Category Archives: Mainstreaming our queer issues

2019 Sep. 1: Queers Converse

by Nonkululeko Dube I was invited to document a dinner gathering on August 1st 2019. It was hosted in Parktown North, Johannesburg,  by David Lewis-Peart who lives in Toronto, Canada. He was invited to South Africa by Prof/Sir Zanele Muholi for Faces and Phases 13 … Continue reading

Posted in 2013 Miss Gay Limpopo, Activated queer spaces, African Queer Beauty, and Queerness, Archiving Queer Her/Histories in SA, Art is Queer, Black Gay Graduates in SA, Black Gay Men Write Rights, Black Gay Wedding, Black Queer & Gifted, Black Queer Artists, Black Queer Born Frees, Black Queer Born Frees in SA townships, Black Queer Born Frees in South Africa, Black Queer Professionals, Black Queer Social, Black Queer Talent, Black Queers, Conversation, Critically Queer, Durban Gay Centre, Exchanging Queer thoughts, Gay, Gay & Lesbian Memory in Action (GALA), Gay Umbrella, Great conversation, Know Your SA Queer History, Lerato Dumse in conversation with Lindeka Qampi and Zanele Muholi, Love is Queer, Mainstreaming our queer issues, Open conversations, Queer & Straights, Queer Africa, Queer Africans speaking for themselves., Queer community, Queer Education in SA, Queer Edutainment, Queer Pride, Queer South Africa, Queer texts, Queer visibility, Queer World, Queer Youth, Uncategorized, United Queer Nations | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

2016 Aug. 9: Look back and go forward

by Mbali Zulu Look back and go forward. Looking at the picture of the group I am forced to look back and go forward. What is it that I am looking back at? What is it that I am going … Continue reading

Posted in A new visual history, Activists Act, Another Approach Is Possible, Appreciation, Archived memories, Art Is A Human Right, Art Solidarity, Article by Mbali Zulu, Articulation, Beautiful faces, Community work, Confidence, Creating awareness, Empowerment, Experience, Expression, Faces & Phases portraits, Faces and Phases (2006 - 2014) book launch..., Faces and Phases participants, Family and Friends, Family matters, Happiness, Human Beings, I love photography, Knowledge, Lessons learnt, Life, Life Stories, Living by example, Lovely words, Loving photographs, Mainstreaming our queer issues, Making history, Moments, Networking, Opportunity, Our lives in the picture, Participation, Politics of representation, Power of the Voice, Questions and Answers, Re-presentation, Reality, Recognition, Records and histories, Sharing information, Sharing knowledge, Sharing thoughts, South Africa, We Are You, We Care, We Still Can with/out Resources, Writing is a Right | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

2015 Feb. 10: “I love you my Mom”

by Thuli Mchunu Firstly, I would like to congratulate the team that made the Faces and Phases 2006-14 photobook come alive. When I laid my hands on the book my eyes were itching to read it, but unfortunately I was socializing with … Continue reading

Posted in Another Approach Is Possible, Archived memories, Book, Creating awareness, Expression, Faces and Phases (2006 - 2014) book review, Faces and Phases (2006-14), Facing You, Facts, Families, Families and Friends, Friends, Friendships, Knowledge, Layout, Learning, Love, Love is a human right, Love is Queer, Mainstreaming our queer issues, Memories, Moments in our history, Participants, Penetrating mainstream spaces, Photo Expressions, Photographs, Photography as a therapy, Power of the Voice, Queer visibility, Reviving the culture of reading and writing, revolution, Sexual orientation, Sexuality, Sexuality in South Africa, Sharing, Sharing knowledge, Sharing thoughts, South Africa, Teaching, Visual democracy, Visual history, Visual history is a Right not a luxury, Visual Language, Visual narratives, Visual Power, Visualizing our lives, Voice, We Are You, We Care, We Still Can with/out Resources, Words, Writing is a Right, Youth voices | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

2015 Jan. 3: I dropped out of the closet many times

“It is a story about my coming out, its more significant than any part of my life history” Being who I am should not compromise who you are. The road to coming out was not easy. I was born in … Continue reading

