by Ufrieda Ho

Best ditch the boxes and labels if you’re hoping to pigeonhole South Africa’s Dr Tlaleng Mofokeng – medical doctor, specialist on sexual and reproductive health, social media influencer, K-drama and kimchi junkie, and now… newly appointed United Nations Commission on Human Rights special rapporteur physical and mental health. She has been appointed by the Human Rights Council.

This ticks a first for a woman from Africa.

She doesn’t need to fit in, though, or, as she puts it, “my motivation in life is not to be liked by everyone; it’s exhausting.”

Dr T, as she’s popularly known from her radio slots, magazine columns and bestselling guide to sexual health and pleasure, says boxes are about control and upholding a system of reward or punishment, especially of women. It’s the kind of expectation and confinement she’s railed against since she was a girl. It’s also why she doesn’t particularly care about being called “the loud-mouthed woman” – if that’s what it takes to be heard.

“You do attract pushback when you are the woman who is seen as being too loud; the woman speaking out, or speaking about pleasure, sex or orgasms. But I’m not here to perform my worthiness for any particular role for anyone,” she says. Read more via Daily Maverick/MSN