Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master's Degree in Technology: Fashion, Durban Institute of Technology, 2006. / This dissertation questions and expands currently held notions of traditional fashion identities in South African fashion photography. The impetus for this study stems from observations of a relatively low level of political engagement in local fashion photography as compared to other areas of art and design which seem very enunciative of a politics of identity. Investigation of identity politics in South African fashion photography was informed by a staged investigation. Firstly, accounts of a literature review of fashion theory and key theories of identity allow entrenched constructions of fashion representations to be seen as restrictively politicised. Primary investigation of expert fashion views followed. The concepts of hybridity and fluidity in theories of identity were central to the discovery of alternative politicised fashion identities / M

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfillment of the requirements for Masters degree in Sociology March 2016 / Following a qualitative approach and using diaries and the anthropological tool of ethnography, the study engaged black heterosexual men living with HIV to explore and describe their masculine ideals, values and behaviors in the dawn of the HIV epidemic. The findings revealed that the fabric that made “Indoda” varied and changed over time but to be Indoda , a man had to have one’s own family and consequently be the head of the family “Intloko yo Muzi”.Indoda was also detailed as someone who was “iQhawe”,a warrior who fought many battles of invulnerability and endured hardships. The findings suggested that although participants strove to attain these specifications, they were also restricted and burdened by them; especially those who were under varying degrees of pressure as a result of the different social, economic and political transitions that were taking place. HIV was seen as a threat to the constructions of hegemonic masculine ideals and thus exposed a budding crisis of masculinity that men in this context were confronted with. While HIV seemed to alter ones identity for some of the participants, other participants revealed that HIV did not change their lives in anyway. Among these participants, multiple relationships with ‘roll ons’; secrets and low condom use were rife. The other group of men who differentiated themselves from those who were HIV negative challenged the dominant notions of masculinities and reconstructed their masculinities in more positive ways. In this way, these men inhabited a subjective position of agency by taking control of their lives and accepting and driving their Z3. The study concluded that masculine norms behaviors and values are fluid and it is through continuously engaging in critical examination of the discourses that construct masculinity that new constructions of what it means to be a man can emerge. / MT 2018

In this study, the sex-role identities adopted by young, middle-aged, and older working females South African were compared. The rationale of the study is based on changes which occurred within South Africa with regards to gender, race, education, as well as work place participation for women. Two hundred females from two South African organisations participated in the study. Two self-report questionnaires were utilised: a demographic questionnaire and Bem’s Sex-Role Inventory. Data was interpreted statistically, by means of Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and frequencies. Results revealed that younger women have adopted more masculine characteristics than middle-aged and older females. Results further indicated that black women are more likely to reflect sex-role identity changes on age than white women, given that changes in the South African society many have been more impactful on them. Results on the levels of masculinity amongst the younger group of females are consistent with a study done on working females in India.

The influence of culture on the construal of the normal and abnormal self was compared for three race groups of students, namely, White, Black and Indian students. Furthermore, the effect of gender on the construal of the self for the three race groups were investigated. The subjects for the study were 102 first-year psychology students (mean age: 18.5). The test consisted of two sets of 10 psychological words. Each student completed one test by providing two synonyms for every stimulus word given. Using the Semantic Differential, the synonyms were rated by nine independent judges, against ten polar dimensions, relating to the concept of the self. Frequency scores were obtained for the number of times that a synonym was used by the subjects and cross-tabulation of these scores with race and gender were performed. Logit analysis, using 7 different models of interaction between synonym, race and gender were also performed. Using the Western vs. Non-western and the Individualism vs. Collectivism models of the self, results indicate that the White subjects fitted the Western and Individualistic models of the self. The Black and Indian subjects construed the self as being both individualistic and collectivistic and the self was seen as totally self-orientated. With the abnormal self, the Black and Indian students emphasised both the somatic and psychological complaints, while the White subjects emphasised only the psychological aspects. Regarding gender, the males in the study used mental words while the females used word depicting behaviour. Summarising, the results indicate that the White, Black and Indian subjects construe the self in a similar manner, indicating that the Black and Indian subjects are in the process of change or acculturation. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of Natal, 1997.