Posted in Another Approach Is Possible, Archived memories, Beatings, Creating awareness, Expression, Eyes, Face, Faces & Phases portraits, Faces and Phases (2006 - 2014), Gratitude, Gratitude to my lover, Inner feelings, Insulted, Interaction, Interpretation, Intervention, Irritation, Issues of sexuality, Knowledge, Language, Lesbian, Lessons learnt, Life, Life is a production..., Life lived, Life Stories, Life story, Live, Living, Living by example, Longing, Look at me, Loss to the black lesbian community, Lost Lives, Love is a human right, Love is Queer, Loved, Lovely words, Mainstream media, Mainstream spaces, Mainstreaming our queer issues, Making a mark, Memories, Moments, Moments in herstory, My body, My life in short, Nasty, Nature, Participants, Participation, Patience, Personification, Photo Expressions, Pleased, Political space, Politics of existence, Portraiture series, Power of the Voice, Powerful, Presentations, Pressure, Previous life stories, Privilege, Proud lesbian, Proud to be, Queer & Straights, Queer Africans speaking for themselves., Queer Power, Queer visibility, Queer Zimbabwe, Questions, Questions and Answers, Readers, Readings, Real, Reality, Realization, Reason, ReClaim Your Activism, Recognition, recognized, Recognizing the problem, Recording, Records and histories, Reflection, Reflections, Related links, Relationship, Relationship with own body, Relationships, relative, Relatives, Remembering, Reminiscing, Report, Representation, Representing, Resentments, Respect, Respect & Recognition from our community, Respected person, Response, Reviews, Reviving the culture of reading and writing, revolution, Rumours, safe, Scared, Scripted, Scriptures, Sexual orientation, Sexuality, Sharing, Sharing knowledge, Silence, Smile, Solidarity, Solution, South Africa, South African Black Female Photographers, South African townships, Speaking for ourselves, Statement, Straights, Struggles, Struggling, Suffered, Supporters, Supporting each other, Supportive friends and families, Survived, Teachings, Tears, Texts, Textualizing Our Own Lives, Thankful, Time, Timing, together, Together we can, Togetherness, Touching, Transformation, Transparency, Trust, Tshona is a Zimbabwean language, violation of rights, Violence, Visibility, Vision, Visual activism, Visual activism is a language, Visual democracy, Visual diaries, Visual historical initiative, Visual history, Visual history is a Right not a luxury, Visual Language, Visual narratives, Visual Power, Visual sense, Visual Voices, Visualizing our lives, Visualizing public spaces, Visuals, We Are You, We Care, We love photographs, We Love Photography, We Still Can with/out Resources, Weeping, When home is a crime scene, When Love is a Human Right, Where & Who is Justice?, Writing is a Right, Zimbabwe | 22 Comments

2014 Dec. 28: Javas & Mashadi’s pre wedding lunch

Where:  Mike’s Kitchen in Alberton With who:  Inkanyiso crew & Friends Camera used:  Canon 600D     Sisters with style… lead by Zandile Makhubu in front with blue top… Our lovely couple, Javas & Mashadi Ndlovu to get married in … Continue reading

