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25 August 2022 | Story Rulanzen Martin | Photo Rulanzen Martin
Vency Mupupa, Jessica Lynne and Dr Nadine Lake
From the left: Vency Mupupa, Jessica Lynn and Dr Nadine Lake.

Creating residences and other spaces that adapt to change without it being forced is a process that requires time, patience, and nurturing. Through recent engagements with Jessica Lynn, a transgender activist from the Kinsey Institute in the United States, the Centre for Gender and Africa Studies (CGAS) and the Housing and Residence Affairs (HRA) division at the University of the Free State (UFS) are committing to creating dialogue and engagements that will foster gender-, transgender- and LGBTQI-positive attitudes for residences on and off the UFS campuses. 

Most of the advocacy and educating work envisaged by the CGAS and HRA did not materialise due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “There are issues coming to the forefront amongst the student community in terms of gender identity and gender fluidity on all three UFS campuses. It is visible that these issues exist, but they are not being discussed,” said Dr Nadine Lake of the CGAS. She added that the Centre would like the UFS to continue addressing issues like acceptance, inclusion, and diversity, but to also focus on gender identity and not just on race.  

Inclusive living spaces: The seed has been planted 

“We reached out to Housing and Residence Affairs (HRA) around creating more education and advocacy for students and staff within HRA around transgender identity specifically, but then also gender,” Lake said. According to Vency Mupupa, Senior Officer: Accommodation Services at HRA, the seed for a broad-based gender awareness project within on-campus residences started in 2019, when HRA was tasked with conducting research into inclusive housing. 

“The focus is not only on transgender people but the LGBTQI community at large. We are starting small, but eventually it will affect the larger student population,” Mupupa said. 

She emphasised that the focus is not only on students in residences but also on staff within HRA and the residences. “We have 25 000 students, and on-campus residences can only accommodate around 6 000 students, so it is a drop in the ocean, but if we can educate everyone else the space will move away from being unaccepting and become more inclusive.” 

Transgender awareness breaks down walls 

Referencing her own experiences, Lynn, who is a transgender woman, said that advocating for gender awareness is all about creating safe spaces for people to be their authentic self. “It is a very closeted feeling,” she said. “When I transitioned, I experienced a lot of bad things, and I wanted to use my experience to help educate others so that are not trapped the same way I was. There is a very small percentage of people worldwide who identify as transgender… It is not like there are no transgendered people here, it is just that they are scared of coming out.” 

Universities are the perfect space

Lynn decided her awareness campaigns should focus on university students because the students she reaches are the next generation of doctors, lawyers, politicians, and judges. “It is all about how we can educate the next generation.”

Most university or college students are going to progress in their careers and will be able to use their influence to educate the next generation. “But, most importantly, most of these students are going to become parents – and sooner or later one of them might become a parent to a bisexual, transgender, or gay child, and through my presentations it would have hopefully opened a lot for them to comprehend,” Lynn said. 

Lynn is internationally renowned for her transgender awareness work and advocacy, and her longstanding relationship with CGAS widened the scope to intensify this project. “Jessica’s work is very important, firstly because of her affiliation with the Kinsey Institute, but most importantly her work in transgender identity,” Dr Lake said. Lynn has presented classes, seminars and talks at some of the leading universities around the globe and in South Africa has delivered talks at the UFS and Rhodes University.

• The Department of Social Work at the UFS will host a Gender Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Seminar with Jessica Lynn on 2 September 2022. Click here for more information. 

News Archive

Kovsies through to the final round of national Sanlam competition
2008-11-21

 

At the research day were, from the left: Johan Human, third-year Physiotherapy student, Mr Carel Thomas, Marketing Manager of Sanlam for the Free State, Marissa van Eeden, third-year Physiotherapy student, and Ms Lieschen de Man, lecturer in the Department of Physiotherapy at the UFS. Another two students were involved in the winning project.
Photo: Leonie Bolleurs


Of the 28 groups of students from the University of the Free State (UFS) who entered Sanlam's national Creativity for Progress Competition, a multidisciplinary group of students from the Departments of Physiotherapy and Architecture advanced to the final round that will take place in December in Cape Town.

The theme of the competition is “A better life for people in informal settlements”. Sanlam also undertook to sponsor the implementation of the winning project as part of their corporate social responsibility initiatives. The winners of the regional round delivered their presentations at the UFS Service Learning Research Day.

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