Come on Jessica, come on Tori,
Let's go to the mall, you won't be sorry.

Weird. The Bush thing worked as social commentary because in most Arab countries, it is actually suuuuuuper rude. You aren't even really supposed to sit with your legs up (man or woman) if it means someone is going to see the soles of your shoes - it's pretty offensive. Take away the cultural context and well... who…

It's a really good question, and one I don't have an answer for, sadly. I'd be keen to hear others' thoughts on it. I haven't done any specific research or evaluations of NVC programs, but I've seen it as play in other peace and stabilization interventions. It's interesting stuff.

As I said, I'm not really an expert on Rwanda exactly. But what I can say is that generally speaking, conflict doesn't occur because of one single factor. When I design early warning systems, for example, I'm looking at a variety of indicators (land conflict, fuel price, political inclusion, etc) that when combined,…

I should also add to this that it's worth looking at what is happening in Burundi right now. Burundi experienced the same crisis (or rather a related one of their own) in which the eventual power dynamics were reversed and the Hutus are now in power. The genocide in Burundi was no joke, but it gets absolutely zero…

I spent two years living in Burundi and going back and forth between the two countries. This by no means makes me an expert, but I do study conflict, governance, community perceptions, etc. for my job (I'm a conflict/development anthropologist) - and I can say that 1) whilst the international community was notoriously…

Maybe @katedries will let me write ethnographic accounts of my vulva's various cross cultural encounters for Jez. David Attenborough voiceover very much included.

"Mein Mons: Reflections of a Globe Trotting Vulva"

I move around a lot for work (I'm an anthropologist) and I feel pretty well informed on the subject. I've had bikini waxes from an Indian woman in Burundi who used a metal butter knife (true.story.), cloth waxes from a Kenyan woman who came to your house in South Sudan, an intensely intimate wax from a woman in San…

I'm not sure why this hasn't come up yet... but isn't this essentially French Bikini wax? I live in Beirut now, but I walked into a first-time salon and asked for a French Bikini and the only two questions I had to answer were "triangle or strip" and "butthole or no butthole". The ladies were of course much less crass…

I have to share this here, because Jez is my people. I was living in South Sudan up until December. I adopted a pup - literally picked this little dirty puppy out of the streets. I spent a day pulling ticks out of her ears and even had to extract Bot flies (do not look that one up if you have a queazy tummy). I love…