaza Jaars failing to answer the judges question she still took the Second Princess spot. I would say she deserved it since there was no one else would have been the contestant to take that position as most girls were the weakest links when coming to answering what was asked. The first princess position went to contestant who I didn’t expect to be on the top 3, Thibi Monale. She failed dismally to answer the judge’s question and yet she wishes to be True Love Magazine cover girl with no story to tell.
Miss Tee Menu, Shaka Zulu’s daughter as she introduced herself in her traditional outfit. It was clear that to me that she was the obvious winner with her well presentation of traditional, swim suit, cocktail, Ball Gown and nailed the final question. “For the first time a deserving girl wins” – Jason Samuel said after Miss Tee Menu from Daveyton was crowned Miss Gay Jozi 2014.

Best performance by Mr Carter who was almost naked on stage…

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Previous by Yaya

2014 March 30:  Dressed in the Jackson 5 assemble, exotic dance moves and performing hit singles with no support from friends

and

2014 March 30:  Bright future for Mzamo

by Collen Mfazwe

Growing up was never easy but it was kind of fun because I did not understand some of the things I was supposed to understand, e.g. why did I have to menstruate every month?
Why did my breasts have to grow?
It is not like I had to feed a baby. Those where the questions I always had when I was growing up since I identify as a butch lesbian.  Even now I still have those questions. I just do not understand and I do not want to understand, why do I have to understand things that I do not  like or things that I do not want.

Collen Mfazwe, Daveyton township, Johannesburg, 2012.           Featuring in Faces and Phases by Zanele Muholi

I grow up in a family with two boys and three girls and I was the other boy to balance
the numbers to three boys  and three girls.  We were raised by our late lovely mother who always knew what she wanted for us and was always with us.  No matter how hard the situation, she always stood by us. I am talking about the woman who taught us all the things we needed to know in life. I mean sharing, cleanliness, respect but most of all she taught us how to pray the Lord’s Prayer  because God was our only father we had and even today he is the only father  we have .

My mom was the strongest woman I ever known and her passing on distracted me so much. I remember leaving school and going to hang around with friends and becoming a stranger to my own home because I could not stay at home anymore. Things that I did before I did not do them anymore because I thought I wanted to prove to my mom that I can be stronger than her and I wanted to do things that she had not done for us to make her the happiest woman in the world but God took her from us.  That is where I gave up everything and started to be something else to the extent that my aunt went to police station to report that I was not schooling and was not staying at home, asking the police to help her by taking me to the cell every weekend, just for me to be safe.  I was with her when she filed the report. I promised the police that it would not happen again and they took my word for it. Right after we left the station I disappeared just like that.

One night we went out with friends drinking and smoking having fun, walking drunk at night and feeling invincible.  Fun turned out to be my worst nightmare.  A group of boys robbed us, taking my friend’s phone and stabbing another of my friends.  It was so shocking, painful and scary.  We thought she would  die so we carried her to a nearest police station to look for an emergency ambulance.  Luckily we got one there, she eventually survived and that was my wake up call. I went back home and started going to school but I didn’t pass my matric and that didn’t make me a failure because life was really hard and there was no income at home so I choose to do things that I knew the will feed me and my family. I started to open a small business selling snacks and ice creams.  I was also gardening and painting so that I could put bread on the table for the young ones.  My elder brother and sister were doing their best as well. This is what allowed me to pick myself up.

I always wanted to be a successful businessman and I always saw myself staying in a big house when I grew up.  I was raised in a shack and always had dreams.   I wanted to be a Forensic Accountant but all that has not happened yet.

I am now a photographer, not by mistake but because God wanted me to be one. Zanele Muholi found me at the 2012 Miss Gay and Mr Lesbian contest in Daveyton. Later she introduced me to photography and took me to the Market Photo Workshop to study photography and now I can say I have a career.  I need to maintain it and make sure I do not repeat the mistakes of yesterday. Muholi is everything to me.  She showed me that one could be anything if they want.  I am the holder of my future.  It is in my hands and I am the controller of my life.  I just have to be responsible for my every action, thanks to Muholi.

