The Inbetweeners

As a note, I wrote this as a stream-of-consciousness post. So the structure and the points may be all over the place. To paraphrase The Fresh Prince , "I'm a little confused, but I got the spirit. " So I watched Barbie – bc ofc I did, it's Barbie! Did you think I was going to miss an opportunity to be the most feminine version of myself?! pshaaaaw – And I have mixed feelings. Because I can't tell if Barbie promotes a  brand of feminism is as plastic as the doll that inspired the movie. Or if the film is a direct criticism of that brand of feminism.  Part of me struggles to believe it is the former because it flies in the face of the  very first lesson that Barbie learns; that representations of matriarchial power and female competence and ambition do not automatically translate to the existence of and the embrace of these things by the wider world. And that there are wider forces at play that prevent the vision that Barbie represented from coming to fruition. ...

The Kenyan Government has been cracking down on opposition rhetoric lately. In so doing, bringing the consequences of speech into sharp relief.  Understand, that I am used to being able to say whatever I want, whenever I want, within reason. The idea that I could be targeted for criticising the government, while not unfathomable, is still new to me because that is not the Kenya I grew up in. I grew up in the Kenya that bullied our President off Twitter; the Kenya that satirized the President in political cartoons, op-eds and comedy shows; the Kenya that embraced social media as a way to organise and amplify popular dissent, while allowing some semblance of anonymity. But I suppose this Kenya merely masked another. And I was willing to overlook it because Kenyans on Twitter was an effective funnel for public vitriol and frustration. Bullying a President off Twitter did not stop him from co-opting and, effectively silencing, the opposition. It did not stop him from using the powers o...

I often wonder why we pluck flowers we find beautiful. Or why we take shells that captivate us from the beach. Although, in the moment, we don't think of it like this, upon reflection, I've come to realise that both of these actions remove the beautiful thing from its environment and, in the case of the former, it kills it. And yet, we take them anyway.  We are so enthralled by its' beauty, that we would kill it and prevent it from propagating, rather than leave it alone so that it can continue to live. We would rather take it for ourselves than leave it alone to bring joy to others. The more I interrogate this practice, the more I wonder why?  Why are we drawn to possess beautiful things? Or, at the very least, things that are aesthetically pleasing to us, even if they are not so to others. For its' one thing to be drawn to beauty. All of us, are drawn to gorgeous things, people, concepts and personalities. Is the beauty in the possession? Or is the beauty in the thin...

I am a Disney kid. I grew up on the Disney Renaissance (Hercules, Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid), suffered through the lost years (Emperor's New Groove), and marvelled at the Disney Revival (Frozen, Inside Out, Wreck-It Ralph). It's not a stretch to say that if a Disney movie exists, I've watched it, memorised it, and carved its' music into the very strands of my DNA. And out of all my favourite Disney songs, nothing hits the feels quite like Frozen's In Summer. This song. THIS SONG! This is my happy song.  For the uninitiated into the Let it Go Movement (aka Frozen fans), In Summer is a song where a snowman (Olaf) expresses his desire to experience summer; having never experienced it before. Except, Olaf is utterly unaware that snow melts in the sun. He sings that he'd like to "find out what happens to solid water when it gets warm." In fact, there's a shot wherein Olaf sings "Winter's a good time to stay in and cuddle; But pu...

To be, or not to be. That is the eternal question. Should I become a mother?  When I look at the world around me, the answer is no. No matter how much I yearn to be privileged with the care of another human being, I do not want to raise them in an environment that consistently limits their capacity for success. I do not want to raise them in a world that is dying and burden them with the responsibility of saving it – of being better. I do not want to raise them in a world that does not care about who they are, but what they can do.  Yes, there are a lot of 'I's in that paragraph. And yes , I recognise that parenting is not an, exclusively, maternal responsibility. Yet we live in a world where I will be held to greater account for my child's successes and failures than my partners. When this is coupled with my inability to indulge in the possibility of, truly, having a partner, I struggle to envision motherhood as something accessible for me . This is, even, before I conside...

As a friend and I waited for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 to start, we had a discussion about representation in cinema. In particular, we discussed Disney's Live-Action remake of The Little Mermaid. While we both applaud Disney for doing the bare minimum, we think that they are going about it the wrong way. Rather than recasting black, or non-white, actors in roles previously filled by white actors, why not tell our stories instead? Therefore, instead of The Little Mermaid, perhaps Disney could draw inspiration from the Anansi of West Africa. Or the story of Wekatilili wa Menza's 800km trek from Northern Kenya to the Coast. Or better yet, the story of Empress Taytu of Ethiopia! At this point, my friend pointed out that major production houses would only focus on stories which were well-known. Hence the never-ending Cleopatra movies and the rise of stories about Queen Amina, Queen Nzinga, or the Dora Mijale . I conceded that he has a point. At that level of creation, art is not...

