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MsAfropolitan

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

  • feminism
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My feature in (1)ne Drop – dialogues on racial politics and identity

October 27, 2011 By MsAfropolitan 9 Comments

Being black is not a matter of pigmentation being black kis a reflection of a mental attitude  – Steve Bantu Biko I am participating in an upcoming collaborative project by Africana Studies scholar Yaba Blay, Ph.D. and award-winning photographer Noelle Théard. (1)ne Drop, as the documentary is called, is going to be a thought-provoking look…

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Filed Under: Decolonisation Tagged With: african diaspora, Afropolitan, decolonisation, identity, mixed race, stereotypes

My channel 4 interview on mixed race identity

September 29, 2011 By MsAfropolitan 12 Comments

How can someone who claims to be a chosen messenger of god advocate such divisive, confused and love-lacking opinion as Pastor Tapiwa Muzvidziwa? “God”, he says, disapproves of mixed marriages as these are “wrong” and detrimental to the children born of such relationships. Doesn’t he understand that the whole idea of banning interracial and interfaith relationships is…

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Filed Under: Decolonisation, events, Mixed Race series Tagged With: Africa, decolonisation, mixed race, Religion, Spirituality, stereotypes

Fashioning Africa exotic, colonial and tribal

September 26, 2011 By MsAfropolitan 6 Comments

African style is very much in vogue. Numerous runways in both New York and London fashion weeks could as well be called African fashion week. There were African influenced textiles such as the Malian Bogolan, also known as tribal in Donna Karan-review-speak. Proenza Schouler also gave a preview of their take on ‘modern tribal’, a key…

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Filed Under: Pop Culture Tagged With: Africa, african diaspora, Afrocentric, black models, decolonisation, entrepreneurs, fashion, stereotypes, style icons

MsAfropolitan Boutique interview series – Jessica Huie of Colorblind Cards

September 18, 2011 By MsAfropolitan 1 Comment

Jessica Huie is truly a woman to be inspired by. She is a serial entrepreneur, founder of not only Colorblind Cards, but also a columnist, an ambassador for government initiatives and the brains behind JH PR. What I love about her the most is how down to earth she is. She radiates a confidence that…

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Filed Under: Interviews, MsAfropolitan Boutique Interview Series Tagged With: african diaspora, African women, African Women's Decade, decolonisation, entrepreneurs, MsAfropolitan Boutique

A Diaspora canvas: Exploring the feminine heritage of African art

September 11, 2011 By MsAfropolitan 46 Comments

If creativity isn’t about community in one-way or another it is dull at worst and provoking at best. Artists that manage to emphasize the spiritual, aesthetic and social elements of living are those that bring to us gifts of understanding. Artists that exemplify this idea are musicians like K’Naan, Baaba Maal, Nneka, Blitz the Ambassador, Fela,…

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Filed Under: feminism, Pop Culture, seven Tagged With: Africa, african diaspora, Afrocentric, Afropolitan, beauty ideals, decolonisation, gender, identity, Life, nudity, Spirituality, stereotypes, style icons

The fashion and politics of natural hair

September 3, 2011 By MsAfropolitan 22 Comments

It’s understandable that many of us are tired of talking about hair . There’s so much around this topic. However, I’m not at all exhausted with the hair topic yet. I think we should keep talking about hair because our strands are bearers of shared cultural experiences. I don’t think the hair conversation is about…

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Filed Under: Pop Culture, Social Criticism Tagged With: African women, Afro hair, Afrocentric, beauty ideals, black hair, decolonisation, fashion, identity, stereotypes, style icons

Race relations in the UK after the riots

August 26, 2011 By MsAfropolitan 9 Comments

This is a cross-post On the second day of the UK riots I boarded a flight from Finland to London where I live. Before take off I went through tweets containing the #londonriots hash tag. I then tweeted my shock over the amount of racist comments to do with the riots. Three hours later when…

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Filed Under: Decolonisation, Pop Culture Tagged With: decolonisation, identity, stereotypes

We need to stop the lack of response to the horn of Africa crisis

August 18, 2011 By MsAfropolitan 2 Comments

When I was asked if I could publish the below guest post with regards to the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Africa I was faced with a moral dilemma. Let me explain. The original post included images of malnourished African children and as much as I support Sarah Lenssen’s work I won’t post those types of…

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Filed Under: Africa Tagged With: Africa, Afrocentric, decolonisation, Life, Patience, stereotypes, Young Women

Riot, rage and rebellion

August 10, 2011 By MsAfropolitan 8 Comments

Mark Duggan This is the picture the media is using to remember the man who unawarely, post-mortem, instigated the UK riots. Some see what is intended – a dangerous black man making gun gestures. To others, this is a picture of another ‘cheap’ black life taken unjustly and irreplacably. A man with a defiant look in…

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Filed Under: Decolonisation, Pop Culture Tagged With: african diaspora, decolonisation, identity, Life, stereotypes

Is feminism really un-African?