This qualitative research identified constructions of masculinity among seven adolescent boys who were HIV positive, purposively sampled from the age range of 13 to 16 years and were members of a clinic-based HIV support groups. Central to this research was the critical use of the concept of ‘hegemonic masculinity’, defined as the legitmation of gendered power through masculinity ideals, embodied practices and imperatives. The framework of dialogical self theory was used for exploring the dynamics of individual and group positioning around hegemonic masculinity and this theory was compared with other approaches such as discursive theory. Using multiple research methods within a qualitative design, this research identified individual and group ideals and practices held by the adolescent boys, with a key focus on how young men maintained ‘positions’ in relation to hegemonic masculinity, be these forms of masculinity that retained complete or partial identification with hegemonic masculinity or versions of masculinity that were alternative to the hegemonic form. The study was situated at the intersection of masculinity with the experience of living with a chronic medical condition, and the relatively homogenous and small sample provided an indepth basis for understanding the instantiation of masculine identity in a situation of fairly unique challenges and complexity. A combination of semi-structured interviews, focus groups, autophotography, reflective writing, biographical drawings and biographical interviews were used to match an interpretive, inductive research process, with reflexivity and research ethics as key considerations. Interviews were carried out by the researcher and two of the support group facilitators, creating an opportunity for reflexivity around the complexities of qualitative interviewing. Multiple methods of data analysis were used to analyse and ‘dialogue’ multi-sourced verbal and visual data. Thse methods consisted of thematic analysis, an adaptation of critical narrative analysis for selected texts and content analysis of visual data. The findings suggested that there were active processes of positioning masculine identity at individual and group levels and that positions in relation to hegemonic ideals were emotionally invested. Two hegemonic versions of young masculinity were identified as sets of ideal standards and embodied practices. ‘Township young masculinity’ was a peer-approved version identified with physical invulnerability, risk-taking and an ideal of attaining ‘influence and affluence’ through exceptional performances. ‘Aspirant young masculinity’ was a future orientation towards attaining a commodity masculinity, identified with an independent provider roles and signified through visible displays of ownership both material and symbolic. Interpreting findings from dialogical self theory, it appeared that some of the boys, at some times, established a distance from hegemonic imperatives by taking personally agentive, independent I-positions. This carried the risk of impulsively reacting to hegemonic imperatives without the support of collective identities and social relationships. Some boys developed Ipositions that were contradictory to produce new and more tenable I-positions. This process appeared to be more sustainable when it was connected with a group or collective identity such as being a member of the support group or being a person living with HIV. Some of the boys maintained alternatives through ‘metapositions’ that were made available through contexts or resources which offered alternative perspectives and possibilities. Dilemmas faced included managing the hegemonic imperative of being sexually active as an HIV positive young man or prioritising health where the hegemonic standard promoted physical risk-taking. It was apparent that despite interviewer expectations, the participants did not foreground an HIV positive identity but instead defined themselves foremostly as young men. One of the solutions to these dilemmas was to modify but maintain some alignment or identification with masculinity ideals. Here, the constraints of being HIV positive meant that maintaining health was more important than conforming to masculinity ideals or a reframing of masculinity within the physical, social and symbolic barriers of having a potentially life-threatening illness. The challenge of this solution was that its sustainability relied to a large extent on the availability of safe ‘dialogical’ spaces such as the HIV support group. Some of the boys found ‘principled’ alternatives to hegemonic masculinity from community or cultural values. Some of the boys identified with hegemonic standards but had to constantly defend against the anxiety of not being able to embody these hegemonic standards. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2011.

No abstract available. / Thesis (LL.M.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2005.

