Interview: Gaosi Raditholo

As young people continue to ponder about how they should celebrate and commemorate Youth month and Youth Day considering the challenges they are faced with, MultiChoice has undertaken to amplify the voice of young people and marginalised young voices.

True to MultiChoice’s vision to connect with industry creatives and talent, to inspire and give them exposure to a network of personalities that could propel and elevate their careers. This time, MultiChoice partnered with the Throne magazine to engage in a candid conversation with a young person, star actress, Gaosi Ratholo, popularly known for her character, Tshepiso, on One Magic’s drama series, The River.

Tshepiso, who on The River is a young girl who is lesbian, leaves her maternal home to seek an escape from her mother who refuses to accept that her daughter, Tshepiso is lesbian. The township, Refilwe where Tshepiso’s aunt lives at is where she finds comfort and a home at her. This move does not come without life threatening challenges as the community in Refilwe, and sometimes even her own family, battles with accepting Tshepiso because of her sexuality.

The story told through Tshepiso character in The River mirrors some of the experiences the LGBTIQ+ community encounters on a daily. These include harassment, being cat called, insulted, disrespected, and even assaulted for not confining to societal norms. After being sexually harassed at the tavern she worked at by elderly men and later assaulted by boys in the community, she eventually gives in to the pressure and hatred towards her. Tshepiso turns to alcohol to numb the pain and on several occasions, wants to self-harm and end her life.

“Those scenes are a reality for most young people and some face this daily because they are not accepted in their communities. They are judged, victimised, disrespected, and belittled. One can only take so much until life starts feeling painful and worthless. We tend to break down souls when we victimise people for being different to ourselves. The lack of acceptance, constant rejection, abuse, and discrimination is still so rife in our communities, and it is one of the driving factors to mental health illnesses.

All Tshepiso needed was love, support, affirmation, and acceptance. She did not ask to be born and more importantly, she did not choose to be born lesbian, how can she punished for being someone she did not choose to be? She needed to be given the space to be whoever she dares to be or to be whoever she was born to be. Tshepiso needed support to be able to walk through her journey of self-discovery. “

As we live our lives trying to discover ourselves it is so important to be afforded the room and space to self-discover in safe spaces and platforms without being subjected humiliation or prejudice. “Depression and anxiety are such difficult matters to navigate through and then still be able to contribute positively to society. I would honestly just plead with fellow young people to be more patient, more understanding, more supportive and loving towards people suffering from mental health challenges. Having walked that journey myself, love, and support is what carried me and continues to sustain me to date”, Gaosi shared about her character.

In preparation for her role, Gaosi took on the character of Tshepiso and imagined what her day-to-day life would be like, and then proceeded to portray the character. “When I was told that I got the role, I really just took the time to think about how I was going to bring Tshepiso to life. I really wanted to give her the honour and the respect she deserves. I wanted her to be and feel as real as possible because that is a true story for so many people and I just wanted to do justice to the character.”

With winter upon us, frank conversations and coffee kept us warm as we delved into conversations about Youth month, self-expression, and mental health. Challenges affecting young people dominated the conversation but therein laid strands of hope and shared optimism that not all was doom and gloom, which begged the question what does Youth month mean for a young person living in South Africa today? Secondly, what would be the most the appropriate way to commemorate Youth Day and celebrate Youth month in 2021 considering high levels of youth unemployment, exorbitant tertiary education fees, gender-based violence, substance abuse and corruption that have engulfed this country.

“Firstly, Youth Day and Youth month, for me, is about remembering and honouring where we come from. It is about expressing gratitude for the young people of 1976 who bravely fought for the rights and privileges we enjoy today. It is about honouring the struggle for freedom but also taking the baton to continue the fight, a different fight. Unemployment is rife in this country, and this is across the board. I have been so fortunate and so blessed to have been afforded the opportunities to work and express my talent, but the truth is that these are far in between. In the creative industry, you can go for months without a gig and therefore no income. That is our biggest battle today, unemployment.

My perspective of Youth month therefore is about remembering those who fought for us but also looking forward to recognising and fight current battles facing the Youth of today with courage and determination demonstrated by our forebears. We also must strive to ensure better life for the next youth generation and not be reduced to social media activists with no meaningful contribution to current challenges. The future of our country is truly in our hands.

Secondly, I think Youth month is about embracing our creative and innovative minds, celebrating the abundant talent we have in this country. There are a lot of youth trailblazers doing unimaginable things, such incredible work that 27 years ago was unheard of or nearly impossible to execute given the apartheid rule. The future is so bright for this country, we as young people just need to unite and fight our battles. So yes, lots to think about, lots to celebrate and even more to be excited about- a future filled with unimaginable possibilities.”

Something that resonates with young people such as Gaosi is self-expression - the ability to be true to yourself and be whoever you want to be without fear of judgment, discrimination, and being violated. The acting profession is an example of a space that enables actors to tell important stories and narratives that are often unheard of, marginalised or ignored. Homophobia, transphobia, disrespect, and hatred for people who do not subscribe to societal standards and norms disempowers a large group of our society from being free, a right that was fought for and declared on the 27th of April 1994.

When asked about what she thinks is the root cause of hatred for the LGBTIQ+ community, Gaosi without hesitation said “Ignorance. It is being narrow minded about who people should be and how people should behave. It is wanting to dictate to the next person how they should express themselves and that is problematic. I think characters such as Tshepiso help to conscientize people and shift mindsets and narrow perceptions. Everyone needs to be free to express themselves as they see fit without fear of being victimised.”

This quickly led to a discussion about mental health and how many young people lose their lives to depression and self-harm. This is an opportunity for the rest of society to self-reflect on some of the prejudices we inflict on our fellow human beings and destroy lives in the process. As we continue to watch The River for entertainment, it is equally important to ensure that we learn from it as it mirrors our society- the experiences on the set are a close enough a reflection of the society we live in.

Let us never forget the youth of 1976. Ours is to take the baton and fight for a better future for ourselves but also for the young people who will come after us.