Peter Ngqibs – a queer South African artist making waves internationally
While it’s become evident that South Africa is still reluctant to provide equal and fair opportunities to its LGBT+ artists, the international landscape is not sleeping on this talent. Meet Peter Ngqibs (Peter Ncanywa) a South African queer singer-songwriter living in the US who is making waves in the United Kingdom and the States. Peter […]
Durban Pride 2018 (In Pictures)
The 2018 Durban Pride parade and festival took place at Gugu Dlamini Park on Saturday, June 30. Many came out dressed in bright LGBT+ rainbow colours to commemorate this year’s theme, Keeping the Promise to LGBTQI+ People. The event began with a march at noon from the park, past City Hall and back to the […]
FAKA on their Versace fashion show and queer representation in South Africa
South Africa’s international music queer duo, FAKA, saw themselves attending the 2019 Versace Summer Spring fashion show in Milan about two weeks ago. Their track, Uyangikhumbula, played as the models, including Kendall Jenner, showed off the luxury label’s latest collection. Desire Marea and Fela Gucci, the two members of the group spoke to Mambaonline on […]
Opinion | The trouble with making LGBTIAQ people live on heterosexuals’ terms
Heteronormativity has become a familiar word in debates around gender and sexuality. It’s a concept developed by social theorist Michael Warner in 1991, and refers to the heterosexual experience being positioned as the only “normal” way to be or live. When that happens, it renders any experience that doesn’t fit that mould as “other”. This […]
Omar Sharif Jr on coming out and Egypt’s LGBTQ crackdown
Since coming out as gay in 2012, actor Omar Sharif Jr, the grandson of legendary Egyptian film star Omar Sharif, has become an outspoken activist for his country’s beleaguered LGBTQ community. He is said to be one of the first public personalities to come out in the Arab world and he was vilified by the […]
Coming out the high school closet: ‘Love, Simon’
Trying to find love while hiding your sexual orientation can be quite complicated. Like for 17-year-old Simon Spier (played by Nick Robinson), who is yet to tell his family and friends that he is gay and finds himself falling in love online with a classmate whose identity he doesn’t know, in gay romcom, Love, Simon. […]
Book Extract: Africa’s Future Has No Space For Stupid Black Men (in As You Like It)
Pwaangulongii Dauod’s Africa’s Future Has No Space For Stupid Black Men was this year’s winner of the Gerald Kraak Award. The “queer Afro-modern” piece highlights the plight of those who are marginalised based on their gender and sexual orientation in Nigeria and on the continent. The essay is included in the new queer anthology book, As […]
Eye candy | The underwear matador
Olé! Male underwear label Modus Vivendi has launched its new Polkadot line with a stunning matador-themed photoshoot. Photographer Joan Crisol took these powerful images of striking model Antonio Miranda in Madrid (where else?) to promote the range. The Modus Vivendi Polkadot line comprises briefs, low cut briefs, boxers, bottomless and tanktops, in yellow, red and […]
LGBTQ+ youth speak on issues that affect them
South Africa’s youth are faced with many socio-economic issues that are far from being addressed. However, it could be argued that their struggles are often identified and grouped as one, in an attempt to try deal with these challenges. This leaves room for the erasure of smaller groups and their unique problems, especially in the LGBTQ+ […]
LGBTQ youth in SA facing high rates of bullying and discrimination
While June is Youth Month in South Africa, the challenges facing young LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer/questioning) people, including high rates of bullying and discrimination, are often overlooked over this period. Our school days are a formative time that can have a major impact on our adult lives; affecting our sense of identity, […]