Intersectional Psychology

Content Note: This episode discusses masculinity, power, and gender-based violence at a structural and analytical level. There are no graphic descriptions, but some themes may be challenging. Please take care of yourself while listening.

Masculinity is often treated as a personality trait — something individual men have or don’t have, something that can be improved with better intentions.

In this episode of Intersectional Psychology, we take a different approach.

Drawing on feminist, decolonial, and African scholarship, we explore masculinity as a social structure — a hierarchy that organises power, normalises silence, and continues to shape institutions, relationships, and everyday life, even when men see themselves as “good people.”

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What happens when feminism is treated as universal — despite emerging from very unequal histories and contexts?

In this episode of Intersectional Psychology, I compare Anglo-American feminism and African feminisms, asking what gets lost when Western feminist frameworks are exported as the default lens for understanding gender, power, and justice.

Drawing on African feminist scholarship and decolonial theory, this episode explores how feminism looks different when it is shaped by colonial histories, economic inequality, community-based survival, and collective responsibility — rather than liberal individualism.

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Ahmed, S. (2000). Whose Counting? Feminist Theory, 1(1), pp. 97-103 [online]. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/14647000022229083 (Accessed 10 July 2024)

Bakare-Yusuf, B. (2003). Beyond Determinism: The Phenomenology of African Female Existence. Feminist Africa, 2 [online]. Available at: https://www.jstor.org/stable/48724973 (Accessed 10 July 2024)

Bakare-Yusuf, B. (2004) '"Yoruba's don't do gender": A critical review of Oyeronke Oyěwùmí's The Invention of Women: Making an African Sense of Western Gender Discourses', in Arnfred et al. (2004) African Gender Scholarship: Concepts, Methodologies and Paradigms. Dakar: Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa.

Camminga, B. (2020) 'Disregard and danger: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and the voices of trans (and cis) African feminists', The Sociological Review, 68(4), pp. 817-833. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/0038026120934695 (Accessed 10 July 2024)

Carrera-Fernández, M. V., & DePalma, R. (2020). Feminism will be trans-inclusive or it will not be: Why do two cis-hetero woman educators support transfeminism? The Sociological Review, 68(4), pp. 745-762 [online]. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/0038026120934686 (Accessed 10 July 2024)

Connell, R.W. (1985) 'Theorising gender', Sociology, 19(2), pp. 260-272.

Crenshaw, K. (1991) 'Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence Against Women of Colour', Stanford Law Review, 43(6), pp. 1241-1299 [online]. Available at: https://www.jstor.org/stable/1229039 (Accessed 10 July 2024)

DiAngelo, R. (2018) White fragility: why it's so hard to talk to white people about racism. Boston: Beacon Press.

Dosekun, S. (2019) 'African feminisms', in Yacob-Haliso, O. & Falola, T. (eds.), The Palgrave Handbook of African Women’s Studies [online]. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-77030-7_58-1 (Accessed 10 July 2024)

Eddo-Lodge, R. (2017) Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People about Race. London: Bloomsbury Circus.

Garutsa, T.C. & Nekhwevha, F. (2019) 'Decreasing Reliance of Indigenous Knowledge Systems in Rural Households: The Case of Khambashe, Eastern Cape, South Africa', Africa Insight, 49(1) [online]. Available at: https://www.ajol.info/index.php/ai/article/view/188718 (Accessed 10 July 2024)

Gqola, P.D. (2001) 'Defining people: Analysing power, language and representation in metaphors of the New South Africa', Transformation 47, pp. 94-106 [online]. Available at: https://www.africabib.org/htp.php?RID=P00021717 (Accessed 10 July 2024)

Gqola, P.D. (2005) 'Through Zanele Muholi's eyes: re/imagining ways of seeing Black lesbians', in Tamale, S. (ed.) African Sexualities: A Reader. Wantage: Pambazuka Press. pp. 622-629.

