Sushi parties tasteless: can we move on now?

THE ANC Youth League, the ANC Woman's League and the ANC itself have finally come around to Zwelinzima Vavi's thinking.

It appears that everybody in this group now thinks that what Kenny Kunene, aka Mr Sushi, is doing, eating all that sushi off all those women's bodies, is not okay. Though Vavi was more upset about the vulgarity of Mr Sushi's wealth display, as opposed to the feminist angle of the ANC Women's League, in the end everybody seems to agree that Mr Sushi's parties are tasteless.

To be honest, I thought Vavi's attack on Mr Sushi was beneath him. I felt like he had let himself down and stooped a little too low to start an unnecessary verbal scuffle that he couldn't win. To this day, I still agree with Mr Sushi that one's wealth should be spent however one wishes to spend it as long as one doesn't break the law.

You will never appreciate a million in any currency more than the one that comes after you've lost or squandered one. It's okay for Mr Sushi to throw his lavish parties. I don't think he should be made to feel guilty for doing so. It's his money. He presumably works very hard for it. At the very least, these parties will help him appreciate his wealth more.

And just because there are poor people, it does not mean Mr Sushi or any rich person must hide his or her wealth. Finishing your food no matter how full you are does not feed starving people. We are not going to have more poor people because Mr Sushi throws a lavish party. On the contrary, there might be some poor people who benefit by getting that odd job at some of these parties.

This doesn't change that, to me, eating sushi or any food off a human being's body, be it male or female, is vulgar, borderline unhygienic and somewhat demeaning to all involved. But it's not like women are being taken to Mr Sushi's clubs to be turned into sushi plates kicking and screaming in chains!

They voluntarily agree to have their bodies used in that way. It is not illegal for this to happen and I presume that none of these women is mentally incapacitated or under-age. So why are they not being called to order?

I find Mr Sushi's use of women as sushi plates offensive. That's a matter of personal taste. It does not make it wrong. I can live with it.

What I find difficult to internalise is having women who take jobs like this because for as long as women allow themselves to be used the way Mr Sushi's parties use them sexism will reign. I can ask you to do anything demeaning for money. You do not have to take the assignment. Being a moneyed man is no excuse to perpetuate misogyny, but neither is being a cashless woman.