When searching for female LGBTQIA+ activists from Africa who are breaking through barriers and giving a voice to lesbians, Beverly Ditsie would surely pop up. Beverly Ditsie is a Lesbian activist, artist and Filmmaker from South Africa. Growing up in Soweto, She was immersed in the struggle against apartheid. But she knew racial oppression was only part of the fight – and organised the first Pride march in Africa.
She is one of the founders of the gay rights organisation Gay and Lesbian Organization of Witwatersrand. In speaking about the importance of considering LGBT rights in human rights at the 4th UN World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995, she became the first openly lesbian to do so.
Early life.
Beverly Ditsie was born in Orlando West, Soweto, in August 1971. From a young age, she knew she wanted to be a star, to emulate the success of her mother, a famous singer who regularly went on tour. She became a child actor but was always cast as a boy. This began when her mother was cast as the lead in a TV drama and there was a need for a child who matched her skin tone and looks. To the production company, Ditsie looked like a boy and so was cast as her son. Ditsie loved playing male characters. “I was more me at that time than I’ve ever been,” she says. “Going back to school was weird. It was almost a double life because here I am now back in school wearing these dresses that I hate, being treated like a girl that I thought I wasn’t” Activism. Ditsie is one of the organisers of the first Pride March in South Africa.
The parade took place in Johannesburg in 1990. Ditsie and her friend, Simon Nkoli, another activist, worked together on creating the pride event after Simon had the idea from his visit to America. During the event, she spoke on live TV, becoming a “cultural icon” and a target for people’s hatred and bigotry. Beverly Ditsie states that she had to be “escorted for about two weeks after the pride march” for her safety. She is a critical part of current pride activities because she sees a cultural and racial divide between LGBT people in South Africa. Beverly spoke at the United Nations Conference on Women in 1995 and was the person to address gay and lesbian rights before a U.N. 4th World Conference on Women.” She attempted to convince U.N. delegates to “adopt resolutions recognising sexual diversity”.
Filmmaking and Television Career.
Ditsie has worked as an actress and director in television since 1980, making her the first black female child star in television. In the late 1990s, she was in the reality show, Livewire – Communities, and was the only black lesbian on the show. She has also written, directed and consulted in over 20 Documentaries, screened nationally and Internationally.
Her first documentary film, Simon and I (2001), won several Audience Awards, including the 2004 Oxfam/Vues d’ Afrique best documentary, Montreal, Canada. The story of Simon and I is autobiographical, following her “personal and political journey” with Nkoli. Her film uses both interviews and archival material. In 20005 she produced and directed A Family Affair, in 2017 She directed, produced and wrote the Commission – From Silence to Resistance. And in 2020 she directed, produced and wrote Lesbians Free Everyone – The Beijing Retrospective.
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