by Gaopalelwe Phalaetsile | Mar 21, 2022 | Parenting
It was 2007, I was in grade 11 at a historically Afrikaans High School in Mpumalanga. One day, I was late for school and one of the teachers, a white man, shouted at me and other black pupils rushing to get to our classes; “You should have gone to the...
by Olebogeng Pooe | Mar 14, 2022 | Parenting
Early one summer evening at the height of the #MeToo movement I was sitting at 63rd Street Beach on the South Side of Chicago enjoying sundowners with some of my friends. This was one of our favourite ways to wind down from the week and kickstart our weekends....
by Olebogeng Pooe | Mar 7, 2022 | Parenting
Yesterday afternoon I was sitting outside enjoying the sunshine and watching the neighbourhood kids play. One of the boys who can’t be older than 8 years old and a known troublemaker was being extremely disrespectful to some of the older girls and threw stones at them...
by Olebogeng Pooe | Feb 28, 2022 | Parenting
Societal norms demand that our boys learn to emotionally repress themselves. Boys are conditioned to master the art of suppressing their emotions and then blamed for not being able to express their feelings as men! Our tough-it-out culture can be extremely challenging...
by Jamil F. Khan | Feb 21, 2022 | Parenting, Relationships
Our first introduction into the rules of societal engagement is usually communicated through criticism of something that feels natural to us. As children the things we do are interrupted by a “no”. “Don’t do that! Don’t say that!” “You are a girl! Girls must…”...
by Olebogeng Pooe | Feb 14, 2022 | Parenting
This weekend my niece celebrated her birthday and as soon as I walked into their home instead of wanting to show me her birthday gifts, she and her cousins had far more pressing matters – making sure I see their, and I quote, “Love Day outfits.” After all the...