Luke Waltham

This opinion piece was originally published by Luke Waltham for HuffPost SA. You can read the original piece here . The Toxic, Trash Wasteland Of Online Gaming Despite the benefits that online gaming has for the players, there has always been a presence of problematic gamers and awful, dehumanising remarks. Online gaming has been praised as a great way for people to make new friends, grow their imagination and express themselves in different worlds on various gaming platforms. Despite the benefits that online gaming has , however, there has always been a presence of problematic gamers making awful, dehumanising remarks. In fact, the ongoing acceptance of problematic comments and hate speech in online games has legitimised and normalised various forms of discrimination –– racism, sexism, homophobia, queerphobia, transphobia, Islamophobia, ableism and xenophobia –– and as a result has created marginalising, oppressive platforms. As someone who plays a lot of games, inclu...

This opinion piece was originally published by Luke Waltham on Medium. You can read the original piece here . Make Up and Gender A personal story and my view on the use of make up and gender expression. 2016 was my final year of high school and it was a time where I was finally confident and happy with myself. In fact, I became comfortable enough to express myself and be who I am. By doing this, I would oppose toxic masculinity and wear what I wanted to wear and do what I wanted to do. However, despite me opposing the patriarchal, masculine norm in society, I found that many individuals had a problem with me being myself. This is a basic story about me wearing basic concealer and base to school one day. For my freshman and sophomore years at high school, I was involved in plays and that was where I wore make up for the first time. Obviously it was stage make up but I liked it and I enjoyed the aesthetic benefits of it. I guess I still endorsed the norm that make up would ...

This blog piece was originally written by Luke Waltham for HuffPost SA. You can read the original piece here . 16 Days Of Activism Should Be 365 Days Of Activism Change starts with you. We need to ensure that awareness and education are spread to the masses and humanity is eventually restored. Every year, from November 25 to December 10, is the annual 16 Days of Activism in which organisations, leaders and individuals worldwide make an active effort to raise awareness about abuse and violence against women, children and non-binaries. This is an important time, considering that we live in a patriarchal society in which various problematic leaders, individuals and governments continue to perpetuate and endorse sexist, misogynistic decisions and initiatives in society. If we look at the worldwide statistics of abuse against women, children and non-binaries, one can only express complete disgust, sadness or despair. According to  Child Help , somewhere in the worl...

This blog piece was originally written by Luke Waltham for HuffPost SA. You can read the original piece here . Not Everyone Is Happy During The Christmas Holiday Season Christmas can be an exceptionally lonely and challenging time for anyone who is marginalised or treated unfairly in society. December is usually an exciting month for young and old people all around the world. Christmas is considered a time of joy, laughter, love and giving. However, this is not the narrative for many individuals out there. In fact, Christmas can be an exceptionally lonely and challenging time for someone who is marginalised or treated unfairly in society. This is why depression and mental health issues often increase during the holiday season, and why it should be everyone's objective to reach out to those who may be alone, neglected or disregarded during this time. While many of us use the festive season to spend time celebrating and having fun with family and friends, eating a lo...

This opinion piece was originally published by Luke Waltham on Medium. You can read the original piece here . 2017: The Year of BTS This has been an extremely successful year for BTS and it’s ultimately a sign of great things to come! 2017 has been an exceptional year for music. We have seen great albums, artists and tracks released and new records being broken by various individuals and groups. One of these groups, which as an ARMY, I’m really excited and happy about, is BTS. BTS and their ARMY fan base/family has grown phenomenally. In fact, BTS will be leaving 2017 with many achievements such as breaking records, taking the music industry to new heights and eliminating many barriers of language and division through the power of their music and personalities. Their success this year is a clear indication of the great things we can expect in the future! These are only a few highlights of some of BTS’s major success this year. I encourage you to join the ARMY family ...

This blog piece was originally written by Luke Waltham for HuffPost SA. You can read the original piece here . A United Africa Means Uniting With Queer People Too The truth of the matter is that empowerment of all Africans must include all bodies, identities and groups. LGBTQ+ people across the continent continue to face many forms of persecution, discrimination, inhumane violations and disempowerment. Utterances and laws propelled primarily by homophobic, queerphobic and transphobic leaders, governments and religious groups has meant many queer Africans still navigate oppressive spaces and battle against inhumane treatment. Continuous dehumanisation has clearly precluded many queer people from making the claim to an 'African identity' in many countries. At the same time, the call among some African leaders for "unity" and striving for greatness reverberates across borders. But when so many queer Africans are being excluded, oppressed and discriminated ...