July 29, 2011 By MsAfropolitan 38 Comments

As my feminist consciousness has developed the more I’ve become aware, both explicitly and implicitly, that there is a popular notion that feminism is un-African. Every time I write a post about feminism in an African context, I get at least one response about how feminism is this flawed, white supremacist ideology. The internet is rife…

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Filed Under: feminism, uncategorized Tagged With: African feminism, African women, Afrocentric, decolonisation, gender, identity, Life, Religion, women's issues

Cadbury’s ad row with Naomi Campbell and ASA’s response

June 17, 2011 By MsAfropolitan 9 Comments

The Black History Walks website has a useful list of ways to help combat negative media portrayal of black people. Some of the suggestions are: Go out of your way to attend events, prove there is demand Buy original dvds with positive images direct from source Check out www.colourfulradio.com and www.voxafrica.com Read Frantz Fanon Wretched of the Earth and…

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Filed Under: Decolonisation, Pop Culture, Social Criticism Tagged With: Afrocentric, black models, celebrities, decolonisation, identity, stereotypes, style icons

MsAfropolitan presents – Fashion and Talks at the V&A Friday Late: Afropolitans

June 8, 2011 By MsAfropolitan 28 Comments

MsAfropolitan is taking part in Friday Late: Afropolitans at the V&A, the world’s largest museum of art and design. In “MsAfropolitan presents – The rise of Afropolitan Fashion” myself with the help of creative director Ola Shobowalewill conceptualize the contemporary creativity and beauty of Afropolitan fashion for women. Visitors will be able to experience the fusion of bold African patterns and…

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Filed Under: Decolonisation, events, Pop Culture Tagged With: Africa, african diaspora, Afropolitan, black models, decolonisation, entrepreneurs, fashion, identity, Life, MsAfropolitan Boutique, style icons

Fela in Lagos, reflections and ruminations

April 22, 2011 By MsAfropolitan 9 Comments

I don’t know what to make of the Finnish elections last weekend, where the nationalist True Finns party won 39 seats of a 200-seat parliament. The Nigerian elections, which have led to violent clashes in Northern Nigeria where hundreds of people have now died, sadden me even more so. To make sense of things, I…

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Filed Under: feminism, Pop Culture Tagged With: Africa, African women, Afrocentric, Afropolitan, beauty ideals, celebrities, decolonisation, fashion, Life, sex, Spirituality, style icons

7 questions to a black male feminist

March 8, 2011 By MsAfropolitan 15 Comments

Today marks the 100th celebration of International Women’s Day (IWD). It’s striking that the centenary should fall on the same year in which women world-over find themselves at the forefront of significant political and social events. For example, 2011 has seen the launch of UN Women headed by former Chilean president, Michelle Bachelet. Also, Brazil’s…

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Filed Under: Decolonisation, feminism, seven Tagged With: #IWD, african diaspora, African feminism, decolonisation, identity, international women's day, stereotypes, women's issues

Ntozake Shange & Michaela Angela Davis on Feminism & More

February 24, 2011 By MsAfropolitan 11 Comments

I get many emails especially from young women asking about feminism, and who inspired my feminism. In another post I quoted the poet Jessica Horn about her mothers influence on her feminism. And personally, her words resonate. I was raised by a woman that I have come to recognise as a revolutionary mother, who used the…

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Filed Under: feminism, uncategorized Tagged With: African feminism, Afropolitan, decolonisation, gender, identity, women's issues

Is Halle Berry’s daughter black?

February 17, 2011 By MsAfropolitan 30 Comments

The world of science has on several occasions declared that race is biologically meaningless, but yet accepting this idea as general knowledge seems curiously hard to accomplish. The sooner we can understand the fallacious construct of race, the sooner we might begin to speak about multi-racialism with the kind of sensible thinking that it requires. However, the…

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Filed Under: Decolonisation, Mixed Race series, Pop Culture Tagged With: celebrities, decolonisation, identity, Life, mixed race, stereotypes

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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

A Historical Overview of African Feminist Strands

August 24, 2022 By MsAfropolitan 3 Comments

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On Abortion

August 23, 2022 By MsAfropolitan 1 Comment

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