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

Abstract

This 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.