I have a slight problem with my anger.  It’s volcanic.  Not in its scale, but in its manifestation; slowly simmering for aeons before a brilliant eruption that leaves everyone and everything scarred in its wake. Believe me, like a volcano, I have a reason for spewing my specific form of vitriol. Says every person with anger issues ever.  But really, I do! My primary trigger is when, in a new situation for which there is no blueprint, something that is supposed to work, doesn’t for reasons beyond my understanding and no matter how hard I try.  This morning, the offending object was a biro pen. The pen had been in my drawer for at least a year, and it refused to write. No matter how furiously I scribbled. No matter how passionately I smacked the pen against the wall, or heated the pen, in my misguided attempts to “jump start” its fluids. So, naturally, the pen had to go. It no longer fulfilled the purpose for which it was created, and I saw no harm in ending its existe...

I recently wrote a piece for Democracy in Africa & The Continent , dismissing the argument that queerness is alien to Africa. In it, I briefly explored the treatment of queer sexualities in pre-colonial African societies across the continent and the birth of Africa as a heteronormative continent as a result of colonialism. I explained the role colonial powers - Britain in particular - played in overwriting queer sexualities and explored the legacy of this interference. Ultimately concluding that while queerness was not alien to Africa, queerphobia was. Contrary to popular opinion, the latter is the Western import. It is the thing around our neck, that threatens to choke the lifeblood of our Republics if we allow it.  This is why I wrote this piece. I wrote it to confront and challenge the idea that queerness and queer people were 'unAfrican.' As a person who has spent her entire life being told that I am not African enough, not black enough, this argument rang particularly...

Recently, President Ruto expressed his desire to turn Kenya into a God-fearing state. Except what does this mean? What will this look like in practice? Who gets to decide whether, or when, Kenya has achieved this goal? And why ought this goal to be considered of national import in the middle of a cost of living crisis, food insecurity and drought? More importantly, why is the President going out of his way to blur the line between Church and State, before we have had a national discussion on what role religion ought to play in secular life?  So, let's talk about this for a minute. For expressing his desire to marry the Church and the State goes beyond Ruto's mandate as President. While, yes, one could argue that this falls under the President's mandate to inspire and enforce national unity, I would argue that there are better ways to do that than through religion. Simply because; (1) Kenya is a multifaith, secular nation and; (2) the variances between and within religious ...

Why is everyone treating International Women's Day like it is Valentine's Day? Like Valentine's Day, IWD feels like a day where everyone lovebombs the women in their life for a day, only to forget about their struggles and the realities of living in a gendered world the other 364.  I cannot tell you how many posts I saw from people, who I suspect do not respect women or diverse representations and expressions of feminity. It is incredibly ironic , that the Kenyan Parliament would recognise and celebrate IWD , after kicking a Senator out of Parliament for wearing period-stained clothes. It is incredibly bold of President Ruto to tweet his support for inclusivity  when his Government has not made any strides towards realising two-thirds representation. Equally, Ruto has not fulfilled his promise to ensure a 50/50 split between men and women in his Cabinet. It is quite peculiar that the country rushed to name and praise the women in their lives, even as they directed hate an...

I have an idea. It's new, at least to me, so I haven't had the time to work out the kinks. But here it is:  If capitalism, inevitably, alienates its workers from themselves, their labour and each other, its antidote is something that draws people closer together. Something that creates, fosters and deepens the bonds we share.  Therefore, what if culture , is the antidote to capitalism?  From here, allow me to present my thoughts in bullet points: Oxford defines 'culture' as "the beliefs that people hold about reality, the norms that guide their behaviour, the values that orient their moral commitments, or the symbols through which these beliefs, norms, and values are communicated." Inherent to this definition is that culture is a shared activity/practice; developed communally and practised collaboratively. This suggests that culture can be, and often is, a binding agent. Even capitalism, if construed as a cultural system, binds humanity together in service to ...

 and I have thoughts... In the moment, I enjoyed the new Ant-Man and the Wasp Movie. It was visually engaging, hilarious and had some cool action scenes. I, particularly, enjoyed the call-back to Ant-Man's line in Civil War and how the film depicted Scott's growing competency as the Ant-Man. I loved the fact that Scotts' journey mirrored Janet's in the quantum realm; both of them chose to save the world at the cost of their families. Put simply, the movie was fun. An interesting juxtaposition to the grief reflected in Wakanda Forever (the last MCU movie of 2022 and Phase 4) that suggested Phase 5 would be different. As a result, I entered the post-credit scenes feeling good about Phase 5 of the MCU and where it was going. I felt vindicated in my willingness to give Marvel the benefit of the doubt as they establish the next 'big-bad' and build the new team of Avengers. But as soon as I left the theatre, two things happened: (1) I began to engage with the movie an...

A couple of weeks ago, I learned about Cargo Movements (aka cargo cults) and I couldn't help but wonder, is Africa in a cargo cult? The term ‘cargo cult’ or ‘movement’ is a term given to a number of religious or political movements that started when indigenous peoples came into contact with Western civilisation and the technology, they brought with them. Items like radios, aeroplanes, ready-made and abundant food etc. These items were called cargo, hence cargo cult or movement. These indigenous groups then attempt to get these goods by replicating the rituals that caused the cargo to land on their soil; building plane towers and runways, and signalling with radio and military marches.  This act of replication is what makes them incredibly fascinating, from the outside looking in. It reminds me of a child playing 'grown-up' - in as much as I know better than to infantilise indigenous communities. Or perhaps, more appropriately, it reminds me of the dynamics of cultural appro...

 So I have a dirty little secret; I read Harlequinn Romance novels.  It started when I was 16 and, literally, stumbled upon them in the supermarket. 10 years later, I can hardly say that I stumble upon them anymore. I actively seek them out, looking for a variety of romance novels with different protagonists, inciting incidents (beyond the usual Pregnancy, forced Marriage Contract, Arranged Marriage as part of a Business Merger or classic Revenge), and premises. My favourite, so far, has been After the Billionaire's Wedding Vows by Lucy Monroe where Monroe explores what happens after love, marriage and the baby carriage. But I always wondered why I was drawn to these kinds of novels. Is it because the storytelling is formulaic; hitting the same narrative beats every time? This consistency is why I like, and obsessively rewatch, sitcoms. The formulaic structure of a sitcom allows me to dip in and out of the story while still knowing what's going on overall. Likewise, the formu...

There used to be a path near Village Market in Nairobi. This path was adorned with acacia thorns, unseemly rocks and random spots of green grass. It was ugly, and a bother to look at. But it was full of life. Every time you passed, you'd see boda boda drivers catching a break before their next ride. You'd see small kiosk vendors conducting business with passersby, arming them with weapons for the day's battles; the odd cigarette, the random biscuit or the necessary energy drink. You'd witness groups of people, coming together to eat and discuss the events of the day. It was life, and it was messy. Emphasis on 'was.'  That little slice of life is gone. Literally paved over after the management of Village Market rehabilitated the rocky path with grey cabro, tendered to the garden and erected a barbed wire around it. What used to be a colourful slice of human interaction and community is now bland and lifeless; perfectly manicured and just a little less accessible...

Recently, I came across a potential solution to redress the financial hurdles that limit access to tertiary education. This solution is called an "Income Sharing Agreement" ( hereinafter ISA). According to Batya Bankers , ISAs are like equity investments.  An individual ... allows investors to buy ‘shares’ in their future earnings while contributing to social value through sustainable empowerment. Students receive interest-free funds to cover their tuition fees on condition that they agree to pay the lender a specified fraction of their future earnings. By grouping these investments in individuals, lenders are able to offset risks as returns from higher earners hedge the potential losses from lower earners.    Based on this definition, ISAs seem perfectly positioned to connect individuals in need of vast resources, with individuals controlling those resources. They provide vulnerable people without the means to earn or secure collateral - what you give a bank in exchan...

The 2022 Elections are over, and Kenya has its new President and Deputy President; William Samoei Ruto and Rigathi Gachagua, respectively. And I have mixed  feelings about this development. Many of these feelings are animated by what Ruto's Presidency means within the grand scheme of Kenyan politics.  A Ruto-Gachagua Presidency reaffirms the notion that to ascend to the Presidency you must be Kikuyu or Kalenjin. Given that Kenya is a multiracial, multiethnic nation with 42 recognised tribes, this is a destructive and exclusionary notion that does not redress the sins of the past. These sins are; (1) the divide and rule politics and; (2) the establishment of a strong centralised state. Addressing the former, in the colonial era, the British chose to manage this diversity through ‘divide-and-rule;’ a governing strategy in which control is maintained by encouraging conflict between groups, thereby preventing them from uniting in opposition. As part of divide and rule, the British...

I absolutely hate admitting that I was wrong about something. But turns out I was wrong about men. I underestimated the extent to which patriarchy affects them and the ways in which women ought to respond to patriarchy as a whole.   Remember, in the 2010s women became vocal about the many ways in which men were lacking; from low emotional intelligence to the fact that they benefit from the presumption of competence ab initio  to questioning the very essence of masculinity. And I believe the consequences of the last of these that has been the most destructive. When we attempt to dismantle a system of expectations that have existed since time immemorial, without discussing a system to replace those expectations two things occur.  First, men get the message that everything they do is worthless and, ultimately, should be taken from them. This is not, nor has it ever, been the message of feminism. Feminism is about the equality of the sexes. It operates by working to dismantle...