Nicci Attfield

Hi Des, I remember the discussion we had last time about masculinity, and it’s role in the abuse of women.  I thought that the article would appeal to you.

Des has always questioned masculinities and what it means to be ‘men’ on this site and this group in particular.  I think this is the work we need to do at the moment.  Des, I wonder if this article would interest you, considering your angle?
http://constitutionallyspeaking.co.za/why-i-wont-join-the-chorus-of-voices-protesting-against-rape/

I think that you spoke about the heart of resistance when you said that change is toxic but also a tonic.  Change feels so uncertain and sometimes it threatens our world views or the way that we have looked at life, ourselves or other people.  It brings a form of crisis, in a sense, because we let go of set ideas or beliefs which as you explain, w…[Read more]

Hi Des,

It’s quite difficult when barriers become drawn between people.  The debate about who is poor and who is not can be quite difficult as well, because it sometimes refers to class rather than race.  I think the ultimate goal would be for a balanced work force…it may be interesting to hear what the shop stewards to say about EE/AA from a…[Read more]

Tebogo, I agree that there needs to be a change in corporate culture so that one group of people is not seen to be doing the ‘race’ or ‘gender’ work.  

Hi Des, 

I don’t really know the context of what you describe above, but I think that within the political context of South Africa and the debates around EE, it may be helpful to create dialogue around race and social inequality, in order to try and help the groups tow work harmoniously together.  Embrace carry out work like this.  I think tha…[Read more]

I think all of the points raised are valid and important ones. Power inequality is a huge thing within our society. Some difficulties exist though around isolating men. Elizabeth Mills did some very valid work on this. She argued that if we make men into villains in the formula, and women into victims, then men feel persecuted and are less likely…[Read more]

Hi Des, thank you. That’s a small amount of money for educating and feeding a child. Families taking in children surely need more assistance. Good to know that information though. Apparently, most children are looked after by extended family such as grandparents, so it would be helpful if grandparents were given more assistance!

Des, thanks so much for sharing this. Do you know if foster care grants go to extended families of children, or just to foster parents not related? How much is the grant that is offered?

Hi Des,

I think that we need to look at expanding the story of HIV transmission, and looking at the various factors which do play a role and bring them into the light, so that ideas shared become wider and thicker, and we gain a deeper understadning. Take the blinkers off, as you say. In the past, our country has always blamed outbreak of disease…[Read more]

Hi Des, what a helpful topic!

My own opinions on HIV and AIDS changed when I was able to examine what I had learned about transmission of HIV. The focus on prevention is so largely behaviour based and approaches HIV from the perspective of sexualities, that I think we tend to believe that HIV prevention is an individual responsibility rather than…[Read more]

HIV/AIDS does exist. I think that the so-called AIDS denialism existed because of a focus on the nutritional aspect of HIV vulnerability, and because of the intense focus on sexuality, which lead Mbeki to speak about the role of poverty when connected with AIDS. He aimed to take away the stigma from people infected with HIV who were seen to have…[Read more]

Hi Des, Sara Cooper and Don Foster researched stigma and HIV/AIDS amongst people who actually did work within this industry, and found that stigma existed even here (CSSR research paper). They said that much of the work that needs to be done around stigma is around getting people to acknowledge their own feelings and work through them so that it…[Read more]