Sex, liberation and body politics take centre stage in new web series

A new 10 part web series aims to open up the dialogue on sex for women in South Africa by exploring themes such as sexual liberation, body politics and sex in relation to power, money and culture. 

Women on Sex, directed and produced by actress and filmmaker Mmabatho Montsho, debuted earlier this month with the first episode focused on virginity and sexual purity.

Clinical psychologist, Khosi Jiyane, is featured in the series and speaks passionately on the idea of virginity and other issues.

“We have zoned in on a tiny space of biology in the body of a female and used that to define who she is in totality,” said Jiyane. 

One-on-one interviews with assistant pastors, social media managers and media personalities gives a variety of women the chance to tackle the topic of sex, double standards and other related issues while debunking a lot of the pre-existing myths that were instilled in most of us from an early age.

According to Montsho finding participants was difficult at first.

“That is a serious problem. Women have a lot to say and want to be heard but are afraid of how the community will treat them afterwards. It a very valid fear. After all, we live in a country where women are killed for their sexual choices. So I had to film in a way that made people comfortable, the questions and topics had to be crafted carefully,” said Montsho. 

She was pleasantly surprised by how well viewers have received the first episode.

“Many women were excited to see these positions being challenged on camera. Most of the correspondence I get is women saying ‘thank you,’” said Montsho. 

The second webisode, which recently went live on the Women on Sex YouTube Channel, is titled “Emancipating the Vagina.”

With statements like “we have normalized that fear that if you wear something short, you must know that you will get attacked,” the series aims to challenge misconceptions.

“It was important to me to create content that is female led, that re-imagines how we talk about issues that affect our everyday existence and to put that conversation on record,” said Montsho.

She chose the internet as her platform because she did not want the content to be controlled and limited by television rules.

“By just posting the link. The series gets to live beyond a television time slot,” said Montsho.

She hopes to continue with the series beyond women's month and invite more women to challenge even more sensitive topics.