THE COLOURS OF L VE
In celebration of LGBTIQ+ Pride Month, we caught up with four queer couples who are choosing to embrace love for what it really is — a pure, fierce and unassuming emotion!
ON LOVE IN INTOLERANT TIMES…
Courtnaé: “Love should never be about internalising society’s rigid expectations and boxing yourself in. Looking at Quintessa, don’t you think society wishes for her to have a husband, kids and a white picket fence? But does she want all of that? No! We define love for ourselves, and it’s the only definition that matters!” Quintessa: “Love is a blessing, and not everyone is lucky to experience it wholeheartedly and freely. We live in a society where it’s hard for people to express themselves and exist as who they are. We’re happy, but also know that it isn’t the same for everyone. One of the reasons I love Pride Month is that it gives everyone a platform to be themselves without social pressures.”
ON THE MEANING OF PRIDE MONTH…
Tinyiko: “The most important thing is that today I can be a corporate high flyer, raise a family, educate my children and be completely unafraid to own those spaces as a queer black woman. We’re shattering all those stereotypes that say we’re deadbeats and drunks. We’re committed to changing the narrative about being queer in this day and age.” Malebo: “It’s a celebration of how far we’ve come as a community. We celebrate that in 2019, we can get married and have children together. It’s the little things, like being able to hold my girlfriend’s hand in public with no hesitation, that make me feel like I have found my ‘happy place’.
ON LOVE IN INTOLERANT TIMES…
Tkay: “Any form of love, for me, is home. Our intimate love is a way of life and shouldn’t change or take away from who I am. I love that I’m in a relationship that doesn’t turn me into something that I’m not — everything fits seamlessly. Pride is important in that it’s a commemoration for all the times we didn’t have pride. It’s remembering all the others before us who literally died for us to enjoy the freedom to be ourselves. We celebrate because we’re liberated, but many across the world still aren’t.” Mandisa: “I come from a home where I’ve always been allowed to express myself and be liberated. I’m fortunate that when I came out, my mom said she already knew and allowed me to explore myself. Because I’ve never felt trapped, I can express my love with no limits! Pride Month, for me, is a reminder of who we are. Unfortunately, we need a day and month to remind others that it’s a celebration of our beauty.”
(L) Violet ‘Vaivi’ Swartz, 35, Office Manager in the health sector (R) Sape Maodi-Swartz, 28, Paralegal and Activist at OUT LGBT Well-being.
They met in a taxi 11 years ago. Violet knew she had to get Sape’s number before they got off, and asked the guy next to her for his number. After jumping off at her stop, she called the guy and asked to speak to Sape. In that conversation, she asked for her number. They have been together since and tied the knot four years ago.
ON THE MEANING OF PRIDE MONTH…
Violet: “I feel I don’t have to explain who and what I am to anyone. I celebrate Pride Month and go to the parades because my wife is an activist. I’m there supporting her, otherwise it really isn’t a factor to me.” Sape: “It’s being unapologetic about who you are, regardless of what the world throws at you. It doesn’t matter what else is happening in the world, so long as you have fully accepted who you are.”