Ordinary South Africans, as well as our courts, seem to have a schizophrenic attitude towards marriage. On the one hand many people – as well as our courts – seem to revere the traditional institution of marriage. From a young age boys and girls are told that getting married would be one of the ultimate milestones [...]
Posts under ‘Sexual orientation’
Ten countries…. and counting
Argentina became the tenth country (and the first in South America) to provide full marriage equality (including the right to adopt children) to same-sex couples late on Wednesday night. There are now about 250 million people worldwide living in jurisdictions which provide for marriage equity. Here is the list:
2001 Netherlands
2003 Belgium
2005 Spain
2005 Canada
2006 South Africa
2008 Norway
2009 Sweden
2010 [...]
Christine, give them hell!
Multinational steel retailer, Bohler Uddeholm Africa, is probably going to regret the fact that it ever employed Chris(tine) Ehlers. Hopefully the company will also, at some point, begin to regret that its management is filled with people who act like bigots. Christine Ehlers, who was fired as a sales assistant after her employers discovered that [...]
Discrimination is indivisible
Back in the heady days after the 1994 election South Africa professed to base its foreign policy on human rights principles. When the Nigerian government executed activist and environmental journalist, Ken Saro-Wiwa, Nelson Mandela called it a “heinous act”. But Thabo Mbeki soon put a stop to such folly, aligning South Africa instead with the [...]
No blood-filled dreams of dread
Today is “International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia”. To mark this day several religious leaders, including Laurie Gaum, Bishop David Russel and Dean Rowen Smith, have called on South Africans to honour the Constitution and have signed a memorandum on the role of “religious fundamentalism and patriarchy” that have caused an increase in homophobia in South [...]
So who are the perverts?
During the same-sex marriage court case and at public hearings preceding the adoption of the Civil Union Act, the South African Catholic Church was one of the groups that vehemently opposed the extension of full marriage rights to same-sex couples. The Church in effect argued that the law should not recognise the equal dignity of [...]
Moral code? Nah, let’s rather get rich quick and oppress women and gays
It is, to say the least, rather ironic that President Jacob Zuma has called for a national debate on the “issue of a national moral code” around the same time that it emerged that he himself was flouting the law, that his Minister of Arts and Culture holds hateful views about gay men and lesbians, and [...]
Open letter to President Jacob Zuma
Dear President Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma
The media is reporting that you may appoint Jon Qwelane as South Africa’s ambassador to Uganda. I trust these reports are wrong and that the rumours about the imminent appointment of Qwelane were started by your enemies. Surely such damaging rumours have been spread by those who wish to re-enforce racist and Afro-pessimistic [...]
Just a jump to the right?
What kind of democracy do we want in South Africa? Do we want a Westminster style winner-takes-all democracy with Parliamentary supremacy in which the majority of the moment can do as it pleases – regardless of the consequences to vulnerable and marginalised sections of society? Or do we want a constitutional democracy in which the majority of the [...]
On sex, gender, sexual orientation and a world champion
Caster Semenya (pictured) won a gold medal for South Africa in the 800 meters at the world athletic championships amid a storm about her “gender” or “sexual orientation”. Newspapers report that the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) ordered a “gender verification test” for Semenya a few weeks ago.
The ANC called on South Africans to [...]