Posted in Acceptance, Activists, Activists Act, Alternative family, Announcement, Another Approach Is Possible, Archived memories, Archiving Queer Her/Histories in SA, Arguments, Art Is A Human Right, Art is Queer, Articles, Articulation, As we are, Attention, Background, Baring, Beautiful, Beautiful faces, Beauty, Before You, Being, Being conscientized, Black lesbian visibility, Black Lesbians, Black Queer & Gifted, Bodies, Body Politics, Bringing photography to the community, Came out of the closet, Captioned, Captured, Caring for our female youth, Celebration, Citizenship, Claiming, Claiming mainstream spaces, Claiming the public spaces, Collaborations, Collective, Collectivism, Commemoration, Comment, Commitment, Committed, Community education, Community Mobilizing, Community organizing, Community outreach, Confession, Connected souls, Connections, Consent, Consideration, Contributors, Conversation, Corruption, Crea(c)tive senses, Creating awareness, Creative Writing, Creativity, Cultural activists, Culture of reading and writing, Daring, Dedication, Democracy, Description, Despair, Details, Difference, Different positions, Dignity, disappearance, Disappointment, Discomfort, discourse, Divergence, Diversity, Documentation; Filming; Photography; Community, Documenting hate crimes, Documenting realities of the townships, Dress sense, Edited, Education, Elegance, Emotional support, Empowerment, Evidence, Exhibition, Existence, Expertise, Exploration, Exposure, Expression, Facing You, Faith, Families, Families and Friends, Featuring, Feelings, Female Photographers, Freedom, Freedom of being, Freedom to be..., Friends, Gender activist, Gender articulation, Gender expression, Gender naming, Gift, Gratitude, Hardships, Human rights, Humiliation, I am not the only one, I am Somebody, I can't do it ALONE, I love photography, I use CANON, I was (T)here, I was here, Identity, Ignorance, Important, Inconsiderate, Incredible, Independence, Individuals, Influenced, Javas Joyce Ndlovu featuring in Faces and Phases, Javas Ndlovu & partner Mashadi, Lebo Mashifane, Longing, Love, Love is a human right, Love is Queer, Loved, Lovely words, Loving, Lunch with friends to wish the couple well, Mainstreaming our queer issues, Making a mark, Media works, Memory, Moments, Moments in herstory, Motivation, My body, Naming, New challenge, Supporting each other, We Are You, We love each other, We love photographs, We Still Can with/out Resources, We were (t)here, Wishing, Wishing you well, Witnesses, Womanhood, Women's power, Words, Work, Worked for us, Writing is a Right | Leave a comment

2014 Dec. 24: If things were going my way

Lebo Leptie Phume & Zanele Muholi interviewed some special friends about their Christmas wishes. I grew up celebrating Christmas because that’s what everyone was doing and it’s not like I had a choice not to celebrate it. Even though I … Continue reading

Posted in A new visual history, Abantu, Acceptance, Act, Acting, Articles, Articulation, Arts, Arts & Culture, As we are, Attention, Baring, Beautiful, Beautiful people, Beauty, Before US, Before You, Begging, Being, Being conscientized, Being heard, Black Queer & Gifted, Blackness, Bodies and histories, Captioned, Captured, Caring citizens, Celebration, Challenging the un-African homosexuality, Characters, Christmas wishes, Citizenship, Claiming, Collective, Collectivism, Comfort, Comment, Community, Connected souls, Connections, Consideration, Crea(c)tive senses, Creating awareness, Creative Writing, Cultural activists, Daring, Dedication, Delegation, Different positions, Edited, Education, Emotional support, Empowerment, Evidence, Excitement, Existence, Experience, Expertise, Exploration, Exposure, Expression, Facing You, Facts, Families, Families and Friends, Family support, Fantasy, Favourite, Featuring, Feelings, Festive season, Freedom, Freedom of being, Friends, Friendships, Give, Gratitude, Happiness, He(ART), History, Homosexuality, Honesty, Hope, Human Beings, I almost wished, I am not the only one, I am Somebody, I can't do it ALONE, I was (T)here, I was here, Imagined, Incredible, Independence, Individuals, Influenced, Inner feelings, Know Your SA Queer History, Knowledge, Language, Lebo Phume, Legacies of Existence, Lessons learnt, LGBT community, Liberation, Life, Life is a production..., Life lived, Life Stories, Live, Living, Living by example, Longing, Love, Love is a human right, Love is Queer, Loved, Lovers, Loving, Mainstreaming our queer issues, Memories, Mind, Mission, Moments, Moments in our history, Motivation, Naming, Patience, Perception, Power of the Voice, Powerful, Privilege, Queer Power, Queer South Africa, Queer texts, Queer visibility, Questions, Real, Reality, Reason, Recognition, recognized, Recording, Reflections, Relationship, Relationships, Remembering, Respected person, Respondents, Self-worth, Sexuality, Sexuality in South Africa, Sharing, Sharing knowledge, Sharing thoughts, Success, Visibility, Vision, Visual Power, Visual sense, Visual Voices, Visualizing public spaces, We Are You, We Care, We love each other, We Still Can with/out Resources, Wishing | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

