Faculty of Humanities (ETDs)
Permanent URI for this communityhttps://hdl.handle.net/10539/37922
Browse
Search Results
Item Bisexuality in Democratic South Africa: Experiences of Women in Johannesburg(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Khuzwayo, Zuziwe; Roy, SrilaThe field of gender and sexuality studies has been growing in academic institutions since the 1970’s. One of the reasons for its growth is that women across the globe are challenging conservative ideas and norms on how they should engage in romance, sexuality and heteronormativity which has implications for broader society. There has also been an increase in LGBTQI+ rights globally including in parts of the world where historically these identities were viewed as illegal and foreign to the indigenous people. In recent years though, there has also been a growing anti-gender backlash across the globe that has resulted in hard-won legal rights being reversed, or new legislation being imposed that is homophobic and transphobic. When it comes to research on sexuality, studies on bisexuality, however, and specifically research stemming from Global South contexts, is limited. This research contributes to the field of sexuality studies by looking at how bisexual women construct and express their sexuality, looking at multiple factors such as race, class, age and space in the city of Johannesburg. Using qualitative methods of life-history and in-depth interviews conducted during the six years of the PhD, this study shows how each of these factors shapes and influence an individual’s sexuality in a democracy where LGBTQI+ rights exist but are inadequately materialised. Drawing on feminist and queer theory, the study delves into how bisexuality is expressed and performed by women living in Johannesburg, and how challenges in claiming their sexuality exist outside but also within LGBTQI+ spaces. The study shows how queer women continue to carve out public and private spaces for themselves amid high levels of violence against women. Lastly, the research shows the continued regulation of women’s sexuality through heteronormativity in public and private spaces, and what this says about how women living on the African continent claim their sexuality in different waItem Car Culture and Masculinity as Resources for Understanding Road Rage(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Mabongo, Qhawekazi Khazimla; Ncube, VuyolwethuAggression on the road and aggressive driving are detrimental to other road users. Road rage may be expressed in multiple behaviours on the road such as violence, tailgating, overtaking when it is not safe to do so, and brake checking. This behaviour poses a threat to the lives of people on the road. The objective of this study was to investigate the existence of masculinity and car culture principles in the way men perceived incidents of road rage. Further, the study aimed to understand how the features of masculinity and car culture are presented in the perceptions men had of road rage. The rationale for this study was motivated by the high prevalence of road accidents, where young men were the most vulnerable to road accidents and road fatalities. Aggressive driving behaviour was the focus of this study as young men were identified as the most common culprits of performing behaviours of this nature. The study adopted a socio-cultural approach to road rage and proposed the use of socio-cultural factors, namely masculinity and car culture, as a framework for the exploration of the psychological experiences related to road rage. The data was collected using nine in-depth interviews structured around three vignettes in the form of videos. The interviews were audio recorded and transcribed. Thematic analysis principles stipulated by Braun and Clarke were utilised to guide the analysis and reporting of the data. The findings of this study were intended to inform interventions for violence and road rage by providing a nuanced understanding of the relationship between risk factors and violence as well as providing insight into the underpinning perceptions of road behaviour and, consequently, road accidents. The main findings indicated that the road is a site for social interactions that are informed by the tenets of masculinity and car culture. Both masculinity and car culture intersect and create complex social dynamics between road users. These identities influence the experience of men on the road as they are a lens for perceiving behaviour, and they also influence the behaviour of men on the road. Additionally, the research demonstrated that masculinity and car culture are related and the fundamental characteristic that underlies both concepts is power.