Exploring the affective-discursive dynamic of how South African Black women negotiate public spaces in Gauteng

Abstract

Public spaces are far from neutral – as they are historically marked by race and gender, connoting exclusivity. For women, their presence in public spaces contradict their role of domesticity and femininity. Additionally, South African public spaces have been historically used as geo-political tools in producing and maintaining racial segregation legitimised by Apartheid laws and policies. Although spaces are discursive and affective in nature, very few studies explore the interplay of these dynamics. Through affective-discursive practice (ADP), this study examines the experiences of Black South African women, aged 18-28, studying at the University of the Witwatersrand, to unveil the ways in which race, gender, and power, fashion their navigation of public spaces. The findings produced safety as the dominant theme in the conceptualisation of public spaces. Spaces are constructed as safe or unsafe, creating for an affective atmospheric public environment, that fuels fear and hypervigilance. Governmental surveillance is a prominent determiner of how women move and interact in public settings. Racial, gendered, and cultural stereo-normative perceptions, impose further restrictions – dictating how Black women ought to look, behave, or exist in public environments. These harmful perceptions create a shared affective economy, fortifying historical biases and regulatory public behaviour. In highlighting the interplay of societal norms, power, and emotions, the study reveals how public spaces remain contested terrain for Black South African women.