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#Shashii: Ghanaian Twitter and Slut Shaming
#Shashii; Ghanaian Twitter, stop telling women what to do with their own bodies
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You want to know a country’s people, check their Twitter. At the same time, Twitter has become that monster terrorizing society’s self esteem, instituting a form of dictatorship while running largely on mass often uneducated opinion. Though it represents a new kind of freedom, it is another form of repression.
And who are the worst affected? Women. Or rather, their bodies.
QUOTES:
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Hashtag shashii was trending on Ghanaian twitter last two weeks. Was all of Ghana reflecting on the business of prostitution? Had there been some new law that had been passed on the business that will cause all of Ghana to buzz about shashii and the prostitution business? No, nothing new had happened. It was just another obsessive conversation about women’s sexuality, driven mostly by young men and male teenagers (and women themselves), all of whom expressed opinions that carried the weight of the patriarchal society Ghana currently is.
For non-Ghanaians reading this, ‘Shashii’ is a Ghanaian derogatory term for a prostitute. But the word been broadened to mean not just a woman who is actually in the business of selling sex, but to incorporate ALL women who do not fit a certain status quo of prescribed sexuality. What is the status quo according to Ghanaian twitter? A woman has got to be a lady. Deny your sexuality and pretend if you have to, to be pure and virginal.
You don’t have to be a virgin, just act like you’re not interested in the opposite sex, or not attuned to your sexual needs and willing to explore them. And sure as hell, do NOT be bold about it! But in the privacy of closed doors, you’ve got to know how to go about your sexual business. Cuz though all men want ‘marriage material’ they want a ‘shashii’ in bed. It gives ultimate sexual pleasure for guys, you see, to have a ‘sexual virgin’ (whatever that is). In other words, be a lady in the streets, but a freak in sheets.
Tweets about #shashii
- ‘From all you’re telling me, I assume you want me to know you’re not a a gud girl’
- ‘ She tweeted I’m the happiest girl on earth just cos she has seen her menses’
- ‘If all the bouncers and bar tenders give her fans as the 2 of you enter a club, she be shashii’
- ‘When she uses iphone 6 and we know…’
- ‘Shashii but she goes to church every Sunday.
- ‘Im the happiest girl on earth just cuz she has seen her menses’]
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A form of Ghanaian definition to shashii can be found in the words of a Ghanaian hit song of the same title, “Shashii woowoo”. The artiste, Stay J, defined Shashii as “this girl, she dey love boys too much, this guy he dey love girls too much…she be what? Shashi wowo”. According to this popular song, a shashii was a girl or guy who had sexual or romantic relationships with many members of the opposite sex. However, a woman’s sexual relations are way more scandalous to the public than a man with multiple sexual partners. After all, in the polygamous society Ghana is (though they will swear on the love child that they are monogamous), the latter was normal. Almost every other person has a step brother or sister.
According to Ghanaian twitter, the following are the rules placed on women’s bodies (mind you, some conflict):
JOIN OUR PULSE COMMUNITY!
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Email: eyewitness@pulse.com.gh
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