Malebo Sephodi: Miss Behave

The Cheeky Natives

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‘Well-behaved women seldom make history.’-@malebosephodi writes deeply on the way this quote by Laurel Thatcher has influenced her life and writing. The Cheeky Natives sat down with the magical Malebo Sephodi, author of Miss Behave. Miss Behave is an award-winning text on a Black feminist journey to consciousness. Graceful and so relatable, Miss Behave is in part a journal and a love letter to black womxn of all ages. Far too often, in the age of wokeness, there’s been almost an absence of acknowledgement of the stages of awakening that even our most woke favourites have gone through. Miss Behave is an excellent example of these different stages. With sensitivity and awareness that only someone who's encountered the full depth of what Ntozake Shange describes as the metaphysical experience that is being a Black womxn, Malebo writes on the far-reaching themes of patriarchy, misogynoir and navigating relationships in the bodies Black womxn inhabit. This book has womxn, young and old snapping their fingers in formation at so many of the micro-aggressions detailed. There’s a gold mine of ‘aha’ moments in Miss Behave. Miss Behave is so much more than just a book. It’s a movement, having generated powerful conversations everywhere in its wake following its release. What was particularly striking about this book is the use of accessible language to explain academic concepts such as patriarchy and body shaming, proving that the academy doesn’t always have to be inaccessible. In a live podcast, Malebo sat with the Cheeky Natives as we waxed lyrical on the themes of patriarchy, corporate racism and the difficulties of navigating this world in bodies such as ours. Fun, challenging and thought-provoking.

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