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Sex is f**king serious.

This (punny) statement has some truth in it and also a great deal of myth. Societal conversations around sex usually centre around the fact that it is some taboo dark powerful force not to be toyed with outside the confines of commitment or something that we simply cannot engage in without giggling like pre-teens looking through an adult magazine. The balance in engaging with sex as a normal everyday act, sometimes necessary and often messy, is more often than not missing from many spaces and interactions.

This is coupled with the context we find ourselves in as African women, gender non-conforming persons and sexual minorities – one in which our bodies and lives are heavily policed by religious dogma and cultural structures. There is a lot of conversation about what constitutes "a good woman" and what does not, what bodies deserve respect and protection and which do not. These ideas, as they pertain to sex and sexuality, are increasingly being challenged. As our feminism within the continent continues to grow it also continues to take on different shapes and intersectionality is coming more to the fore. We are beginning to conceptualise and incorporate a variety of experiences, and some have begun to carve out space for taking the conversation around sexual and reproductive health rights further.

Sex positivity as a movement has sought to change that and HOLAAfrica (HOLAA!) as a platform is riding that sex-positive train all the way to Sexy Town.

Continue reading at GenderIT.org.

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