DA members find proceedings amusing during question time for President Jacob Zuma. A number of whites, including senior DA leaders, refuse to face up to racist realities, argues the writer. Picture: Jeffrey Abrahams

The reality of racism

Part A: Oh my word, guys, isn’t South Africa, like, just the most awesome place to live in now that apartheid is over? So many bad things don’t happen any more. It’s totally cool. Racism, for example, doesn’t exist anymore. Ja, sure, we like have cultural differences and stuff, and poverty and unemployment are bad. […]

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Let's talk about sex education: race and shame in South Africa

Let’s talk about sex education: race and shame in South Africa

Sarah Emily Duff, University of the Witwatersrand There are many ways for young people to learn about sex. In talks between parents and children, in the sharing of information between peers, in initiation schools and in ceremonies preceding marriage, young people have learned about sex and sexual reproduction. They also learn about how societies define […]

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Music is culturally - and not racially - ingrained. Reuters/Andrew Winning

Why culture, not race, determines tastes in music

Winfried Lüdemann, Stellenbosch University One frequently hears questions such as: Why do different races generally listen to specific genres of music? Why do music genres have a huge racial divide? In societies obsessed with and manipulated by the notion of race, these questions are understandable. But it is also understandable that, for many forward-thinking people, […]

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How science has been abused through the ages to promote racism

How science has been abused through the ages to promote racism

Tim Crowe, University of Cape Town Race in human taxonomy – the science of classifying organisms – has a long, disgraceful history. Individuals have used race to divide and denigrate certain people while promoting their claims of superiority. Some of these individuals were, and are, respected in their time and their fields. They include philosopher […]

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