Electronic Theses and Dissertations (Masters)

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The role of Mzansi Magic’s ‘Makoti, Are You the One’ in facilitating gender discourses
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Vabaza, Ncumisa; Muparamoto, Nelson; Vanyoro, Kudzaiishe
The South African Bill of rights prohibits all forms of discrimination based on gender and sex. The government through the National Development Plan encourages stakeholder involvement in the promotion of gender equality. Yet, the experiences of women in various spheres reveal that normative patriarchal socialization persists. This research evaluates the role of local media in facilitating gender discourses that permeate modern-day South African society. This research employs critical discourse analysis (CDA) and critical diversity literacy (CDL) to interpret the dominant gender discourses on the locally produced reality television show Makoti Are You the One? CDA and CDL are used to interpret the representation techniques used to empower and disempower men and women respectively. The research adopts a qualitative research approach, specifically non-participatory observation to comprehend the dynamics in the relationships between the show’s male-female participants as well as the inter-group relationships between female participants on the show. Using discourse, framing and gender theories the study provides an understanding of the techniques used by the media in representing gender, and how these contribute to the co-construction of social meanings assigned to gender. The findings show a persistent imbalance in the representation of gender through local programming, by hegemonically positioning men in superior standing to women who are represented as subjects in their homes and the broader society. These imbalances are contrary to the ideals of gender equality.
In Search of Blackwomen’s Voices – Engendering South African Liberation Movement
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Rodwell, Karabo-Maya; Shange, Kholeka
The Black Consciousness Movement played a vital role in South Africa’s fight for liberation against the apartheid government. A significant part of this movement were the Black women that risked their lives for the country. Despite the work that they have all done and continue to do, Black women in this movement have faced multiple challenges related to their gender. I am interested in sharing the experiences of these women to add to the growing literature on the role and impact of Black women in South Africa’s history. To do this, I conducted interviews with six Black women over six months, between July 2022 and January 2023, all of whom have been involved in the Black Consciousness Movement. The participants in this research represent a small glimpse into the experiences of Black women in South African liberation movements. This research report follows the lived experiences of Black women in South Africa’s liberation movement, looking specifically at the Black Consciousness Movement. My research found that while each of these women were involved in the movement at different time periods, and in different areas of South Africa, many of their experiences overlap. I have broken these findings into three major themes. The first ethnographic chapter follows their early consciousness building and when they believe they came into consciousness. This chapter explores the formative years of Black women in the Black Consciousness Movement, namely who and or what influenced their political consciousness. The second ethnographic chapter examines Black women’s subjective interpretations of Black Consciousness and the impact this has on the self. While they were all part of the same movement they all seemed to have experienced the ideology differently. The third and final ethnographic chapter interrogates the marginalisation of Black women in the BCM. Here I discuss how women joined this structure for the emancipation of Black people at large, as well as connections to the ideology, and yet many felt that as women they were not always allowed the space to fully participate.
Menstrual Hygiene and Management in Zamimpilo Riverlea Informal Settlement
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2021-08) Khofi, Lucy; Manderson, Lenore
Managing menstrual hygiene in low- and middle-income countries is difficult, due to lack of proper facilities. With inadequate WASH (water, sanitation, and hygiene) services and infrastructure, such as proper working toilets and lack of access to sanitary materials, some women end up using unhygienic sanitary materials, such as rags, leaves, sand, tissues and so forth to manage menstruation. In this study, I used an anthropological approach to describe and analyse women’s understandings of menstrual health and hygiene in the informal settlement of Zamimpilo, Johannesburg. Firstly, I looked at how women understood menstruation and how this was influenced by community attitudes and social norms. Secondly, I identified what material, structural and normative factors hindered or enabled women to manage their menstruation and hygiene: shame, embarrassment, level of education, access to information, gender inequality, affordability of pads and soap, access to water, and access to sanitation and hygiene facilities. Thirdly, I explored women’s experiences of their bodies, and how menstruation influenced their decisions to go out, go to school, have sex, bathe with others, manage pain, and sleep. I looked also at the practices that women used to manage menstrual waste. As I illustrate, these practices are shaped by cultural, social, and religious factors. I have explored women’s creative ways to manage menstruation, menstrual waste, and hygiene under different conditions, and explored the extent to which they have internalised or resisted negative attitudes towards their bodies and bodily products. I emphasise women’s narratives. In theorising these questions, I have adapted ideas from Purity and Danger (1984) by Mary Douglas, and following her, I have analysed menstruation as something polluting and dirty that contributes to menstrual shame. I have also drawn on Emily Martin’s book The Woman in the Body (2001) and examined how social and cultural factors shape women’s understanding of themselves. The data on which this thesis was based is drawn from research using qualitative methods. Due to constraints in movement and social interactions associated with COVID-19, primary data were collected through telephonic semi-structured interviews. Twelve women – six young women between 18 and 25 years and six women between 25 and 40 years of age – were each interviewed twice, bringing the total number of in-depth interviews to 24. Participants were recruited through a key informant, using purposeful sampling for maximum variability to ensure diversity of age, ethnicity, religion, education background, among participants. This was significant given that the population of Zamimpilo was diverse and includes people from different provinces and communities: Xhosa, Zulu, Pedi and other South Africans all live in Zamimpilo, as well as people from other African countries including Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Nigeria. My findings suggest that women’s MHM (Menstrual Hygiene Management) in Zamimpilo is still a huge challenge. The environment is deeply compromised, and no residents have access to adequate housing, water and sanitation. These basic challenges, along with the lack of sanitary products, hinder women from managing their menstrual hygiene. However, I found that these women used alternatives to manage their MH (Menstrual Hygiene), including various herbs for menstrual hygiene purposes and to prevent urinary tract and reproductive tract infections. Women expressed various understandings of their bodies, menstrual blood and menstruation as a process. I describe how the South African Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities has tried to address ‘period poverty’ in the country with the collaboration of non-government, non-profit organisations, the private sector, and menstrual activists. However, the need is greater than available resources. In places like Zamimpilo, women still do not receive any assistance from community organisations or from the state, and so they must improvise to manage this most private, routine, mundane event.
The Periphery is a Crowded Space: Discourses of Inclusion and Exclusion in the Gatekeeping of South Africa’s Nursing Profession. 1874-1957
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023-02) Fern, Casey Lee; Phillip, Laura; Devenish, Annie
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Electronic Theses and Dissertations (Masters)

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