Black glamour in 1950s South Africa
They lived. They served cunt. Then they multiplied.
Mid 20th century South Africa was “a dance in the rain.” The jazz age, the DRUM decade, the rise of Afro-pop began almost at the same time as the official institution of the apartheid regime. As white Afrikaner nationalism became more draconian, Black South Africans turn to jazz, literature, cinema and art to create their own version of the Roaring ‘20s. I’m talking gangsters, prohibition, wild parties, good music and, of course, stylish women shaping and influencing the culture.
Actors, singers, beauty queens and mega-divas, Dolly Rathebe, Miriam Makeba and Dorothy Masuka were sex symbols, fashion icons, chart toppers and incredibly radical. These women were serving platinum, while everyone was offering wood.
My research into their lives and careers began with the aim of synthesising the aesthetic and dress culture of the time but what I ended up discovering was how these complicated, 3D women were rendered flat and 2-dimensional by the so-called great men of their time. This is a story about beautiful women with powerful voices and their lasting legacy on the South African imagination.
There are also great bangers and pretty pictures. You can watch it all in my latest YouTube video. Looking forward to your thoughts, bestie!
You know you love me
xoxo Khensani