Dr Pfarelo Brandy Matsila is a sociologist, wellness counsellor, and researcher, whose work sits at the intersection of gender, health, care, identity, and work–family interface. Born and raised in rural Venda, she carries with her the lessons, contradictions, and resilience of the women who shaped her — her grandmother, mother, and aunt — whose labour and love form the backbone of her scholarship and her story. She holds a PhD in sociology from the University of Pretoria, where her doctoral research explored the gendered subjectivities of care among street traders in rural South Africa. Her work weaves together social reproduction theory, intersectionality, feminist thought, and the lived realities of informal workers — giving voice to the complexities of caregiving, labour, and identity in contexts often overlooked by mainstream research. Dr Matsila is deeply committed to transforming how care, gender, and emotional labour are understood across communities, institutions, and academic spaces. She is currently a researcher at the Centre for Sexualities, AIDS and Gender (CSA&G), where she teaches, mentors students, supports community engagement work, and contributes to gender justice initiativesWhen she is not teaching or writing, Dr Matsila is a mother of two — a role that continues to reshape her understanding of care, softness, and purpose. She believes in rest as resistance, faith as grounding, and storytelling as liberation.