Hill Collins, P. (1996) What's in a Name? Womanism, Black Feminism, and Beyond', The Black Scholar, 26(1), pp. 9-17 [online]. Paradigm Publishers. Available at: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41068619 (Accessed 10 July 2024)

Kisiang'ani, E.N.W. (2004) 'Decolonising Gender Studies in Africa', in Arnfred et al. (2004) African Gender Scholarship: Concepts, Methodologies and Paradigms. Dakar: Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa.

Lewis, D. (2004) 'African Gender Research and Postcoloniality: Legacies and Challenges', in Arnfred et al. (2004) African Gender Scholarship: Concepts, Methodologies and Paradigms. Dakar: Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa.

Lewis, D. (2001) 'Introduction: African Feminisms', in Agenda: Empowering Women for Gender Equity, 2001, No. 50, African Feminisms One, pp. 4-10 [online]. Taylor & Francis. Available at: https://www.jstor.org/stable/4066401 (Accessed 10 July 2024)

Lewis, D. (2011) 'Representing African sexualities', in Tamale, S. (ed.) African Sexualities: A reader, pp. 199-216. Wantage: Pambazuka Press.

Mazibuko, M. (2020) 'Being a Feminist in the Fallist Movement in Contemporary South Africa', Critical Times, 3(3), pp. 488–495 [online]. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1215/26410478-8662368 (Accessed 10 July 2024)

Mbugua, A. (2011) 'Gender dynamics: a transsexual overview', in Tamale, S. (ed.) African Sexualities: A Reader, pp. 238-246. Wantage: Pambazuka Press.

Msimang, S. (2002) 'Introduction: African Feminisms II: Reflections on Politics Made Personal', Agenda: Empowering Women for Gender Equity, 54, pp. 3-15 [online]. Taylor & Francis. Available at: https://www.jstor.org/stable/4548069 (Accessed 10 July 2024)

Nkealah, N. (2017) 'Cameline Agency: A New Agenda for Social Transformation in South African Women’s Writing 2012–2014', Current Writing: Text and Reception in Southern Africa, 29(2), pp. 121-130. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/1013929X.2017.1347426 (Accessed 10 July 2024)

Oyěwùmí, O. (2004) 'Conceptualising Gender: Eurocentric Foundations of Feminist Concepts and the Challenge of African Epistemologies', in Arnfred et al. (2004) African Gender Scholarship: Concepts, Methodologies and Paradigms. Dakar: Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa.

Oyěwùmí, O. (1997) The Invention of Women: Making an African sense of Western gender discourses. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

Saad, L.F. (2020) Me and White Supremacy: Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor. Naperville: Sourcebooks.

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This mini episode shares updates for Intersectional Psychology in 2026, including a new biweekly release schedule, ongoing Patreon benefits, and a preview of upcoming series on GBV, disability, democracy, climate justice, migration, and the return of Intersectional Scenes.

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Season 3 of Intersectional Psychology focuses on trans and gender-diverse healthcare, rights, and resistance, with a particular emphasis on South Africa and the African continent. This episode challenges myths and centres lived experience, offering evidence-based insight and a clear-eyed look at the political realities shaping care and access today.

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This Best Of Season 2 episode of Intersectional Psychology brings together key moments from a season focused on decolonising mental health practice.

Host Aurora Brown, Registered Counsellor, is joined by Shaheeda Sadeck and Neesha Chhiba, two Registered Counsellors working at the intersections of psychology, culture, spirituality, community care, and social justice. Together, they explore how colonial histories, apartheid, religion, racism, Islamophobia, homophobia, and global political violence continue to shape mental health — particularly in South Africa.

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What is intersectional psychology — and why does it matter so much for mental health today?

In this Best of Season 1 episode, Aurora Brown brings together key moments from all four episodes of Dissecting Intersectional Psychology, offering a rich and accessible introduction to intersectionality, social justice, and their ethical relevance to psychology and counselling practice.

