‘Waist and power’: A conversation on Sexualities, Masculinities and Representation in Ghana
Media and art spaces in Ghana are dominated by cishet masculinity, and women are not often well-represented within these spaces. Women and non-binary people are generally held to different standards of creativity and artistic expression as opposed to their male counterparts. In light of this phenomenon, MAKEDA PR and Anu Taranath of University of Washington is excited to present ‘Waist and Power’: A Conversation on Sexualities, Masculinities and Representation in Ghana. The event will take place at AWDF House, Justice Sarkodee Addo Avenue, East Legon on 31st August, 2019 at 3:00 PM.
The event will feature music video screenings, art exhibitions and panel discussions to address issues of feminism, gender and sexuality, desire, representation, LGBTQ issues and human rights, as well as mental health especially as pertains to students. Panelists for the conversation include; Nana Ama Agyemang Asante, Eli Tetteh, Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah, Suhaidatu Dramani, Fatima Derby and Anu Taranath.
Speaker Bios
Nana Ama Agyemang Asante
Nana Ama Agyemang Asante is feminist and journalist who is all about saying the unsayable in Ghanaian society at nnyamewaa.com. She is also the creator of Unfiltered, a podcast that provides Ghanaian women a safe space to participate in national conversations. Nana Ama is the co-host of one of the most listened-to radio shows in Ghana: the Citi Breakfast Show (CBS) where she provides the much-needed feminist perspective to national issues and debates. When she is not writing, she can be found on Twitter @justnanaama talking feminism, politics, social justice and democracy.
Eli Tetteh
A writer, editor , and lecturer, Eli is also the author of the chapbook Ellipses, an exploration of grief, mental health and masculinity. He has degrees in Communications & Leadership from Gonzaga University and Creative Writing from Vanderbilt University in the U.S. His writing has been published in GOOD magazine, DUST magazine and nKENTEn.
Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah
In 2009, Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah co-founded the award winning blog, Adventures from the Bedrooms of African Women to create a safe space for African women to chat openly, honestly and safely about sex, sexualities , and relationships. She is currently working on a creative non-fiction book that documents the sexual experiences of diverse African women from the continent and its global Diaspora.
Suhaidatu Dramani
Suhaidatu has been facilitating conversations on sexual consent in schools and communities since 2017. As program coordinator of Drama Queens, she runs monthly safe, fun and welcoming gatherings where radical/taboo topics are explored. When at her day job as a Client Growth and manager at Ghanaian tech startup- Kudobuzz, she’s expressing thoughts and ideas through Graphic design and free form creative writing. Selma is in university finishing a degree in Human Resources and is co-founding an initiative to make Math fun for Junior High students.
Fatima Derby
Fatima is a feminist writer and LGBTQ activist. She holds a B.A degree in English from the University of Ghana, Legon. She currently works as Communications Officer at MAKEDA PR and is a contributing writer on the Adventures from the Bedrooms of African Women blog where she writes about body and sex politics from a feminist perspective. As part of her feminist/ LGBTQ activism, she co-organizes spaces for young feminists (Young Feminist Collective) and LBQT women in Accra. She’s active online and engages in feminist/LGBTQ advocacy and discourse via her social media accounts.
Anu Taranath
Anu is a speaker, facilitator, consultant, and educator specializing in issues of diversity, racial equity and social change. Anu is a recipient of the University of Washington “Distinguished Teaching Award,” Seattle Weekly’s “Best of Seattle” designation, and included on the Fodor’s Travel “Best Books of Spring” list for 2019. She is currently serving her fourth term as a member of Humanities Washington’s statewide Speakers Bureau.