African pensioner grandmothers and their teenage granddaughters constitute a vulnerable sector in our communities. Despite financial constraints these grandmothers struggle against great odds to provide a better life for their granddaughters. In such households, granddaughters are exposed to socialization strategies that are devised to cope with limitations. These strategies impact on the way they construct notions of gender and sexuality. Using qualitative research methodology to investigate the responses to interviews and questionnaires of a selected group of five female teenage learners and their grandmothers at a secondary school in Northdale, Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal, I discuss how these learners and their principal carers construct gender and sexuality. I make use of postmodern principles to analyse the impact of changing household patterns and coping strategies on these young women. I discuss the gendered division of labour, their 'perceived' notions about femininity and masculinity and bodies. I focus especially on how grandmothers use their own construction of gender and sexuality in influencing their granddaughters by what they say and also by what they do not say. In this investigation, I include Western theorizing and traditional African teachings about gender construction and sexuality. This study demonstrates that gender is not innate but fluid and that constructions of sexuality can create docile 'feminine' bodies. However, there are indications that these young women are resisting the constructs of their grandmothers to create new discourses of their own. Female agency is a mechanism that can be utilized to generate new subjectivities. / Thesis (M.A.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2007.

This study was motivated by the commitment of the researcher to contribute towards the agenda for the development of women, in particular women affected and infected with HIV/Aids, through a better understanding and improved knowledge of the national and international legal and policy framework aimed at empowering women in South Africa. This study builds on countless efforts which have been implemented internationally to transform the world and create a peaceful and liveable world for women who have been historically oppressed, unrecognised and, in the case of women affected and infected with HIV, stigmatised. An increasing trend towards recognising the need to advance women and acknowledge their status in the community on the part of the international community was observed and then explored in the literature review which was conducted for the purposes of the study. The development of women is dependent on an enabling environment which is free from all forms of discrimination. Poverty, gender-based violence, cultural perceptions, as well as traditional and religious practices, all contribute to the challenges facing women. In addition, HIV/Aids is a continuous threat and impacts greatly on the lives of both women and their families. The aim of the study was to explore the contribution that the Commission of Gender Equality (CGE) makes towards a better quality of life for women and also to contribute to the development of a strategy to optimise the integration of HIV/Aids issues into the mandate of the CGE. The requisite data was collected through an extensive literature study of the research field, a document analysis and personal interviews with Commissioners of the CGE. The data were complemented and supported by the inputs of focus groups in which community members provided inputs about their experiences of the role played by the CGE at a community level. ii Data revealed limitations in the effective functioning and the measurable impact of the CGE. These were subsequently addressed in the design of a suggested strategic plan. The limitations included aspects relating to CGE organisational structure; the knowledge and skills of personnel, the lack of role clarification; the lack of a coordinated strategy; as well as a deficient working plan which, in its current format, shows a lack of continuity as a result of high staff turnover, a weak continuity strategy when commissioners’ term of office ends, limitations in terms of financial resources, and the absence of monitoring and control systems. / Health Studies / D. Litt. et Phil. (Health Studies)

This research tested the perception of Christian parents framing of gender and sexual identities in Duduza, Nigel. The researcher conducted the quantitative research based on the theoretical framework and measured it by means of variables and questions through the development of a questionnaire. The triangulation questions from the literature review were included in the questionnaire. The quantitative data collected was in the form of numbers. The literature review was completed to find out what had previously been written about the dependant variable, and to clarify and define concepts contained in the dependant variable, as well as to examine the independent variables and their elements influencing the dependant variable. The study provides the recommendation for the Christians denominations towards influencing change in the Christian parents’ framing of gender and sexual identities in Duduza, Nigel.

The current study examined whether there are sex-based differences in adolescents’ accuracy in perceiving and acceptance of parental socialisation values. Together with their parents, a total of 134 adolescents (aged 13 to 18) from private Christian schools in Johannesburg, South Africa participated in the study. After creating the measures of overall accuracy, overall acceptance, specific accuracy and specific acceptance, a series of mixed-design ANOVAs were conducted in order to evaluate the six research hypotheses. The results illustrated that there may be sex-based differences in adolescents’ accuracy in perceiving the importance that their mothers and fathers place on the value of power as a socialisation value. However, the overall results suggested that the focus on the effect of adolescent sex on adolescents’ accuracy in perceiving and acceptance of parental socialisation values was too narrow because various parent sex and adolescent sex interaction effects were found. Furthermore, there is no clear pattern indicating how sex influences adolescents’ accuracy in perceiving and acceptance of parental socialisation values, thus suggesting that the influence of sex is value-specific. / Psychology / M.A. (Psychology: Research Consultation)