23 Comments

Well done Vice Chancellor- a brave stance where others have failed. Chimamanda is a heroine. We love her.

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HOW? How can they not see that they tried to silence a black woman, and to make everyone pay attention instead to a white man pontificating about what women are? And they claim this is 'social justice'?

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And "intersectional". Are rhey mad?

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What a queen that Vice-Chancellor Mamokgethi Phakeng!! Yusss!! Fantastic news! To us we can clearly see the attempt of a white man 'Tomson' to silence a brilliant Black woman. Thank you for this update Genevieve Gluck! I caught a taxi the other day and had a chat to the driver who was from Nigeria and I took the moment to tell him of the great Ngozi Adichie too!

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Vice-Chancellor Mamokgethi Phakeng, in a country known for its appalling behaviour towards women, stands head and shoulders above most world university staff. What an amazing woman.

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Many U.K. universities could learn from the wisdom of UCT Vice Chancellor Mamokgethi Phakeng. 🙏🏼

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This pleases me immensely. Let them keep bashing their head into the walls of womanhood they are desperately trying to break down.

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I am very, very grateful there are such clear-thinking, principled women in positions of power and influence like Chimamanda and Mamokgethi, who refuse to be cowed by this bull.

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"No Debate" again. Do these people attend a university or a Safe Space shelter?

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Universities are apparently now GIANT PLAYPENS.

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I had no idea about those rape figures in SA, terrifying. Thanks to Genevieve for the article.

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Yes, Farid Esak, who was at one time a South African minister in government, was a pacifist but said he totally understood why a woman would want to kill her rapist.

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One of the sad things is that this entitled twat always could paint his nails & get his ears pierced if he chosen to. Who would have cared if he had?

Whereas women & girls in SA don’t even get a chance to go unraped.

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We need more strong focussed women like Mamokgethi Phakeng, the Vice Chancellor - where are they here!? And brave to Chimamanda - not just for standing up for women and girls, but for her razor sharp analysis.

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I wonder how many students attended the white man's lecture.

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Though trans rights activism started right here in the good ol' US of A it was the internet that brought it to Nigeria.

We've exported our cancer.

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That's not entirely true. There had already been seeds of this kind of thinking in a lot of countries, but America emphasized it and legitimized it.

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Well done Mamokgethi Phakeng - a brilliant voice in the dark pushing back and amplifying another brilliant voice in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

Tomson is just another toxic male. His stupid quote "...I am finally free to have my ears pierced..." is such a stupid take.

Men have had their ears pierced through centuries. Look at any painting of an Elizabethan Man in lace edged ruff, silk doublets and hose covered in embroidery....they wore beautiful, colourful clothing, wore jewellery, dressed themselves well, danced, sang, played instruments as well as able to sword fight, joust, ride horses etc etc.

And yet, they were MEN. And knew they were MEN.

It ALL comes down to stupid, arbitrary rigid stereotypes and fetish.

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I've known plenty of men with pierced ears; did this dude grow up a Mormon or something?

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They wore high heels first as well.

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It’s actually sad that the great artistry in men who dressed how they wanted, regardless of how feminine it was to others, is no longer appreciated for what it was. David Bowie always springs to mind, but there are many.

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I wonder how many students attended the white man's lecture.

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This is brilliant. If you try to talk to someone about gender ideology, they usually make it quite clear that they are repeating theory they read someplace (this is why they never know the details regarding the pharmaceuticals or surgeries). And if you speak in actual concrete terms, then they are convinced they are far smarter than you are 'cause you just aren't smart enough to comprehend the theories they parrot. Many people seem to live theoretical lives in which they avoid the messiness Adichie references, only possible when you have piles of money earned from someone else's labor.

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