Celebrate Life – New Age Humanitarians
We shine a spotlight on young women who’ve taken it upon themselves to be the change they want to see in the world
KHANYI MPUMLWANA,
29, advertising copywriter and co-founder of Find New Words, an initiative that helps create new names to refer to members of the the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Intersex Queer+ (LGBTIQ+) community.
Why this initiative? My colleague Nobantu Sibeko and I were discussing how we don’t have vernac words that are the tasteful equivalent of certain English terms. We realised that words associated with LGBTIQ+ people were derogatory. Find New Words was launched in 2017 with the help of FCB Foundation. Our aim is to create change through words, because we believe that behaviour is influenced by language.
How did you get started? We ran workshops around the country, encouraging communities to create new positive words for the LGBTIQ+ community. We ran out of money and had to find creative ways of getting new submissions. We did an experiment, by creating a bogus TV ad for a ‘Scoop’ washing powder that aired on SABC 1. The catch phrase was, “It’s so bright, nes’tabane would wear it.” Out of about 8 million people who watched Uzalo that night, the ad only garnered a 100 complaints. The next day, we aired the original Find New Words ad to drive home the message that we needed to change as a nation. Out of the 153 words that were submitted, we selected 10. What keeps you motivated? I remember a student at Tshwane University of Technology who had an Aha! moment right after seeing our list of names and their English meanings. She said she could identify herself in the words, and found comfort in knowing that she wasn’t alone. This initiative is for those who live in rural areas and townships, and don’t have the words to describe themselves positively but crave a sense of belonging in their culture. What experience touched you the most? We once went to Venda, and spoke to traditional leaders, village elders and pastors. They had wanted to be part of the conversation because they didn’t understand what it meant to be lesbian or transgender. It was humbling to see them try to be part of the change. The world would be a much better place if… we weren’t bigots.