This episode also grapples honestly with psychology’s history — including its complicity in systems like apartheid and eugenics — and asks what accountability, repair, and ethical practice require of us today. Along the way, Aurora reflects on coalition-building, civil disobedience, and how mental health professionals can engage in advocacy without abandoning care, nuance, or humility.

Whether you’re a psychology professional, student, activist, or someone navigating the mental health system yourself, this episode offers language, frameworks, and courage for thinking differently about care.

Aurora will be taking a short recording break over the festive season, but episodes will continue to drop — starting with this Season 1 retrospective.

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In this episode of Intersectional Psychology, we dive head-first into the colourful chaos of Disney Pixar’s Inside Out — a film that looks deceptively simple, but opens the door to some beautifully complex conversations about emotions, memory, identity development, neurodiversity, and what it means to be human.

I’m joined by two brilliant guests:

Marlize Labuschagne, Educational Psychologist, whose work is grounded in neurodiversity-affirming practice, brain-based models, and Internal Family Systems. | Website: ndhive.co.za | Facebook Page: Marlize Labuschagne, Educational Psychologist

Altay Turan, Clinical Neuropsychologist, who brings a sharp, playful, neuroscience-informed perspective to how the film represents emotions, memory, and the mind. | Website: maiapsychology.com | TikTok: @brainbownation

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Benarous, X. & Munch, G. (2016). Inside children's emotions: commentary, on the last Pixar movie, Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics, 37(6), 522 [online]. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1097/DBP.0000000000000312

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A 40-minute guided body scan to reduce stress, support emotional regulation, and support better sleep.

In this guided body scan meditation, we slow down, breathe, and explore the body with curiosity rather than criticism. Whether you’re new to mindfulness or a seasoned pro who just needs a reminder to unclench your jaw (again), this relaxation practice invites you to reconnect with your body in a gentle, grounded way.

Use this session to unwind after a long day, to reset between tasks, or to drift more easily into sleep. Consider it a small act of kindness to yourself — one that your future self might even thank you for.

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Burnout isn’t a personal failure — it’s a signal. And if your signal is currently flashing, sirening, or doing that chaotic strobe-light thing… you’re in the right place.

In this month’s guided relaxation practice, we slow everything down and offer your nervous system exactly what it’s been begging for: rest, grounding, and a moment of personal care.

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Can we tell stories of violence without reproducing harm? Aurora sits down with Nicole Engelbrecht of True Crime South Africa to unpack the ethics — and emotional toll — of the true crime genre.

⚠ Content note: This episode includes discussion of violent crime, murder, and hate-motivated violence, including references to the 2003 Sizzlers massacre in Cape Town. While approached with care and respect, some descriptions and themes may be distressing. Please prioritise your wellbeing and listen at your own pace.

📄 Download a transcript of this episode on IntersectionalPsychology.com.

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Website: https://truecrimesouthafrica.com/

Socials: @truecrimesouthafrica

Nicole Engelbrecht (she/her) is the creator and host of True Crime South Africa — the country’s most popular true crime podcast — and the author of several books, including Sizzlers and Bare Bones. Her work has redefined the genre locally by placing victims, not perpetrators, at the centre of the story.

I asked Nicole, "If you could design a True Crime Ethics Code, what would be the first four rules?" She referred me to victim advocate Julie Murray's CARE acronym, summarised in this infographic and at the end of this podcast episode.

00:00:00 Land acknowledgement

00:00:25 Title credits

00:01:06 Content note

00:01:48 Announcement

00:02:08 Welcome and introduction

00:05:57 The storyteller behind the mic

00:18:10 Whose stories get told?

00:24:07 Sizzlers and the silencing of queer pain

00:38:58 Walking the ethical tightrope

00:53:31 The human cost on the storyteller

01:14:16 Audiences and responsibility

01:05:39 True crimer self care

01:08:49 A true crime pro reimagines the genre

01:16:42 End credits

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