<\/p>\n

Jipox<\/em> <\/strong>–(verb) Kiswahili Slang<\/strong>: to boldly assert one\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s belonging\/membership to a group of people or an event despite irrefutable evidence to the contrary.<\/p>\n

Jipoxer<\/em> <\/strong>–(noun) Kiswahili Slang<\/strong>: one who jipoxes.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

<\/span>Last year, my blog twin wrote a fantastic response to Angelina Jolie\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s adoption of an Ethiopian baby<\/a>.\u00c3\u201a\u00c2 In the same blog piece she mentioned that Oprah claimed, on the basis of a DNA test, she was a Zulu woman.\u00c3\u201a\u00c2 \u00c3\u201a\u00c2 In Friday\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s Guardian, Gary Younge revisited Oprah\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s announcement<\/a> and revealed that,
\n
\n<\/span>\u00c3\u201a\u00c2 <\/span> <\/span>\u00c3\u201a\u00c2 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00c5\u201c\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00c2\u00a6the results suggested [Oprah\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s] most likely match was from the Kpelles tribe of Liberia<\/span>. Indeed she was told that she could not have come from <\/span>South Africa<\/span>.\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac?
\n<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

<\/span>Despite the fact that science has told Oprah otherwise, she still lays claim to her (supposed) Zulu heritage on the basis that she is, \u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00c5\u201ccrazy about the South African accent<\/strong><\/em>,\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac?<\/span><\/p>\n

This recent discussion on what my blog twin refers to as the commodification of Africa has inspired the following post; after all, if something is worth saying, it is worth saying twice.<\/span><\/p>\n

As someone whose cultural identity spans over three continents, I appreciate the difficulties of living in a world where people feel the need to categorise and label those around them.\u00c3\u201a\u00c2 I can relate to that feeling of not fitting in and I certainly empathise with those who feel compelled to latch on to any identity just so that they can feel accepted.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

That said; I do take issue with Oprah\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s claim.\u00c3\u201a\u00c2 Firstly there is the issue of \u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00c5\u201cthe South African accent<\/em>,\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac? to which my only response is, which<\/strong><\/em> South African accent?\u00c3\u201a\u00c2 Doesn\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u201e\u00a2t she realise that the South African accent is as intangible as the American accent?\u00c3\u201a\u00c2
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

The sad part for me is that I remember growing up in 1980s <\/span>England<\/span> as an African.\u00c3\u201a\u00c2 It was not cool to be African then.\u00c3\u201a\u00c2 Your accent was mocked.\u00c3\u201a\u00c2 \u00c3\u201a\u00c2 You were subject to an endless stream of dumb and offensive questions such as \u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00c5\u201cdid you get to England by elephant?<\/em><\/strong>\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac? You had to constantly challenge inane stereotypes \u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u20ac\u0153 \u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00c5\u201cdo people in your country have bows through their noses?<\/em><\/strong>\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac?.\u00c3\u201a\u00c2 \u00c3\u201a\u00c2 No distinction was made between a South African and an East African, you were all the same and you were all treated the same.\u00c3\u201a\u00c2 The images of Zulu men with spears and shields that are now considered cool were considered then, to be further proof of a barbaric cannibalistic group of people.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

In recent years the Western world has begun to acknowledge <\/span>Africa<\/span> and while on the whole this has been positive there are still those who\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s acknowledgement does not seem genuine.\u00c3\u201a\u00c2 Perhaps their over zealous love for all that is African is their way of compensating for years of anti-African sentiment.\u00c3\u201a\u00c2 It could be that they just enjoy following a trend, so much so, that jumping on the bandwagon will not suffice; instead they throw themselves right under its wheels.\u00c3\u201a\u00c2 Whatever their reasons, they are no different to those who ridiculed or ignored <\/span>Africa<\/span> in the 1980s.\u00c3\u201a\u00c2 They do not care that <\/span>Africa<\/span> is a continent with over fifty countries.\u00c3\u201a\u00c2 Many will not know that it in some African countries it is possible to hear forty different languages being spoken.
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

I can not speak for the people of <\/span>South Africa<\/span>, I can not even speak for the people of <\/span>Kenya<\/span> but I can speak as a Kenyan woman and to anyone who is thinking of \u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00c5\u201cbecoming\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac? a Kenyan I have this to say; The more the merrier BUT\u00c3\u201a\u00c2 please do so for the right reason.\u00c3\u201a\u00c2 If you can not find a good reason then at least have the gumption to say this,
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00c5\u201cMe, I am not Kenyan.\u00c3\u201a\u00c2 I am just a jipoxer.\u00c3\u201a\u00c2 I just want to jipox on your people\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

This may not guarantee you instant Kenyaness but your efforts to familiarise yourself with Kiswahili slang shall add an air of sincerity to your claims. (Do note: irrespective of what is considered grammatically correct, for your claim to be convincing it is imperative that you use the words ‘Me, I am’ in the exact manner depicted above<\/strong>)<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jipox –(verb) Kiswahili Slang: to boldly assert one\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s belonging\/membership to a group of people or an event despite irrefutable evidence to the contrary. Jipoxer –(noun) Kiswahili Slang: one who jipoxes. Last year, my blog twin wrote a fantastic response to Angelina Jolie\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s adoption of an Ethiopian baby.\u00c3\u201a\u00c2 In the same blog piece she mentioned that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[18,19,6,12,8],"tags":[89,90,94,96],"class_list":{"0":"post-261","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-africa","7":"category-kenya","8":"category-race","9":"category-uk","10":"category-watu-na-viatu","11":"tag-africa","12":"tag-kenya","13":"tag-race","14":"tag-uk","15":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/s6Y7Vr-jipoxers","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/beginsathome.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/261","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/beginsathome.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/beginsathome.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beginsathome.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beginsathome.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=261"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/beginsathome.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/261\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":382,"href":"https:\/\/beginsathome.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/261\/revisions\/382"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/beginsathome.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=261"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beginsathome.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=261"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beginsathome.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=261"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}