2014 Dec. 13: Faces and Phases invokes memories

Book Review by Kopano Sibeko “I used to be lesbian, but now my final words are on a tombstone, because he showed me the power of a man. I could never love that, so I killed myself because I knew … Continue reading

Posted in A new visual history, Beyond SA borders, Claiming mainstream spaces, Claiming the public spaces, Collaborations, Comfort, Comments from the audience, Commitment, Committed, Communication strategies, Community, Community based media, Community education, Community Mobilizing, Community organizing, Community outreach, Community work, Confession, Confrontation, Connected souls, Connections, Consent, Contests, Conversation, courage, Crea(c)tive senses, Creating awareness, Creative Writing, Creativity, Cultural activists, Culture, Culture of reading and writing, Details, Difference, Different positions, discourse, Discussion, Diversity, Documentation; Filming; Photography; Community, Documenting our own lives, Documenting realities of the townships, Embodies, Emotional support, Empowerment, Encounter, Endurance, Freedom, Individuals, Lesbian Love Is Possible in South Africa, Lesbianism, Lessons learnt, Life Stories, Mainstreaming our queer issues, Making a mark, Media works, Personification, Political injustices, Politics of existence, Politics of geography, Professionals, Publications, Recording, relative, Remembering, Report, Representation, Sexuality in South Africa, Sharing, Sharing knowledge, Sharing thoughts, Struggles, Support, Support is the system, Supporting each other, Supportive friends and families, Teachings, Transgenderism, Transphobia, Victimisation, Visual Activist, Visual Arts, Visual democracy, Visual diaries, Visual historical initiative | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

2014 Oct. 15: “Young, Gifted and Gay”

by Lerato Ntlatlane-Malibe It is funny how as people we are covered by different labels. When people discover that I am gay, comments I normally receive are “but you are so feminine and pretty”. Really! As a writer/columnist for a … Continue reading

Posted in Another Approach Is Possible, Archived memories, Arguments, Article, Articulation, As we are, Attention, Awareness workshops, Background, Black Lesbian, commit, Creating awareness, Education, Empowerment, Evidence, Experience, Exposure, Expression, Facing You, Feelings, Female being, Feminine, Friends, Friendships, Gender expression, Gender naming, God, Grateful, Gratitude, Homosexuality, Human Beings, Human body, Human rights, I Am, I am Somebody, I can't do it ALONE, I was (T)here, Identity, Ignorance, Intervention, Journey, Knowledge, Label, Language, Lerato Ntlatlane-Malibe, Love, Love is a human right, Loved, Lovely words, Mainstreaming our queer issues, Married, Memory, Our lives in the picture, Prejudice, Pride, Proud lesbian, Proud to be, South Africa, Warmth, We Are You, We Care, We Still Can with/out Resources, We were (t)here, When Love is a Human Right, Words, Writing is a Right, Young | 2 Comments

2014 Oct. 8: Beautiful faces and kisses from Soweto Pride 2014

                                                                                … Continue reading

Posted in 10th Soweto Pride, 20 Years of Democracy, Acceptance, Acceptance speeches, Act, Acting, Activism, Activists, Activists Act, Adoring, After party, Allies, Alternative career choices, Alternative family, an LGBTI organisation, Anger, Announcement, Another Approach Is Possible, Archived memories, Archiving Queer Her/Histories in SA, Arguments, Art Activism, Art Activism in South Africa, Art for Humanity, Art Is A Human Right, Art is Queer, Art Solidarity, Art Therapy, Article, Articles, Articulation, Artist Talk, Artists, Arts, As we are, Attention, Awareness workshops, Background, Baring, Before US, Before You, Begging, Being conscientized, Black Lesbian Love, Black lesbian mothers, Black lesbian visibility, Black lesbians in remote areas in South Africa, black LGBTIQA, Black Queer & Gifted, Black Queer Artists, Black Queer Born Frees, Black Queer Born Frees in SA townships, Body, Cameras, Captioned, Captured, Caring citizens, Celebrating Women, Celebration, Challenging the un-African homosexuality, Characters, Charismatic, Citizenship, Claiming, Claiming blackness, Claiming mainstream spaces, Collaborations, Collective, Collectivism, Comfort, Comment, Comments from the audience, Commitment, Committed, Communication strategies, Community, Community based media, Community education, Community Mobilizing, Community organizing, Community outreach, Community work, Complicated Lesbian Relationships, Confrontation, Connected souls, Connections, Consideration, Contestants, Contests, Contributors, Conversation, Crea(c)tive senses, Creating awareness, Creative Writing, Creativity, Cultural activists, cultural worker, Culture, Culture of reading and writing, Delegation, Democracy, Demonstration, Details, Different positions, Dignity, disappearance, discourse, Discussion, Documentary, Documentation; 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Voices; Writings; Education; Traditions; Struggles; Cultures, Womenonwomen, Womyn, Words, Writing is a Right, Years, Young black female photographers, Young Black Women and Photography, Young female photographers from Aurora, Young talent, young women, Young Women and Visual Activism, Youth, Youth voices | 10 Comments

