What the youth are saying about sex should make us sit up and listen
YOUTH are speaking out candidly — perhaps for the first time — about what sex means to them.
‘I have watched S’cumto and it’s quite cool. We were given sex education at school where we learnt a lot of things we didn’t know, but I got most of my sex education from TV. On Take 5 they don’t exactly tell you what sex is in a straight way. I liked S’cumto and I think I’ll watch it again to get more information. But I think they should find out more about what children know about sex. Most children don’t understand it.”
Thabile Moatshe (17)
A provocative new TV programme, S’cumto (tsotsi-taal for ”let’s talk about it”), is aiming to be as hip and cool as possible to capture the attention of its target audience. While it is not the first programme to tackle the weighty issue of encouraging you to adopt healthy sex habits, it has taken the fresh approach that for the youth to talk openly about sex, they need to be talking to people of their own generation. So says Nomonde Gongxeka, who works in the television and special projects section of Love Life (a Kaiser Foundation initiative to combat Aids which funded the programme).
And that is how 15 youngsters between 12 and 17 came to be trained in the art of television-making and go on to travel through the country to film S’cumto. Says Gongxeka, ”You’d think from the footage they bought back it was filmed by professionals.” The style of the programme is somewhere between music videos and documentary, with lots of hand-held camera shots, fast and funky editing, and raw, candid interviews with a whole lot of young people.
‘I didn’t really watch it. I was just changing channels and I saw a little at the beginning when the presenters were saying who they were and what they do. It was quite open, and I might relate more to kids talking about sex. We get most of our sex education from TV. Kids can learn not to make the same mistakes other people made. I’ll watch S’cumto to learn what other people have been through and if it’s me in that situation I’ll know what to do.”
Daniel Marakala (16)
Some of what comes out of their mouths is pretty hard to stomach. There are accounts by young women of being beaten by their boyfriends for not having sex, and there are shockingly stereotyped views expressed of the other sex and their roles in relationships (boys have to buy you things and girls do household chores and give you sex). When a hip young dude boastfully says, ”I wish I can get virgin cherries” (because ”tight” vaginas are better), you can only wonder about what values the older generation has been teaching its youth.
There’s a difficult balancing act for S’cumto to get right, and it remains to be seen over the course of its 13 episodes if it succeeds. The trick it has to pull off is allowing the youth to state their views as freely of censorship and judgement as possible, while at the same time promoting healthy sexual choices and tackling some dangerous myths. One way the programme tries to do this is to have a ”S’cumto fact file” flashed on the screen, stating things like ”It is never okay for your partner to hit you”, or ”Just as size is not an issue, nor is the tightness of a vagina”, and giving a number to call for help.
S’cumto is screened at 6pm on Thursdays on e.tv.
Soul food for youth
By THEBE MABANGA
A new television series aims to educate kids about issues ranging across sexuality and Aids, attitudes towards disability and coping with various types of trauma. Primarily targeting 8- to 12-year-olds, Soul Buddyz is a spin-off from the highly successful educational series, Soul City.
Soul Buddyz uses an edutainment format to get its message across, avoiding any heavy-handed preaching. It follows a group of youngsters who get together after school to tackle the various issues. ”Soul Buddyz is about friendships. It’s about youngsters getting together to make a difference,” says Melanie DuBois, who plays Avril, a victim of child abuse.
”The greatest challenge facing teenagers is really finding out what life is about,” says Letoya Makhene, while Nina Cave adds that ”children know more than parents actually realise”. Cave identifies with her character, Tammy, whose habit of engaging in unprotected sex gives her a scare when she mistakenly believes she is pregnant.
The series is shot on locations from Berea in eastern Johannesburg, Modderfontein — where the famous Soul City clinic is located — and at the Durban beach-front to create a relaxed atmosphere. It has been nominated for an Avanti award for best education production.
Soul Buddyz is scheduled to be broadcast in mid-August on SABC. See a TV guide for channel and time slot.
‘There are [sex education] programmes but they don’t focus on what you need to know. Adults can speak about their past experiences, but we can relate better to kids because you tend to understand them better. They are also more interesting in what they have to say. We know of the dangers and details of sex, but we need lots of graphic pictures — not of sex but of the diseases, and also contraceptives. We need more actual video footage.”
Megan Duval (16)
‘I don’t know about S’cumto but I think we could learn a lot from other kids. It’s better if kids present it because it’s going to be interesting for everyone to see. I will watch it in future. We get sex education at school during a period called life skills. In my class we ask everything. Parents don’t talk about sex that much but friends can tell you a lot. Maybe it’s embarrassing to my mother to talk about sex but it’s a natural thing and we must talk about it.”
Lucky Mamabolo (18)
— The Teacher/Mail & Guardian, May 2, 2000.
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