Chantel Radebe has been working as an entertainer – dancing naked in clubs – for seven years and recently she has been wearing revealing clothes in public and says she does so to express herself.
Radebe who is known as Undertaker in her community says she
knows people talk and judge her but she does not care.
There is a growing phenomenon in the country where
half-and-completely naked women are seen in public spaces.
Radebe is a member of Team Hustler group from Pretoria
which offers twerking, dancing and stripping services to the public.
They normally performed at bachelor parties and private
spaces but a few weeks ago, they shocked the nation when they performed at
slain musician Itumeleng “MaR5” Mosoeu’s funeral in the capital city.
“We wore the jeans that showed off our backsides just to
shock the public. But we were celebrating a person [MaR5] who was supporting
our career as entertainers. We also twerked not wearing underwear because this
is what we do in private spaces. We did this for the first time in public and
others criticised us while others loved what we did,” Radebe said.
“I have been doing this for seven years and was hiding it.
But when Zodwa Wabantu took it to the public, I was not ashamed anymore. By
nature, I am not shy or scared of doing things. I am not ashamed of what I am
doing.
“I had to sit down with my parents and my children to
explain what being an entertainer means. I told them that people will judge me
– which they always do but I don’t care.”
Another member of Team Hustle Mapako Tlabyane said: “people
will always judge you whether you are doing a good thing or bad thing”.
“We are expressing ourselves. We are entertainers and we
performed at various clubs and places. Where we perform phones are not allowed
and we know we have privacy. Since people saw us at MaR5’s funeral, they have
been criticising us and we do not care. What we do feeds our families at the
end of the day,” Tlabyane said
Another woman who walks about half naked Lonia Makua and known as Queen Minaj on social media said she was doing it to get more followers.
Her semi- and naked pictures are circulated widely on
social media.
She said before she started posting her pictures, she had
15,000 followers.
Within a week, it grew to 30,000. Currently, she is sitting at 340,000
followers.
“My account could have been on 1m now but people have been
reporting it. When they report it, they freeze my accounts and I cannot post
for 30 days. They reported me for posting a picture of me getting tattooed in
my private part [and my account was frozen].”
“When I create content for social media, I wear revealing
clothes and semi-naked. As an entertainer, I perform wearying a G-string. I
sometimes wear torn jeans which show my bum and thighsF, which I bought those
jeans at a shop. If there was something wrong with them, they were not going to
be sold. Showing off your body is an old culture and people just judging us as
Ama-2000.”
Gauteng police spokesperson Col Dimakatso Sello said
walking about naked in a public place is a crime.
“Being naked in a public place is unlawful and a person can
be charged with public indecency."
Professor Musa Xulu of Indosa Yesizwe Think Tank
Organisation argues that in the olden days, it was fashionable for young women
(teenagers) to show off their backsides.
“Before an old man could ask a girl to show her backside
and it was call ukushikila. The intention was to appreciate the body of young
woman. Young women would do this willingly. But when I look at the pictures
which trended on social media, I see older women exposing themselves which is
not part of our culture. The unintended consequence of this is to degrade the
sacred body of a woman. If they do this especially showing their private parts
in public, they are dehumanising the body of a woman,” Xulu said.
Psychologist Nkululeko Mhlongo said: “Culture is dynamic
and fluid. As culture evolves, others interprets it differently. But all the
things we see on social media speak to a sense of belonging. They have realised
that the minute they show off something, people notice and acknowledge their
presence. That speaks to a lot of childhood trauma. Some believe that they are
not noticed if they are fully clothed. As much as they call it pop culture, it
is all about being seen. Sowetan
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