South Africa’s 24-hour trend report – 20 July 2020

Oppressed women

Conversations about the oppression of black women trended on Twitter on Monday after @Chris_Moagi shared a thread with videos and photographs of people protesting: “Women from Dobsonville, Soweto are out in the street protesting after there have been cases of rape and housebreaking. They are saying police are not helping women who are under seige in the area and they don't feel safe.” This generated 809 retweets and 783 likes. 

Later, @wildfonts retweeted an original post by @mhealananda from the weekend: “Why are so many black men horrifically violent toward women? I see it so often on here. Videos people post, images that black people post on twitter as they brag about the violence... it’s creepy.” This received 1,100 retweets and 1,800 likes. 



Disapproving of this, @wildfonts quoted it in a retweet: “Why do white women feel empowered to say stupid ass shit like this as though they haven’t been horrifically violent to Black women and other non-white women, Black men and any other non-white people all throughout history.” This received 195 retweets and 427 likes.

On Monday, 20 July, Twitter user @valavoosh shared an 11-part thread of one of the lesser-known women leaders of pre-colonial South Africa. The initial tweet read, “Kgosi Sekonyela of BaTlôkwa died on this day in 1856 in Herschel district in the Eastern Cape. I want to talk about his mother Queen Mantatisi, one of the most powerful and most feared military and political leaders of the early years of the Mfecane.” This gained traction with over 1,000 retweets and 2,000 likes.



Relationships and romance

Several tweets detailing people’s views on romantic relationships resonated with thousands of Twitter users on Monday. @dablacrapunzel shared an image posted by @sonoanthonyy declaring that “physical touch is really my love language”. The tweet received over 31,500 retweets and over 100,000 likes globally. 

@_niphss posted,“Tomorrow marks 365 days with the love of my life. ? it hurts that I can’t be with her. Hurts that we can’t even celebrate. ? IT HURTS!!! IT HURTS!!! IT HURTS!!!” This was liked and retweeted almost 1,000 times. Another user, @nyaopeType, yearning for a partner, tweeted, “Guys I’m looking for a boyfriend, please rt for awareness ❤️,” which was liked over 4,700 times and received over 4,100 retweets. 



@Prime_suv declared, “A good wife is a gift from God, a good husband is a guy from KZN.” This was liked and retweeted almost 2,000 times.

@KNaomi_N and @jesssra both shared similar sentiments that were liked and shared widely. @KNaomi_N tweeted, “...get rid of toxic people in your life, this pandemic is already stressful to deal with ??.” This was liked and retweeted over 4,200 times. 

@AmalaSilwana shared her approach to relationships: “i'm such a ‘yoh ha.a ngcono siyeke’ type of person. andizthandi iforced vibes.” The tweet, which loosely translates to, “I am a ‘we better stop’ type of person… I don’t like forced vibes,” was liked over 6,300 times and retweeted over 2,400 times. 

@Neo_url shared her view on the behaviour of others: “Nothing annoys me like people who live a life of debauchery, having all the sex, doing all the drugs, yeeting all the fetuses and then when they are older & ready to calm down they want to get all moralistic & conservative. Where was the holy spirit in your 20s? & in your 30s?” This was liked and retweeted almost 1,000 times. 

Buy South African  

“I want to start a hashtag #BuySouthAfrican On that day we ALL commit to buying goods & services made here at home & we post online to give the business owners some shine. Who’s in? What day should we choose?” tweeted Vusi Thembekwayo. The tweet received over 12,500 likes, 3,700 retweets and 1,200 comments, with people sharing their support for the initiative, promoting various businesses and offering advice. 

@Hazel_mahazard replied, “I’m all for black business but while we at it can we encourage black business owners to own the value chain, they must make/produce/manufacture their own products, this thing of buying in bulk from Europeans or Asians rebranding & reselling is overdone & has no real value.” This tweet received 397 likes and 78 retweets.

Katlego Maseng shared a tweet about Botebo Wines, a black female-owned vineyard and label. He tweeted, “Meet the owner of a 48-hectare vineyard and a wine label, Botebo Wines, Tebogo Ditsebe (52). Ditsebe managed to turn a neglected vineyard into a thriving success. She was born in Kimberley in the Northern Cape. Today, she employs 3 full-time workers & 30 to 50 seasonal workers.” The tweet received over 3,800 likes, 1,400 retweets and 35 comments, with people asking where and how they can purchase the wine.

Top phrases trending on Monday