Doctoral Degrees (Social Science Education)

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10413/7161

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Gender, sexuality and violence: an ethnographic case study of 12-13-year-old school girl femininities at a primary school in KwaZulu-Natal.
(2022) Govender, Naresa.; Bhana, Deevia.; Moosa, Shaaista.
This ethnographic study is situated at the intersection of gender, sexuality and violence in illuminating the experiences of 12- and 13-year-old girls in a primary school in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Rejecting a dominant focus on girls as passive and docile, the thesis illustrates the complex ways through which young femininity is produced, accommodated and challenged in relation to heterosexuality. Given the relative scholarly silence around primary school girls’ constructions of heterosexuality in South Africa, the thesis asserts that such girls’ investment in heterosexuality is a contradictory pursuit: their desires and active agency are self-evident, but so are the oppressive ways through which their own actions serve male interests. I argue that the primary school context is an active site through which young femininities are produced, as girls reinforce and challenge gender norms. Firstly, I focus on the expectations and respectability accorded to the ‘proper girl’ status. Being a proper girl was a dominant expectation and pervaded girls’ experiences in their family, community, and school. Proper girl femininity rested on pre-dominant norms founded on sexual docility and subordination to gender and cultural traditions. These norms were emphasized in relation to male power, and the presumption of girls’ vulnerability and victimhood in regards to sex and sexual violence. Secondly, and notwithstanding these dominant messages, girls contested proper girl femininity. They drew on particular heterosexual strategies and were subjected to - and subjected themselves to - the societal compulsion towards obligatory heterosexuality. The study shows that girls invested in boys and boyfriends, modified their bodies and dressed and engaged in sexual talk and practices through which their existence as sexual beings was illuminated in direct contrast to proper girl femininity. However, their insistent expressions of sexual agency occurred in the context of rape culture at school. Thus, thirdly, the study highlights detailed accounts, from girls’ own perspectives, of the ways in which sexual harassment, violence and inequalities manifested at school through the insidiousness of rape culture. Nearly all the girls interviewed spoke of sexual harassment meted out by boys and other girls, which they either experienced or witnessed. However, girls’ attempts to contest and redress rape culture at school were limited as a result of the broader social and cultural system they lived in being based in turn on patriarchal conditions which offered little support for girls’ experiences of harassment and violence. In this regard, the girls spoke of how their teachers paid little to no attention to gendered and sexual relations as such within the school environment. Rape culture was tolerated and normalised. In this way, the school was found to be complicit in the casualisation of gender binaries, gender-based violence and misogyny. Culturally-embedded notions of emphasised femininity were also used as a powerful tool to regulate girls and a means of disassociating them from expressing agency and speaking out about their experiences of sexual violence within the school environment. Finally, the greatest significance of a study of this nature lies in its contribution to the designing of suitable intervention strategies to support South African primary schoolgirls in their experiences of gender, sexuality and violence. These strategies must take into account the complex and early formations of femininities that are outlined in this study. An approach that recognises girls’ pleasurable investments in the development of their own sexuality, as well as their potentially damaging investments, while also underscoring the need for a greater focus on younger girls’ femininity in South Africa, is more necessary than ever. This should be a vital and necessary step in working towards ensuring that schoolgirls are equipped with the skills and knowledge to negotiate their sexualities in more positive and gender-equitable ways, rather than in ways that are harmful to their sexual and emotional well-being. IQOQA Lolu cwaningo olu-ethnographic luzinze kwimpambanonjulalwazi yobulili, ngokobulili kanye nodlame ekuqoqweni kwesipiliyoni samantombazane aneminyaka eyi-12 neyi-13 ezikoleni ezisemazingeni aphansi KwaZulu-Natali. Kuchithwa umbono odumile wokuthi izingane zamantombazane kummele zingatshengisi mizwa. Ucwaningo luveza ubunkimbinkimbi bendlela izingane zamantombazane ezikhuliswa ngayo kanye nendlela ezizizwa ngayo ngobunye ubulili. Ngenxa yokwentuleka kocwaningo mayelana nendlela amantombazane abuka ngayo ubulili eNingizimu Afrika, lolu cwaningo lugcizelela ukuthi izingane zamantombazane mazifundiswe ukucabanga ngobulili ngendlela ehlukile: izifiso zazo kanye nokwenza kwazo kuba sobala, kanti kanjalo nezindlela ezicindezelayo ezenza ukuthi zenganyelwe ngabesilisa kufezeke nezidingo zabesilisa. Ngiqakulisa ngokuthi unzikandaweni wasesikoleni esisemazingeni aphansi yindawo ekahle yokubumba imiqondo yamantombazanyana ukuba amelane nobunye ubulili. Okukuqala, ngagxila kokulindelekile kanye nenhlonipho eye inikwe ‘intombazane eqotho’. Lokhu kwenza izingane zamantombazane zibe nesipiliyoni nemfundiso ethile emakhaya azo, emphakathini nasesikoleni. Ukuba intombazane eqotho kuncike kwimfundiso edumile eyakhelwe phezu kwemikhuba yokuthoba efundiswa izingane zamantombazane etholakala nasemasikweni. Le mikhuba ibifakwa ezingqondweni ukuze abesilisa babe namandla kunabesifazane okugcine sekwenza abesifazane bahlukunyezwe. Okwesibili, yize kunjalo, amantombazane abe eselwela ukuzimela njengabesifazane. Asebenzise amandla alobu obunye ubulili, okusuke kulindeleke kubulili ngabunye emphakathini. Ucwaningo luveza ukuthi amantombazane azinikele ukubukeka kubafana, nasemasokeni, ashintsha indlela yokugqoka, ashintsha nemizimba yawo kanye nengxoxo yawo mayelana nezobulili okwenza ukuba avele ngenye indlela eyehlukile kunale elindeleke entombazaneni, axoxa ngezocansi njengalokhu benza abesilisa. Kepha indlela aziphatha ngayo ngokobulili akwenza kuzikandaweni womkhuba wokudlwendulwa owenzeka ezikoleni. Ngakho-ke, okwesithathu, ucwaningo lubeka imininingwane, ngeso lamantobazane, ngezigameko zokunukubewa ngokocansi , udlame kanye nokungalingani okukhona ezikoleni ngenxa yesiko lokudlwengula. Cishe wonke amantombazane abe ababambiqhaza akhulume ngokuhlukunyezwa ngokocansi okwenziwa ngabafana namanye amantombazane, bekubona kwenzeka noma kwenzeka kubona. Kepha izikhalo zawo amantombazane azibanga nampumelelo ngenxa yendlela umphakathi kanye nesiko okucabanga ngayo lusishaya indiva lesi sikhalo. Ngale ndlela, amantombazane akhuluma ngendlela othisha nabo abangawunaki umkhuba wokuhlukumeza ngokobulili kanye nagokocansi esikoleni. Ukudlwengula kwakubekezelelwa futhi kubukeka kuyimpilo. Lokhu kwenza isikole sibe nesandla ukubhebhethekisa lesi sihlava. Kanti nalo usiko lunesandla ngokuba lubheke amantombazane ngendlela yokuthi akumele akhulume ngezimo zokuhlukunyezwa ngokobulili abhekana nazo esikoleni. Okokugcina, ukubaluleka kocwaningo olunjenganalolu kuncike ekutheni lube nomthelela ekuletheni izinguquko ezikoleni zaseNingizimu Afrika ezinkingeni zobulili, ngokobulili kanye nodlame. Lawo masu kuyomele abheke ubunkimbinkimbi nokushesha kokuqala ukuzinaka ngokobulili okuvezwa yilolu cwaningo. Ucwaningo oluthinta injabulo yamantombazane ekuzikhuliseni ngokobulili bawo, kanjalo nobungozi balokhu, kube kubhekwa ukubaluleka kokugxila emantombazaneni asemancane eNingizimu Afrika lubaluleke kakhulu. Lokhu kumele kube yisinyathelo esibaluleke kakhulu ekuqinisekiseni ukuthi amantombazane athola amakhono nolwazi okufanele ukubhekana nobulili ngendlela efanele okunezindlela ezilimazayo ngokobulili nemizwa.
Young masculinities: an ethnography of 8–9-year-old primary school boys=Ubudoda bezingane: ucwaningokuzimbandakanya Lwabafana Bamabanga Aphansi Abaneminyaka Yobudala Eyisi-8 kuya Kweyisi-9.
(2022) Govender, Diloshini.; Bhana, Deevia.
In this ethnographic study I set out to examine the construction of masculinities among 8–9-yearold primary school boys. This study was conducted in a racially diverse schooling context comprised of a mixed class of low-middle and low income Indian and black boys in KwaZulu- Natal, South Africa. A purposive sampling method was employed to select 25 boys for this study. In addition, 11 teacher participants were included to enable a broader lens for my analysis of young masculinities. Following the tenets of feminist poststructuralism, I capture the gendered lives of young boys by prioritising their own views and experiences. This study highlights the social processes through which masculine identities were formed –nuanced by race, socioeconomic conditions, culture, gender inequalities, and sexuality– all of which contributed to malleable and plural patterns of masculinities. These variables intersected to shape Indian and black boys’ social interactions, their negotiation of power and their racialised and classed subjectivities which constituted a significant force in their negotiation of masculinities. Departing from traditional adult framings of childhood passivity, the study findings foreground the complexities, contradictions and diverse ways through which young boys construct, redefine, negotiate and share their knowledge of gender and sexuality as active agents of masculinities. Violence and heterosexuality emerged as the most dominant and prevalent way of expressing hegemonic masculinity and male power. Violence was exemplified through performances of strength, fighting prowess, an esteemed physical body and the denigration of femininity. However, this was not a uniform experience for all boys: given their agency some boys sought to denounce hegemonic masculinity by adopting non-violent subject positions and developed a shared solidarity by caring for each other, thus transcending racial divides. Heterosexuality was also a normalising force that regulated boys’ sexuality in ways that constrained or empowered their masculinities. They actively invested in heterosexual masculinity, finding pleasure in it but also navigating the complex terrains related to compulsory heterosexuality, material and economic deprivation and competition for girlfriends. Nonetheless, teachers rendered boys' early engagement in sexuality obsolete due to dominant subjectivities of childhood innocence. Iqoqa Kulolu cwaningo lokuzimbandakanya ngangihlose ukuhlola ukwakheka komqondo wobudoda phakathi kwabafana abaneminyaka eyisi-8 kuya kweyisi-9 basemabangeni aphansi. Lolu cwaningo lwenziwa esimweni sesikole sezinhlanga ezahlukene kuhlanganisa namakilasi axubile kwabamaholo aphansi, naphakathi kwendawo, sabafana bamaNdiya nabaMnyama KwaZulu-Natali, eNingizimu Afrika. Kwasetshenziswa indlela eyinhloso ukuqoka abafana abangama-25 balolu cwaningo. Kwengezwa ngababambiqhaza abangothisha abayi-11 abafakelwa ukwenzela ukubheka kabanzi uhlaziyo lwami lokwakheka kobudoda ezinganeni. Lolu cwaningo lugqamisa izinhlelokwenza zenhlalobantu okwakhiwa ngazo ukwakheka kokuziqonda ngobudoda – okwahluswe kancane ngubuhlanga, izimo zenhlalobantu nezomnotho, amasiko, ukungalingani kobulili, nokuzikhethela ubulili - konke okwaba nomthelela womehlukwana wamaphethini obudoda. Ukwehluka emidiyweni yendabuko yobudala yobungane obungenalutho, okuzuzwe ucwaningo lugxile enkimbinkimbini, yokuphikisana nasezindleleni ezahlukene abafana abaqonda ngazo, bachaze kabusha baphinde bedlule ngazo kwezobulili nokuzikhethela ubulili njengezinsiza eziphilayo zobudoda. Kwavela ukuthi udlame nokwahlukahlukana ngobulili kuyindlela egqamile nenkulu yokuveza amandla obulili. Udlame lwavezwa ngokukhonjiswa kwamandla, ubuchule bokulwa, ukukhonzwa komzimba oqatha nokujivazwa kobufazane. Nokho-ke lokhu kwakungeyona imfanayo kubo bonke abafana: uma kubhekwa indlela yokwenza abanye abafana ababefuna ukuzihlangula ebudodeni obunokuqonela ngokwamukela isimo esingenalo udlame futhi bakha ubunye obunokubambisana ngokunakekelana ngabanye, ngaleyo ndlela bedlula esimweni sokuzahlukanisa ngobuhlanga. Ukwahlukahlukana ngobulili nakho kwakungamandla okwakha isimo esejwayelekile esilawula ukuzikhethela ubulili ebafaneni. Bazinikela bukhoma ebudodeni obunokwehlukahlukana kobulili, bejatshuliswa yikho kodwa futhi beguduza izindawo eziphithene ezimayelana nokwahlukana ngobulili okuyimpoqo, ukweswela izimpahla nangokomnotho nokuncintisana ngezintombi. Naphezu kwalokho, othisha baveza ukuzimbandakanya kwabafana kwezokuzikhethela ngobulili njengento engekho nje ngenxa yokwenganywa ukubuka ngohlangothi lobumnene kobungane. Ucwaningo lwaphinda lwathola ukuthi ukwakhiwa kobudoda bendlaleke bedlula izindawo zezemfundo kuze kufinyelele esimweni semindeni okuyinkundla eqavile yokukhiqiza ubulili ngokwenhlalobantu. Okwazuzwa kuveza ukugudlisela okumqoka ngokushesha, ukusebenza nabafana besebancane ukweseka indlela yokwenza kwabo nokubakhuthaza ukuxoxa ngobudoda ngezindlela ezakhayo. Ngiqakula ngithi izindlela zokufundisa ezigxile ezinganeni ezikoleni kufanele zifake izinhlelo zokungenelela ezihlelelwe ukwakha ukukhula kokuhloniphana nokungabi nodlame.
Young men negotiating masculinities and love in a South African township.
(2023) Dlamini, Melusi Andile Charles.; Bhana, Deevia.
Young black men’s negotiations of love and intimacy, beyond the focus on force and violence, are minimally explored in South African scholarship. While studies have highlighted the ways that heterosexual relationships have functioned as sites through which men maintain their dominance over women, there is limited understanding of the ways that they resist dominant masculinities. Furthermore, recent scholarship has troubled the reductive readings of young black men’s lives, and have called for critical yet sympathetic approaches to understanding their lived experiences (Ratele, 2018). Therefore, this study explores how young black men, situated in the townships of Durban, navigate their experiences of romantic love and intimate relationships. Informed by critical feminist approaches to love and masculinities, this study emphasises the multiple and situated ways of being and knowing, and challenges reductive readings of young men’s lives. Empirical data were generated through individual interviews and focus group discussions with 34 young men in the INK (Inanda, Ntuzuma, KwaMashu) precinct of townships in Durban, South Africa. The research findings suggest that romantic love and intimate relationships are an important feature of young men’s daily lives. For most of the participants, romantic love and intimate relationships extended beyond public performances of (hetero)sexual prowess; instead, love was understood as an essential aspect of their shifting subjectivities – from boyhood to manhood. Key relational practices such as ukuchecka, which are often associated with public performances, emerged as important sites through which participants cultivated emotional and physical intimacies. Among the participants, their romantic relationships afforded new ways of expressing love, which enabled them to deemphasise sexual intimacy, which the participants expressed through the concepts of ukuhloniphana (mutual respect) and ukulinda (waiting). Specifically, romantic relationships were also conceptualised as affective sites that enabled the young men to co-navigate their daily lives with their girlfriends. Therefore, in this study, the critical and situated reading of young men’s experiences with love generated new knowledge about their expressions of love and experiences of intimate relationships. Typically thought of as a site of women’s vulnerabilities, these findings suggest that the context of romantic love offers progressive possibilities for young men to resist dominant masculinities. This study illustrates the value of exploring the mundane, everyday encounters of love and intimate relationships in young men’s lives. These findings have implications for local and international masculinities scholarship interested in the transformative possibilities of love and intimate relationships in young men’s lives.

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Browsing Doctoral Degrees (Social Science Education) by Author "Bhana, Deevia."