What makes you so passionate about this project?
I always had this idea that South African women are not empowered enough in our own sexuality. That automatially implies that the less in touch we are with our own sexuality, the less agency we have in the bedroom to demand what we really want, including a condom.
Having done so much TV programming in the HIV / AIDS space, I became obsessed with trying to find an intervention, some kind of solution, that would also be an interruption. People have HIV fatigue because we keep hearing the same kind of messages packaged in different forms, but still the same tired messages: which include the ABC’s, Abstain, Be Faithful, Condomise. This is all good and well, except, at the World Aids Conference I found out that the highest number of new infections were young black girls and women between the ages of 14 to 25. It got me to thinking… What kind of sex are these young women having? With whom are they having sex? What would enable them to make different choices?
When young people are introduced to sex and sexuality, they are told what not to do, and part of that is not to acknowledge your sexual feelings, which are naturally precipitated by pure biology and genetics. Instead we are taught to fear and be wary of our desires.
Nobody ever tells you that sex can be this positive, amazing experience or how it will affect your body in a way that gives you pleasure. It only makes sense that the more you are in touch with your sexuality, and the easier access you have to accurate and factual information about the human body, including sex, the better one can take informed decisions and greater responsibility over their sexual health. Most importantly, I want it to be a place where people can feel free to ask and comment honestly about any sexually related issues without fear of judgment. It’s only in normalizing honest conversations about our own personal experiences that we can shed the stigma that is associated with sexuality.