2014 Sept. 28: An emotional farewell for the recent victim of hate crime

Text by Lerato Dumse Photos by Lindeka Qampi and Zanele Muholi   It is a Sunday morning and like in most townships, the streets of Daveyton township are a buzz of activity. Many carry bibles, making their way to different churches. In … Continue reading

Posted in "We'll Show You You're a Woman”, 'We live in fear', 1986-2014, 20 Years of Democracy, 20 Years of Democracy in SA, Activism, An emotional farewell for Lihle, Article, Brutal murders of black lesbians in SA, Daveyton, Documentation; Filming; Photography; Community, Documenting hate crimes, Documenting our own lives, Documenting realities of the townships, Farewell, Funeral, Gender Equality, Gender expression, Gender naming, Hate crime, Hate Crimes, Hate crimes Victims names, He(ART), Human rights, Humiliation, Hurt, Identity, If not documented, In memory of Lihle Sokhela, Independence, Influenced, Inkanyiso media, Institution, Intellectualism, Interpretation, Intervention, Interviews, Invisibility, Issues, Jealousy, Know Your SA Queer History, Knowledge, Lack of Resources, Language, Learning, Legacies of Violence, Lerato Dumse, Lesbian Love Is Possible in South Africa, Lesbian Youth, Lessons learnt, LGBT community, lgbti, LGBTI community, Liberation, Life, Life is a production..., Life Stories, Lihle Sokhela, Lindeka Qampi, Lindeka Qampi sharing her PhotoXP experience to Valerie Thomas, Living, Loss of parents, Loss to the black lesbian community, Lost Lives, Love, Love is Queer, Loved, Lovely words, lover, Loving, Mainstream media, Mainstreaming our queer issues, Mally Simelane, Memories, Memory, Moments in herstory, Moments in our history, Motivation, Mourning, Murder suspect, murdered, Networking, Open relationships, Organizations, Organizing, Our lives in the picture, Ownership of the self, Owning our bodies, Participants, Penetrating mainstream spaces, Perception, Photo album, Photo Expressions, photographers, Photographs, Photographs from the funeral, Photography, Photography as a therapy, Politics of existence, Politics of geography, Politics of representation, Power of the Voice, Previous life stories, Privilege, Professional black lesbians in South Africa, Proud lesbian, Queer & Straights, Queer Africa, Queer Africans speaking for themselves., Queer Power, Queer South Africa, Queer texts, Queer visibility, Queer Youth, queerity, Questioning, Questions and Answers, Readings, ReClaim Your Activism, Recognition, recognized, Records and histories, Reflections, Relationships, Religion, South Africa, South African Council of Churches, Supportive friends and families, Survived by aunts and brothers, Survived by..., Survivor, Teaching, Textualizing Our Own Lives, Together we can, Togetherness, Townships, Unemployment, Uthingo - The Rainbow, Victim of hate crime, Victims, videographers, Videography, Violence, Visibility, Vision, Visual activism, Visual activism is a language, Visual Activist, We Care, We love photographs, We Love Photography, We Still Can with/out Resources, We were (t)here, Women's power, Women's struggles, Women's Work, Women; Voices; Writings; Education; Traditions; Struggles; Cultures, Womenonwomen, Words, Writing from court, Young Women and Visual Activism, Youth, Youth voices, Zanele Muholi, Zulu is a language | 5 Comments