War is personal

War is one one of those things that have always been around, but we often forget about the people that participate in the actual field of war. They become faceless, hidden behind the mask of war. In this reportage, the faces of those who are affected by war are revealed. They suffer alongside their families. These are American soldiers that fought in Iraq. At the beginning of 2006 the war in Iraq was about to enter its fourth year.

There was sanctioned torture, deteriorating rules of law, tens of thousands of injured and dead in Iraq, more than 2,000 dead American soldiers, a rising suicide rate among American military personnel, scandals involving private contractors in Iraq and deteriorating conditions inside US military hospitals.

All the while the media coolly debated what were to be considered legal or illegal killings in Iraq, what the conflict was costing America in image, what the war was costing the president in his popularity ratings. Power and money are so often the cause of war. People become so disposable, used as pawns in a political game.

Photos by Eugene Richards: War is personal

My favourite blog pics

Here are some of my favourite pictures, that have featured on my blog in the past:

 

 

 

 

 

Agyness Deyn goes tough and fragile

Agyness Deyn is probably one of the only models who can really express stereotypical tough masculinity in some photos and  alabaster-like femininity in others. I love these pictures play with the idea of gender and how it can be such a fluid construct...

The last matriarchy

I don't know if many of you have seen this post, it was one of my first. But I really love it! In a series of amazingly beautiful photographs, Italian photographer Luca Locatelli documents the lives of the Mosuo tribe. They are often described as one of the last matriarchal societies in the world. Where women see this as their kingdom.

Here,  women are in charge. There isn't even a word for terms we describe as "father" or "husband", Luca says. This place is known as the "Kingdom of Women". Throughout China, 40,000 Mosuo people live in a series of villages around the lake.

Women here, are the ones who make most of the household and political decisions in the community; they control household finances, have the rightful ownership of land and houses, and full rights to the children born to them –this is very different to the arranged marriages that are practiced in other parts of China.

From the age of 13, the women may choose who to marry, take as lovers, having as many or as few as they desire over their lifetime, without being branded a 'slut', as they would be in many other cultures. The men living in these villages have jobs such as fishing and animal rearing, and visit the a woman's home at night.

I find this place and the women so beautiful. It seems like such a mystical and different world. Not to say that women in South Africa or in other countries aren't in control of their lives, but it is to say that patriarchy is still the order of many cultures. Women are often in charge of most of the decisions made in a household, it's just that these decisions are often not highly valued. How can we effectively move towards a society that does not have any gender hierarchy?

More info @: http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/dec/19/china-mosuo-tribe-matriarchy

For the whole article go to: http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/dec/19/china-mosuo-tribe-matriarchy?intcmp=239

Cool TUSH Magazine Covers

The politics of touching

This morning I was presently surprised to see people holding FREE HUGS placards in the Cape Town train station. They were handing out, well, free hugs of course. I always loved this idea, and almost forgot about it, I must say. But I love the way something like hugs or smiles can surpass all those boundaries that exist between people. That is race, gender, class, etc. So maybe we'll call this the politics of touching. Touching others have a long history, especially in South Africa, where say interracial marriage, gay-marriage, etc. has been taboo for many years. Beaches and park benches were divided between whites and non-whites, because people were, and still are, afraid of touching each other. If we can find a way to solve  the many conflicts people have with race, gender, etc. and to engage with the politics of touching. People have to realise that we are much more similar than we are different and that we can start to change the world by getting closer to each other.

For more visit Free Hugs

Plus-sized models' biggest feat

This cover made news yesterday as the Italian Vogue (one of the holy grails of fashion) featured plus-sized models on the cover. Below, Candice Huffine talks about the shoot and her surprise when she heard that she was going to be on the cover. This is really great for body politics, I really think these girls are all beautiful. I just really hope that this starts to push people further and further away from the norm of skinny modeling, transforming the abnormal and bringing it into the mainstream...

Gender speak

Penny Wong, Australia's Minister for Climate Change and Water and a Senator representing southern Australia, was "meowed" by Liberal senator during a debate. Why do some men think they can speak this way to women?

Lea T in swimsuit campaign

Transsexual model, Lea T. is featured here posing on a beach in Rio, Brazil. She is one of very few transsexual models that have become very successful in the industry. Even fewer pose for swimsuit campaigns, which is why I thought this was such a brave and really liberating thing for her to do. She is so beautiful and deserves to participate in all forms of modeling, just like other 'real' women...