Category Archives: Life Stories

2014 May 26: I found myself at 22

  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 … Continue reading

Posted in Academic, Acceptance, Activists Act, Adoring, African Queer Beauty, Androgyny, Another Approach Is Possible, Archived memories, Archiving Queer Her/Histories in SA, Art Activism in South Africa, Art Is A Human Right, As we are, Before You, Being Scene, Black Queer Born Frees in SA townships, Black Queer Professionals, Blackness, Body, Creating awareness, Creative writer, Creative Writing, Dress code, Eastern Cape, Empowerment, Exposure, Expression, Friendships, Gender naming, Homosexual, Homosexuality, Human Beings, Human rights, Independence, Know Your SA Queer History, LGBTI community, Life, Life Stories, Living by example, Our lives in the picture, Penetrating mainstream spaces, Photography, Portrait, Power of the Voice, Queer Youth, Recognition, Sexual orientation, Sexuality, Sharing knowledge, Translation, Visual history, Visual history is a Right not a luxury, Visual Language, Visual Power, Visual Voices, We Are You, We Care, We Love Photography, We Still Can with/out Resources, We were (t)here, Writing is a Right, Young talent, Youth voices | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

2014 May 24: The special boy

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 … Continue reading

Posted in Butch identifying lesbian, Contests, Faces & Phases portraits, Fashion, Life Stories, Photography, Politics of existence, Power of the Voice, Queer Youth, Townships, We Are You, We Care, We Love Photography, We Still Can with/out Resources, Writing is a Right, Youth voices | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 19 Comments

2014 May 21: Muholi presents a lecture on Black Queer Born Frees in SA

  Where: Bremen University (Art & Design) department Country: Germany When: 21/05/2014 The guest lecture and workshop was part of the hon. professorship duties. See previous for details on the link below. 2013 Nov. 4: From Market Photo Workshop to … Continue reading

Posted in 'We live in fear' by Zanele Muholi & HRW, Beauty, Curative rapes, Democracy, German, Human Rights Watch, LGBTI community, Life, Life Stories, Maureen Velile Majola, Our lives in the picture, Photos by Lulu Mendelova, We Love Photography, Zulu is a South African language | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

2014 May 14: Talented Ugandan Kuchus in Paris

  ___________________________ What:  “We Are One” performance by TUK – Paris Where:  Salle Olympe de Gouge15, rue Merlin – Paris When:  14th May 2014 @ 8 P.M.   In Uganda, lesbians and gay men are the targets of relentless hateful … Continue reading

Posted in Allies, Alternative family, Archived memories, Archiving Queer Her/Histories in SA, asylum seekers, Education, Emotional support, Empowerment, LGBTIs in Africa, Life, Life Stories | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

2014 May 2: Photo of the night

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      

Posted in Activism, Activists Act, Artists, As we are, Creative Writing, Creativity, I can't do it ALONE, I was (T)here, Identity, Life Stories, Love, Love is a human right, Memory, Moments in herstory, Ndiyadansa actors, Our lives in the picture, Peace, Photo Expressions, Photography, Power of the Arts, Power of the Voice, Recognition, Reflection, Relationships, South Africa, Together we can, Visual Power, We Are You, We Care, We Love Photography, We were (t)here, Women's power, Zanele Muholi | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

