Gendered strategies and aspirations of black women inhabiting borderland spaces: a case study of Musina local municipality

dc.contributor.authorMuzanenhamo, Chido Anna Maria
dc.contributor.supervisorHarrison, Philip
dc.date.accessioned2025-07-08T11:16:55Z
dc.date.issued2024
dc.descriptionresearch report submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy (Urban and Regional Planning), In the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment , School of Architecture and Planning, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024
dc.description.abstractThis research focuses on how black femininity is constructed and embodied in an African borderland at the intersections of rural-urban and transnational interfaces. Conducted in Musina local municipality, this study posits that a double borderland identity – an identity formed through the spatial overlaps of transnational, rural, and urban existence – shapes how black women are caught in-between idealized conceptualizations of black femininity and the processes of dislocation and adaptation that accompany pressures of assimilating into a borderland society. Utilizing qualitative research methods, including a case study analysis, reflexive photography and journalling, and 43 semi-structured interviews, this study explored the concepts of intersectionality, liminality, and borderlands. The findings suggest that black femininity is an ideal constructed largely of three components: selfhood, wifehood, and motherhood. These ideas frequently mirror the perception that certain categories – like gender, geography, and nationality – are fixed and unrelated. However, the study shows that gender identity in the municipality is performatively intersectional, leading to diverse liminal experiences. Identities in an African borderland can be fluid, hybrid, invisible or visible depending on the context. This study provides a more nuanced understanding of identity formation in borderland spaces. The double borderland identity is particularly important because it subverts and transforms commonly perceived notions of black femininity, being the catalyst for the experiences and embodiment of intersectional identities, often leaving many women in a permanent state of in- betweenness.
dc.description.submitterMM2025
dc.facultyFaculty of Engineering and the Built Environment
dc.identifier0001-5082-345X
dc.identifier.citationMuzanenhamo, Chido Anna Maria. (2024). The role of design houses [PhD thesis, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg]. WIReDSpace. https://hdl.handle.net/10539/453
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10539/45338
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherUniversity of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg
dc.rights© 2024 University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.
dc.rights.holderUniversity of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg
dc.schoolSchool of Architecture and Planning
dc.subjectUCTD
dc.subjectINTERSECTIONALITY
dc.subjectLIMINALITY
dc.subjectBORDERLANDS
dc.subject.primarysdgSDG-5: Gender equality
dc.titleGendered strategies and aspirations of black women inhabiting borderland spaces: a case study of Musina local municipality
dc.typeThesis

Files

Original bundle

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
Muzanenhamo_Gendered_2024.pdf
Size:
4.82 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format

License bundle

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
license.txt
Size:
2.43 KB
Format:
Item-specific license agreed upon to submission
Description: