School of Human and Community Development (ETDs)
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Item Investigating constructions of beauty amongst young, urban, Black South African women as influenced by their socio-cultural contexts(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Molaaphene, Puseletso; Mathebula, MphoThis qualitative study explored constructions of beauty amongst young, urban Black South African women as influenced by different socio-cultural contexts. Much of the literature on this subject focuses on the influence of Western culture on Black women’s conceptualization of beauty and nearly always points to the resultant negative self-perception that they go on to develop. The study applied phenomenology research design and qualitative approach in addressing the study objectives. A sample of six young Black women who were students at the University of the Witwatersrand participated in this study. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews, where participants were asked a series of open-ended questions that explored their perceptions and personal meaning-making of the concept of female beauty. True to the literature on the subject of female beauty, which highlights the multifaceted nature of this concept, major findings were that participants related in different ways to the construct of beauty. However, it was found that participants in this study employed new and evolved ways of thinking about beauty. For these young women, beauty was viewed as a personal choice, as emotive, as a state of health, moreover, as a marker of one’s lifestyle. This differs significantly from the traditional manner in which Black women’s ideas around beauty are usually explored – as mainly informed by Western culture. While they did not deny Western cultures influence on how they have come to understand beauty, the young women in this study communicated a sense of empowerment to think of beauty beyond these confines.Item Young Black Women’s Experiences of Negotiating Dominant Cultures in Corporate South Africa(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Makube, Mpho; Bradbury, JillThis study was interested in understanding how young Black African women, through their subjective experiences and the stories they tell about themselves have developed particular (professional) identities and how they negotiate or resist the raced, gendered and class identities. It also aimed to understand their experiences of marginalisation in the corporate/private sector. A qualitative study was conducted where five Black African women between the ages of 25 and 40 from Johannesburg, South Africa, participated in narrative interviews. An adaptation of Wengraf’s (2011) Biographic Narrative Interpretive Method (BNIM) as well as thematic analysis were used to understand the stories of the women’s career journeys. The key findings of the study were that assimilating the values and norms of the dominant class during their schooling years facilitated their transition into tertiary institutions and the workplace. During the recruitment process and once employed, participants felt the assimilative pressure to conform to the dominant culture or risk being excluded or unemployed. Internships and graduate programmes were seen as crucial stepping stones into the workplace. Participants oscillated between feelings of belonging and alienation throughout their career journeys but reported that having supportive managers increased their sense of inclusion and belonging. They also experienced a sense of precarity due to the gendered wage gap and a pervasive sense of job insecurity. There is a need for organisations to understand how women are differently included in the workplace, to provide greater mentorship to those who are starting out, and to have an appreciation of the subtle ways in which the dominant culture works to leave some young women behind.Item A study of South African gay male psychotherapists’ experienced subjectivities(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Owen, Michael; Long, CarolPrimary objective: This study’s primary objective was to investigate the subjectivities of gay male psychotherapists, with a particular focus on how they conceive of their identities, specifically their gay and psychotherapist identities, the potential overlapping of these identities, and how the overlap may play out intersubjectively in the privacy of therapeutic settings between gay male psychotherapists and their patients. Research design: The research design used a psychosocial approach focused on uncovering how intrapsychic life and work are influenced or mirrored by wider social constructions, using a sample of practising gay male psychotherapists. Methods and procedures: Ten self-identified gay male psychotherapists with at least three years of clinical experience were asked to participate voluntarily in semi-structured interviews. The transcribed data were analysed, using psychosocial methods, and paying particular attention to reflexivity. Main outcomes and results: This research illustrated how the subjective contemplation of overlapping gay and psychotherapist identities ran through the lived experiences of this sample, in terms of their meaning-making and understanding of their professional and personal lives. Themes that emerged around what it means to be a gay male psychotherapist were othering and feeling othered, which closely mirrored developmental considerations and their lived experiences of othering, the complexity of self-disclosure by gay male psychotherapist and problems of erotic countertransference and, finally, powerful novel vulnerable and colliding aspects of considering reflexivity that emerged for both gay psychotherapists and the researcher in the research encounter.Item Young women’s accounts of intimate partner violence in cohabiting relationships in Vhembe District, Limpopo Province(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Makongoza, Matamela Fulufhelo Beatrice; Kiguwa, Peace; Mayisela, SimangeleThis thesis explores young women’s accounts of intimate partner violence in cohabiting relationships in Vhembe District, Limpopo Province. The constructivism paradigm aided in understanding young women’s experiences of intimate partner violence in cohabitating relationships and how these women navigate their lives in a cultural context that denounces cohabitation, making them vulnerable to possible gender-based violence. Cultural discourse can guide how young women make meaning and respond to their experiences of violence. This study suggests the intersectionality of different African philosophical lenses, including African psychological perspective, Ubuntu, and Vygotsky’s cultural historical activity theory (CHAT). There have been studies on intimate partner violence among young women in South Africa which report on the nature, extent, and severity of intimate partner violence against young women. Scholars focused their research on intimate partner violence against young women in boyfriend- and-girlfriend type relationships from different contextual backgrounds. Some studies also report on the experiences of violence in cohabitation relationships although these were not specifically focused on the context. This qualitative study presents the nature and forms of violence experienced by 10 young women between the ages and 18 and 24 years in cohabiting relationships in the rural Vhembe District, Limpopo Province. Young women were enlisted from the Thohoyandou Victim Empowerment Programme. Thematic analysis was used. Although cohabitation is not a new phenomenon in heterosexual relationships, violent incidences in cohabitation relationships are a trend in Africa. Young women reflected on their experiences of intimate partner violence within a cultural context that condemns cohabitation, referring to it as matula (taboo). They acknowledged living in a challenging time, and that forms of violence escalate the already existing problems. They also talked about the dangers of leaving an abusive partner, raised concerns about bystander issues, and shared that some spaces – both private and public – contribute to intimate partner violence against young women, instilling fear in these women. This study presents that young women in cohabiting relationships are more vulnerable because the nature of these relationships is not culturally acknowledged by parents and communities in general. Similarly, some African studies documented in this study found that it is better for young women to denounce cohabiting relationships and opt for marriage instead, or else they risk being disowned by their parents. This research shows that community factors such as gender inequality, social norms which accept violence, lack of support, and financial dependency on the partner contribute to the vulnerability of young women in cohabiting relationships. Interventions which prevent the implementation of rigid cultural norms and traditions, and which change the attitudes of individuals towards intimate partner violence may prevent the escalation of intimate partner violence in general. This study proposes that doing away with bystanders doing nothing, embracing relationship diversity, and revisiting the practice of Ubuntu could reduce the escalation of intimate partner violence.Item The impact of stalking and harassment in females of intimate partner violence in Johannesburg following the breakup of a relationship(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Du Toit, Marlene; Goldschmidt, LynneStalking and harassment should be considered a gender-based violence crime. Literature suggests that stalking and harassment often occur post-breakup of a relationship. It is often difficult to prove that a person is being stalked and harassed, hence the lack of legal avenues to protect oneself from stalking and harassment discussed herein. This research focused on stalking and harassment by a former intimate partner. The total number of participants was eight. The participants were recruited via Lifeline, an organisation that offers support to community members. Semi-structured interviews were conducted. The participants narrated their experiences and allowed the researcher to explore further during interviews. The interviews were recorded for analysis purposes. Thematic analysis was chosen as a method of analysis. Findings highlighted a form of abuse within the relationship that continued to evolve into stalking and harassment post the breakup. Former intimate partners sometimes used family members and friends to reach their victims. Technology was also used to reach the victims when unwanted visitation proved to be unsuccessful. Victims suffered psychological and physical distress due to stalking and harassment. Participants employed different coping mechanisms and used resources at their disposal, much outside of the judicial realm. There was a need expressed for the justice system to be more supportive and regard stalking and harassment seriously as a crime.Item An Exploration of Life and Career Narratives of Black Senior Managers: The Storied Habitus of Career Navigation(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Ramodibe, Refiloe; Canham, HugoThis research located black senior managers within a temporal frame that links them with their families, communities, childhoods, socio-political and economic histories. This location shed new light since it illuminated their lives and careers in new ways that are grounded in history and context. It enabled an understanding of black senior managers as bearing histories that they bring along with them into the workplace. To explore the stories of these senior managers, I conducted in-depth narrative interviews with twenty black men and black women who occupy senior positions within the financial services sector. Accessing these histories through the genre of narrative assisted in showcasing what is enabled by storying one’s life, therefore creating circuits of meaning-making that connect seemingly disparate sites of the personal, historical, social and workplace. At its core then, this project was about storying the early lives of black senior managers by locating them as mostly working class, caught up in the struggles against apartheid for democratisation, as benefiting from the opportunities enabled by the transition to democracy, as entering the white and masculine corporate workplace of the financial services sector, and as reaching and navigating seniority in their organisations. The participant’s narratives were read through the lenses of narrative theory, habitus, the black feminist theory of intersectionality, and critical race theory. The basic assumption of habitus is that the way one acts and behaves is influenced by where one comes from and one’s dispositions, including contextually salient identity categories, such as race, class, and gender. The basis of these theories is the assumption that there might be a difference in how people of varying class backgrounds and black men and women narrate their stories of mobility. The stories told by participants highlighted the role of the senior managers’ habitus in shaping their identities and trajectories. Childhood experiences and parental influences were found to have shaped their later behaviours in navigating their career journeys. Access to mentors and sponsors early on in their careers was found to have provided the senior managers with the capital that allowed them to progress to more senior roles. Refuting the existing narrative that black people move between organisations excessively, senior managers’ tenure illustrated that they stayed in their organisations for longer periods than industry norms. Notwithstanding their tenure, their stories suggest that unaccommodating cultures and unconscious bias remain prevalent in the financial services sector. Organisations that had more black people in senior roles were found to drive the transformation agenda iv more intentionally. The black senior managers understood their role as that of influencing the cultures of their organisations while also paying it forward by driving the transformation agenda. In the process of sharing their life and career stories, the black senior managers articulated their experiences and understanding of themselves, others, and the world. Therefore, not only did the personal narratives enlighten us about the participants’ personal and working lives, but they illuminated how their identities as black senior managers working within the financial services sector were shaped over time. A prominent finding from the study was that while the black senior managers shared similar experiences related to race, their experiences differed in terms of their family backgrounds and schooling experiences in their childhood. Black people’s experiences may be common in certain aspects and different in others. This necessitates the importance of exploring heterogeneity in organisational studies. This study contributes to organisational studies, gender and critical race studies, history and social theory.Item Sub-Saharan African Refugee Women’s Lived Experiences of Gender-Based Violence and Their Adaptive Processes(2024) Davis, Catherine; Patel, RubyPolitical refugees from sub-Saharan African countries are often internally displaced and forced to flee from their homes and countries of origin out of fear for their lives. Many sub-Saharan African refugees migrate to South Africa in search for refuge and hope to resettle in the new host country that will award them the opportunities and support to start anew. However, refugee women face significant adversities before, during and after resettlement, with their experiences often characterised by gender-based violence (GBV) violations and daily hardships that cause immense stress, trauma, and at times, psychopathology. This study aims to shed some light on how the sub- Saharan African refugee women experience and navigate spaces of violence, discrimination and oppression, in order to inform future therapeutic interventions and policy focused on addressing inequalities and striving for a more just system and society. Furthermore, despite the refugee women facing such adversities, many refugees demonstrate an enormous ability to adapt, adjust and cope that aids their resilience and resettlement process in the host country. The adaptive processes one employs, and the efficiency of such, is deeply rooted within context and is influenced by cultural, social, economic, political, and personal factors. Accordingly, this study endeavours to contribute to the body of knowledge by using an intersectionality approach to explore sub-Saharan African refugee womens’ experiences of GBV and the adaptive processes they use to manage and cope with the trauma, stress and adversity they have experienced throughout the migratory process. To do this, a qualitative study was conducted amongst 15 sub- Saharan African refugee women from a therapeutic NGO, using source data in the form of therapeutic Intervention Process Notes (IPNs). The findings from the Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) reveal themes of perpetual sources of GBV and stress, both within South Africa and their countries of origin of the DRC, Burundi, Ethiopia and Somalia, as well as the pervasive role of patriarchy in contributing to the participants’ experiences of domestic violence and intimate partner violence (IPV). Within each of these themes, various intersectional identities played a role in facilitating and compounding the sub-Saharan African refugee womens’ unique experiences of vulnerability, GBV, oppression and marginalisation. Nonetheless, many of these women have continued to be resourceful, adjust and find creative ways of surviving. Hence, resilience emerged as a fourth salient theme. Their experiences suggest a tumultuous process of escaping and/or enduring violence and establishing a sense of safety and belonging amongst daily multifaceted stressors and inequalities, but also perceive the women as agentic drivers in their ability to hold onto hope, cope and persevere through adversity.Item From Fatherlessness to fatherhood: Experiences of adult Black South African men in the Gauteng Province.(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2022) Senwamadi, Jacob Ramasoane Makgoane John; Matee, HopolangThis study aimed to explore the experiences of Black South African first-time fathers who grew up without their biological fathers, as well as how these men perceive their fathers’ absence to have influenced their experiences of fatherhood. Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with five Black first-time fathers between the ages of 25-30. The study followed a qualitative explorative design where the participants were recruited using purposive sampling. The findings of the study revealed that some of the first-time fathers had known their biological fathers’ identities during childhood even though they were not physically or financially present in their lives. Furthermore, they did not form any close relationship with them. The participants reported to have experienced rejection from their fathers while growing up. There was a common thread amongst the participants with regards to the need to feel accepted by their biological fathers. This appeared to be a powerful motivational basis for the men’s’ interpersonal experiences. The experience of rejection in childhood has been found to have many negative effects on an individual’s development later in life. This includes increased aggression, increased internalising of difficulties in adolescence, and psychopathological symptoms in adulthood. It has also been found that individuals with this experience are more likely to hold distorted mental representations that could lead to perceiving rejection and hostility in interpersonal relationships, and to further interpret relationships as being untrustworthy and unpredictable. What the participants experienced in this study is consistent with what has been reported in psychoanalytic literature; fatherhood is defined in connection to the father's function in the Oedipus complex where his function as an intrapsychic construct, also known as the "internal father," and their involvement in child development. It was concluded that in post-apartheid South Africa, numerous factors such as high levels of unemployment, poverty, and inequality are amongst the major determinants of family disruptions particularly among the Black people. The situation is exacerbated by the burden of HIV/AIDS and violence-related mortality. The family and parental practices have been significantly affected leaving so many children growing up without biological fathers, either through rejection or premature death.Item Experiences of Gender Roles in Young Adults Living in Soweto(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023-11) Mdunge, Fundiswa Rejoice Lucia; Patel, RubyThe study explores the more contemporary meanings and experiences of gender roles which have been developed by young adults over the years in their small-lived, contemporary experiences within Soweto. The study draws on in-depth interviews conducted with six young adult men and women and is carried out using a qualitative design. In exploring the topic of gender roles, normative patterns of change were identified which can contribute to the future discourse of gender role development. These normative patterns of change were attributed to ecological influences from the individual, their family, and their local and international communities, as well as intersectional influences which were identified as also playing a role in the participants’ experiences of gender. The study reveals participants’ experiences which are related to themes of gendered social pressures and socialisation, generational experiences of traditional and non-traditional gender roles, gendered divides and harmful gender stereotypes, gender identity conflicts in the ecological system, social ostracisation, issues of adultification, and views on patriarchal gendered ideologies and the maternal gatekeepers of these ideologies. The participants’ stories reveal fractures in their contemporary gender role ideology and their gender role development during their upbringing. Despite these fractures, they express hopes to develop gender role experiences which incorporate both traditionally socialised gender roles and non-traditionally developed understandings of gender and gender roles in their future adult years, as a means to create their own personal gendered experiences based on their exposure to different ecological environments.Item Gender-Based Violence: Lived experiences of female students at the University of the Witwatersrand(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023-08) Kgolane, Serole Joy; Langa, MaloseThis research aimed to explore experiences of Gender based violence (GBV) among female students at the University of the Witwatersrand. It sought to ascertain how these experiences unfolded as well as the impact they have had on the students. Intersectionality theory was applied as the theoretical framework to observe the impact of overlapping identities on the students’ experiences of GBV. The study consisted of seven female participants who were selected using a volunteer sampling method. Interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA) was used to analyse the transcribed interviews and derive themes from the collected data. Four themes in total were identified: power relations, internal experience, normalization of GBV, and help-seeking. The objectives of the study were used to guide the analysis of the themes. The findings showed that students face stalking, verbal abuse, emotional abuse, physical abuse, and sexual abuse perpetrated mostly by fellow male students. Moreover, influences of hegemonic masculinity and gendered power imbalances played a role in the perpetration of violence against the female students. Furthermore, the findings indicate that these experiences had adverse effects on the mental well-being of the students and led the students to adopt various coping strategies while often failing to engage in help-seeking behaviour.