Today I receive emails from people I never met but they only experienced my work saying, “Dear Collen Mfazwe can we kindly have the permission to use your work for our article or book?”
How fascinating is that?
It is possible if you believe.

Previous articles

2013 Aug. 31:  Best mark followed by death news

and

2013 July 13:  Picturing Duduzile Zozo’s funeral

My name is Abongile Matyila.
Abongile is a Xhosa name which means to be grateful. My uncle gave me that name.
I’m a 22 year old Bachelor of Arts (BA) student studying at the University of Fort Hare, East London in the Eastern Cape.

Born in Mdantsane, the second biggest township in South Africa, I was raised with three younger siblings and brought up by both my parents. Due to socio-economic pressures to find a good qualification, I entered my first year of university as an Accounting student, but subsequently developed an interest in the fields of Sociology and Philosophy which are his current courses of study. My love for these subjects offered me a platform to explore much of my own identity in relation to the world around me.
Growing up as a person with an ambiguous sexuality fuelled my interest towards understanding the complexities of sexuality, gender expression and the act of sex itself. I was afforded the opportunity to present on the topic of sexuality in a philosophy colloquium at the University of Fort Hare. I assisted in coordinating a student LGBTI group at the university in 2011 and proceeded to join the Eastern Cape Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Intersex organisation, of which is currently appointed as the Provincial Organiser.

Apart from being politically active in the field of LGBTI rights in the Eastern Cape, I have always had a burning passion for the performing arts. I was considered a stellar jazz soloist in high school, and participated in various local theatre productions during my teen years.  Later on danced in a performing group called Creative Pulse which offered a platform for LGBTI artists.  It is where I found freedom to express myself as a performer whilst interacting with like-minded artists. As much as I loved performing, although my love for the arts has always defined the person I am.
I felt that need to ground and identify myself in my hometown where a change of perceptions towards LGBTI people – cultural and religious – was needed.

As an individual, my desire has always been to champion one’s sole expression, regardless of whom or where they are. Being a gender non-conforming black person meant I had to mediate between my gender expression, sexuality and cultural values, which might not have been aligned under ‘usual’ circumstances. Having to find a common ground between these components encouraged me to find myself, and thus live an assertive life full of expression and liberty.

I wish to see myself walking on the ramps of Paris Fashion week. I want to be in a big stage production or as a well-recognised activist, a proof that every individual is unique and has as much a right to a full life as any. Everyone should be treated with respect, as we are all human beings, and afforded the liberty to live their lives as they see fit; a life free from pressure to conform, inequality and prejudice.

Understanding and embracing one’s individuality is key to accepting who one is, which creates room to live your life to the fullest. The act of being yourself is indeed the best person you can ever be.

ABONGILE MATYILA Scenery Park, AMALINDA. East London. (2012)                                                          Photo by Zanele Muholi.

I found myself at 22

Seems like I’ve been walking aimlessly
Dodging bullets of hate and vile perceptions
What are you, where do you come from?
Am I not supposed to be here?

The life I had come to know
Did not recognise who I was
Not my love, nor my face
Nor my need to breathe the same air
The hard cold of its back offering thick clouds of judgment
I don’t know who I am anymore.

I lost the warmth of the sun in my sleep
The feel of the morning dew on my feet
I forgot the smell of the waking world at dawn
The mornings filled with joy,
days filled with happiness

But this is not my home

There is no place for me here.

I catch a glimpse of a photograph
A spot of distant hope in my eyes
A hope of dancing at the Theatre
And walking the streets of Paris close to midnight
The rain misty
and soft
against my smile, warmed by a content heart
This air is filled with crisp dreams
And a life full of worth for the living!

But where is this life?
If I this one is not mine to live,
In my own way?
How is it that you impose your thoughts about my body,
As if repainting an old wall worthless to the space it occupies?

Man, what has my love for another spoken to you
That encourages you to crush my dreams
and devalue my self worth?

Tell me
I need to breath; a space to be visible
To be loved

I need a place I can call home.