@lebohangmasango
Lebohang
“ Activism is also an important pillar in Lebohang’s life, advocating for women’s sexual health in ways that are sex positive and free of judgment.”
Anthropologist, writer and poet Lebohang Masango sees her relationship with words as a gift that continues to evolve as she grows as a person. Although she writes in a wide range of forms and styles, a common thread in her work is a keen interest in how people occupy physical spaces, as well as an exploration of love and loss. Her work has been published in Mike Alfred’s Twelve + One (2014), an anthology of notable Johannesburg poets, as well as in South African rapper Reason’s Endurance (2014) and in Myesha Jenkins’ To Breathe Into Another Voice (2017), a jazz-poetry anthology. In 2017, she ventured into the world of self-publishing with the release of her children’s book, Mpumi’s Magic Beads (2017), and she’s currently working on her own publishing company called Thank You Books. Lebohang believes that intersectional feminism – a form of feminism that recognises that women’s experiences are also shaped by other identity factors like race, class and sexual orientation – is the key reason she’s been able to survive in a white, male-dominated world. “It advocates the personal and political freedom of women and LGBTQIA peoples against a society that’s been founded on oppression,” she says. “It influences my work by being the sensibility from which I live, write, work and love. It’s a guiding principle that helps me navigate particular choices I make about my work, where I put it and whose voices I support.”
Credit: Jamal Nxedlana
Activism is also an important part of Lebohang’s life. She advocates for women’s sexual health in ways that are sex-positive and free of judgment. She’s currently part of a group that includes another anthropologist, a visual artist, a scientist and a musician, and they’re planning a workshop that explores sexuality. “These projects speak to me because sexuality and gender relations are such a big part of our society,” she says. “It’s the way that we treat each other as people.”