tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6362310740760398096.post3229101481009490052..comments2023-10-31T04:12:30.692-07:00Comments on On Becoming Barbara, and Writing: Welcome- Please, leave your shoes at the door.barbshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13388144090683962487noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6362310740760398096.post-22034033808201442272014-05-21T05:44:07.533-07:002014-05-21T05:44:07.533-07:00I have read this post-colonial discourse for a whi...I have read this post-colonial discourse for a while and I am afraid that as much as it tries to show the condescending attitude of the West towards Africa it is also condescending towards the West. We do not reclaim our identity by being haughty, we reclaim our identity by acknowledging that we are all one race, the human race. Thats my two cents.TaffyPfumojenahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16513746336332766527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6362310740760398096.post-52296932243699181542012-06-07T20:53:57.585-07:002012-06-07T20:53:57.585-07:00Thank you Barbs, you write beautifully!Thank you Barbs, you write beautifully!Ruruhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03566004204297640597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6362310740760398096.post-76073376558069578082012-05-12T14:37:42.749-07:002012-05-12T14:37:42.749-07:00I think this should be published more widely... li...I think this should be published more widely... like how Binyavanga Wainaina's piece about 'How to write about Africa' is everywhere on the Internet and in books and journals. You HIT HIT HIT the nail on the head and opened up space for so many discussions... what is empowerment? whose understanding of it matters? how should Africa be depicted and who should do that? does Afro-feminism have a place in mainstream discourse? whose agenda is fulfilled by elevating Africa's women? <br /><br />My brain is ticking!Fungai Machirorihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01618293106885977336noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6362310740760398096.post-20357269240147464532012-04-30T08:54:07.019-07:002012-04-30T08:54:07.019-07:00Fantastic piece, Barbara. I think everyone should ...Fantastic piece, Barbara. I think everyone should read this. I love it.Kiru Tayehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03285263322486836620noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6362310740760398096.post-60986054862333126192012-04-28T19:04:46.465-07:002012-04-28T19:04:46.465-07:00wow!! I love this. Wow!!! "Did you know t...wow!! I love this. Wow!!! "Did you know that, from the time I was aware that I was a female, I knew what that meant for me? I knew that I would have to fight intelligently, wisely, cunningly with a barely perceptible razor sharp tenacity for the things I wanted. I also knew from an early age that there would be times when I would have to bow, so as not to be broken, and there would be times when I would have to stand firm and shout, so as not to die. I learnt how to decipher the changing winds, the changing seasons so that I knew when to push and when to pull, when to be still and when to move, when to talk and when to be silent. That is how I wielded my power, by discerning which battles were worth fighting.". So true!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01169821738730404639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6362310740760398096.post-62949332253727587792012-04-28T16:40:52.235-07:002012-04-28T16:40:52.235-07:00Wow! This powerful and deeply profound. Insightful...Wow! This powerful and deeply profound. Insightful, incisive and life affirming - you reclaim with such literary force the dignity of a long distorted portrayal of Africa, its daughters and the women who call it home.<br /><br />Thank you, thank you, thank you. And as our people would say - a tiny little flame can become the conflagration that burns down forest logs in times ahead. In this article you have lit a spark, and from it may flames of a revisionist narrative emerge - to revise, revisit, reclaim and rewrite - the story of African women as they have lived and experienced it.<br /><br />We can wipe our own tears because we know best why we have shed them.<br /><br />Well said Barbs, you're truly inspirational!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com