2014 April 5: ‘Sifela i Ayikho’ photos

  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 … Continue reading

Posted in "We'll Show You You're a Woman”, 'We live in fear' by Zanele Muholi & HRW, Activists Act, Africans Abroad, Allies, Amnesty International on Inkanyiso, Another Approach Is Possible, Archived memories, Archiving Queer Her/Histories in SA, Art Activism in South Africa, Art Edutainment, Art Is A Human Right, Art is Queer, Art Solidarity, Articles, As we are, Black Lesbians, Black Lesbians & Allies Against Hate Crimes, Black Queer & Gifted, Black Queer Artists, Blackness, Body, Body Politics, Crea(c)tive senses, Creating awareness, Creative Writing, Curative rapes, Disappointment, Discomfort, Documentation; Filming; Photography; Community, Emotional support, Empowerment, Erik Dettwiler, Experience, Exposure, Expression, Feelings, Female Photographers, Feminist Art, Films, Gender activist, Gender expression, Hate crimes Victims names, Human Beings, Human body, Human rights, Human Rights Watch, I can't do it ALONE, I was (T)here, Inconsiderate, Interpretation, Intervention, Jelena Kuljic, Knowledge, Lesbian Love Is Possible in South Africa, Life, Life Stories, Music, Penetrating mainstream spaces, Performance, Photo album, Political Art, Power of the Arts, Power of the Voice, Queer Amnesty, Queer community, Queer poetics, Queer Power, Queer visibility, Recognition, Records and histories, Reflection, Relationships, Sexual orientation, Sharing knowledge, South African Artists, South African Black Female Photographers, South African Black Lesbian Filmmakers, Textualizing Our Own Lives, Visual Activist, Visual Power, We Are You, We Care, We Love Photography, We were (t)here, When Love is a Human Right, Women's Arts In South Africa (WAISA), Youth voices, Zanele Muholi | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

2014 March 20: Black lesbian denied Schengen visa by German Embassy

      “For reasons unknown” Lungile Dladla, a South African lesbian, activist and participant in the world acclaimed Faces and Phases portraiture series by 2013 Prince Claus Laureate, Zanele Muholi, has been denied a visa to travel to Berlin, … Continue reading

Posted in Allies, Another Approach Is Possible, Archived memories, Archiving Queer Her/Histories in SA, Art Is A Human Right, Articles, As we are, Captioned, Creative writer, Creative Writing, Creativity, Lesbian Youth, LGBT rights activist, Life, Life Stories, Media works, Networking, Photography, Political Art, Politics of existence, Politics of representation, Poverty, Pretoria, Race, Reflection, Relationships, Sexual minorities, Sexual orientation, Visa application | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

2014 March 21: Whose Democratic rule?

by Thozie Mathe South Africa passed its first democratic Constitution in 1996, ending a 50-year regime of institutionalized discrimination known as apartheid, and 300 years of legal discrimination. The new laws, in contrast, institutionalized the principles of non-discrimination in the … Continue reading

Posted in Homosexuality, Life Stories, Living by example, Love, Walter Sisulu University, We Are You, We Care, We Still Can with/out Resources, When Love is a Human Right | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

2014 March 21: Part 2 A retrospective on my life and work as an activist in South Africa

Johannesburg, May 17, 2013 (Part 1 describes how I first came to South Africa and became involved in lesbian and gay activism here, namely, through my role as the J-FLAG representative to the ILGA conference hosted by Johannesburg in September … Continue reading

Posted in Behind the Mask (BTM), Dept of Home Affairs, Know Your SA Queer History, Lessons learnt, LGBTIs in Africa, Life, Life Stories, Love | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

2014 March 18: Sharing South African Queer Knowledge with students in America

  Photo album by Valerie Thomas Quote of the day Is South Africa a country?   Frieda Ekotto The University of Michigan Introduction: Zanele Muholi Speaks at the Africa Workshop at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. It is my … Continue reading

Posted in Department of AfroAmerican and African Studies, Expertise, Human Beings, Human body, Human rights, Interpretation, Introduction by Frieda Ekotta, Knowledge, Life, Life Stories, Love, Love is a human right, Mainstream media, Of Love and Loss, Our lives in the picture, Penetrating mainstream spaces, Power of the Arts, Public spaces, Questioning, Questions & Answers, Readings, ReClaim Your Activism, Sharing knowledge, South African Black Female Photographers, South African Visual Activism, Textualizing Our Own Lives, Visual Activist, Visual Activist in the classroom, Visual democracy, Visual history is a Right not a luxury, Visual Language, Visual Power, Visual Voices, Visualizing public spaces, We Are You, We Care, We were (t)here, Women who have sex with Women, Women's Work, Writing is a Right, Zanele Muholi | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments