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MsAfropolitan

FEMINISM. PAN-AFRICA. SOCIAL CRITICISM. DIASPORA. CULTURE.

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A Historical Overview of African Feminist Strands

August 24, 2022 By MsAfropolitan 3 Comments

Recently launched by the Goethe Institute, The House of African Feminisms (HoAF) is a platform for feminist discourse, resources and enlightenment. The project aims at highlighting the works of various African feminist scholars, artists and thinkers around the world as well as providing a resource on African feminisms.  To mark the launch, the HoAF invited…

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Filed Under: Africa, Afropolitanism, Decolonisation, feminism, MsAfropolitanPosts, Social Criticism Tagged With: Africa, African feminism, feminism, gender, history

On Abortion

August 23, 2022 By MsAfropolitan 1 Comment

Nobody talks about being pro-life when men are constricted to fight wars, for example.

But everybody has something to say about women’s autonomy over their reproductive choices because the female body is ultimately viewed as tied to nature while the male body is connected to culture, and thus to things like civilisation and technology. It follows that people believe that to terminate a pregnancy, is to disrupt nature.

Filed Under: feminism, Social Criticism Tagged With: Abortion, African feminism, body, Life, women's issues

Knowledge that is alive

May 27, 2022 By MsAfropolitan Leave a Comment

Should dance performances be a part of studying philosophy? Can morality be objective? Are there alternative ways to think of IQ and EQ? Watch my interview at The Philosopher, which took place on 16 May as part of their Spring 2022 series, where we discuss questions such as the above. With thanks to host Adam…

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Filed Under: Decolonisation, events, feminism, Pop Culture, Sensuous Knowledge, Social Criticism, uncategorized Tagged With: Afropolitan, feminism, gender, identity

What is Sensuous Knowledge? A visual exploration

December 11, 2021 By MsAfropolitan Leave a Comment

I spoke to the Institute of Arts and Ideas about the key explorations in Sensuous Knowledge. In line with the book’s argument of bringing together worlds of knowing, the feature blends words, visuals, and sound. I’m blessed to share this. Enjoy! 

Filed Under: Africa, Decolonisation, feminism, Pop Culture, Sensuous Knowledge, Social Criticism Tagged With: African feminism, black feminism, feminism, identity, Sensuous Knowledge

What liberating effects does writing have?

August 26, 2021 By MsAfropolitan Leave a Comment

I spoke to the Institute of Arts and Ideas about the below key themes in Sensuous Knowledge. What is sensuous knowledge compared to euro-patriarchal knowledge? How can black feminism provide a critique of euro-patriarchal knowledge? How is joy inherently political for black women, and how does it arise? Can euro-patriarchal knowledge be changed within the…

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Filed Under: Africa, Afropolitanism, Decolonisation, feminism, Interviews, Pop Culture, Sensuous Knowledge, Social Criticism Tagged With: feminism, Sensuous Knowledge

The question of blackness in writing

May 31, 2021 By MsAfropolitan Leave a Comment

How do contemporary African artists, curators and writers deal with the question of blackness in our work? How does blackness inform the creative process?  I’m really looking forward to sharing these discussions in an event titled “Blackness in Contemporary Art Practice” taking place online at the Tate Modern on Tuesday, 2 June.  Join us as…

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Filed Under: Africa, Afropolitanism, Decolonisation, events, feminism, Pop Culture, Sensuous Knowledge, Social Criticism Tagged With: African literature, art, tate modern, writing

A Black Feminist Approach to Life

May 14, 2021 By MsAfropolitan Leave a Comment

I had a fun book event at Columbia University last week titled “A Black Feminist Approach to Life” where I spoke to the lovely Abigail Ony Nwaohuocha about Sensuous Knowledge and SO much more. You can catch the talk on Vimeo or watch it below.

Filed Under: Africa, Afropolitanism, Decolonisation, events, feminism, Sensuous Knowledge, Social Criticism Tagged With: adire, Columbia University, Events, Sensuous Knowledge

A feminist analysis of the soul

May 6, 2021 By MsAfropolitan Leave a Comment

What is the function of the soul in society? In culture, in religion, in politics? Emotionally, what role does the soul play? If the understandings that women held about the soul had the same historical significance and public presence that those of men do, in what ways would the soul be encoded into spiritual, cultural,…

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Filed Under: feminism, Sensuous Knowledge, Social Criticism Tagged With: essays, feminism, soul

Redefining, renegotiating and beautifying masculinity

April 26, 2021 By MsAfropolitan Leave a Comment

Progressive contemporary discussions about masculinity typically call for a reframing of the notion. Even the project that this article belongs to has the key aim to redefine masculinities. The conversation typically centres around two phrases–“toxic masculinity”, which has to do with men reinforcing conventional harmful gender norms that affect society negatively, and “a crisis of…

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Filed Under: feminism, Social Criticism Tagged With: Beauty, masculinity

Goldilocks Syndrome – A creative nonfiction essay about decolonisation

April 23, 2021 By MsAfropolitan 1 Comment

I’m delighted to have a creative nonfiction essay about decolonisation in the spring issue of World Literature Today titled Goldilock Syndrome. The issue commemorates the centennial of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre but also emphasizes the current state of black multicultural vitality in the 21st century, anchored in the US but rippling out on a…

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Filed Under: Decolonisation, Social Criticism Tagged With: decolonisation, World Literature Today

Ecofeminist values in Dalai Lama’s and Greta Thunberg’s zoom conversation

April 1, 2021 By MsAfropolitan Leave a Comment

In The Death of Nature, published in 1980, ecofeminist philosopher Carolyn Merchant wrote, with foresight and exactitude, of how natural ecosystems built on interdependence and reciprocity were turned into mechanistic, economic resources to be exploited by men. It is, for once, suitable to use the word men rather than humans as the book grapples with…

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Filed Under: feminism, Pop Culture, Social Criticism Tagged With: Dalai Lama, ecofeminism, Greta Thunberg

A review of Netflix docudrama “The Social Dilemma”

March 28, 2021 By MsAfropolitan Leave a Comment

There are many ways to look at the word social – it can imply human characteristics (the social animal), events (social gatherings), and civic organisation (social politics) to give some examples. In our times, the word social mosttypically has to do with digital connectivity and social networks such as Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest.  Conversely, the least popular connotation…

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Filed Under: Pop Culture, Social Criticism Tagged With: social dilemma, Social Media

De-centring whiteness in black liberation

March 17, 2021 By MsAfropolitan Leave a Comment

Most eras end imperceptibly – and most eras also end abruptly. It may seem a contradiction that social change is both barely noticeable and drastic, but history teaches us that this frequently is the case. All of a sudden there is a shift, and long-held cultural symbols, social patterns, or value systems are no longer…

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Filed Under: Africa, Decolonisation, Social Criticism Tagged With: blackness, liberation, whiteness

A better way to talk about oppression is as a ‘crisis of relationship’

December 22, 2020 By MsAfropolitan 3 Comments

This blog is the English version of an OpEd I wrote for EL PAÍS published 21.12.20. The original version in Spanish can be read here. Let’s begin by saying that we are living through a time of peak oppression. This fact can’t be denied. After the disastrous events of 2020, even those who may be…

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Filed Under: Decolonisation, feminism, Sensuous Knowledge, Social Criticism Tagged With: El Pais, oppression, Sensuous Knowledge, social change

Exousiance – a series of essays on love and power

May 5, 2020 By MsAfropolitan Leave a Comment

I’m producing a series of essays on love and power for Emerge, a platform highlighting ways of thinking that are sowing the seeds of a new civilisation. The series are centred around Exousiance, a concept I coined in Sensuous Knowledge with the purpose to reimagine power. Exousiance interweaves the nonhuman natural world, feminist theory, mythopoetic…

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Filed Under: Decolonisation, feminism, Sensuous Knowledge, Social Criticism Tagged With: black feminist theory, decolonisation, environmentalism, Exousiance, Sensuous Knowledge

Reflections of desire in lockdown

April 7, 2020 By MsAfropolitan 2 Comments

A friend called me the other day overstrung. She was worried because I’m alone in lockdown. I’m concerned and acclimatising to the new normal but I’m otherwise well, I assured her. It had not occurred to me that being alone during the lockdown was a worry in itself. Aloneness is never a problem for me…

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Filed Under: Africa, Afropolitanism, feminism, Sensuous Knowledge, Social Criticism Tagged With: covid-19, Desire, interiority, lockdown

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Feminism. Africa. Popular Culture. Social Criticism.

Hi! I'm Minna Salami, I'm a Nigerian-Finnish and Swedish writer and social critic, and the founder of the multiple award-winning blog, MsAfropolitan, which connects feminism with critical reflections on contemporary culture from an Africa-centred perspective. As a lecturer and keynote speaker, I have spoken at over 300 universities, cultural events and conferences, on five continents. I am the author of "Sensuous Knowledge: A Black Feminist Approach for Everyone - a collection of thought provoking essays that explore questions central to how we see ourselves, our history, and our world." (Harper Collins US) Read full bio

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An African Feminist mixtape

Essay: Oyalogy – A poetic approach to African feminism through Yoruba mythology

ESSAY: A brief history of African feminism

ESSAY: A brief history of African feminism

VIDEO: TEDxTalk – To change the world, change your illusions

VIDEO: TEDxTalk – To change the world, change your illusions

VIDEO: ARISE TV TALKING AFRICA INTERVIEW

VIDEO: ARISE TV TALKING AFRICA INTERVIEW

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more articles

Book announcement! I’m writing a book about African feminism

August 16, 2022 By MsAfropolitan 1 Comment

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Enlivenment, Sensuous Knowledge and Postactivism at the World Ethic Forum

August 10, 2022 By MsAfropolitan Leave a Comment

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