COPYRIGHT AND CITATION CONSIDERATIONS FOR THIS THESIS/ DISSERTATION o Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use. o NonCommercial — You may not use the material for commercial purposes. o ShareAlike — If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you must distribute your contributions under the same license as the original. How to cite this thesis Surname, Initial(s). (2012). Title of the thesis or dissertation (Doctoral Thesis / Master’s Dissertation). Johannesburg: University of Johannesburg. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/102000/0002 (Accessed: 22 August 2017). Is there a need for Black Feminism in South Africa? An exploration into systematic and intersectional exclusion. by Kelebogile Patience Salane 201027652 Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts in Philosophy (Coursework) in the Department of Philosophy of the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Johannesburg supervised by Prof. H. P. P. Lötter 10 December 2018 3 Acknowledgements To Black women in South Africa and in the diaspora, May we know Victory. 3 4 Abstract Much of mid- to late 20th century (postmodern period) socio-historical narratives, particularly pertaining to the meaning of black womanhood in post-colonial societies have noted black women’s plight as that characterized by intersectional oppression. Black women cannot adequately pronounce on the experience of being ‘a black person’ without that conversation encompassing the experience of being a woman (including from a certain class grouping, sexuality etc.). This is because how they experience the world (how they participate and how world/others respond to them) is linked to the matrix of domination (racism, sexism, and classism) that informs their lived experiences. South African black women are the highest demographic group in the country, but they are also the poorest. The minor dissertation serves as an exploration into whether Bblack feminism as a guiding principle to ensure radical inclusion, is significant to begin the cultural shift in South Africa’s racist, patriarchal, and classist society. Although black women in South Africa have historically shunned Feminism as mostly serving the interests of white, Western, middle-class women; or black feminism as mostly serving the interests of Western black women – black feminism is used here as a notion able to hold the same meaning insofar as describing a movement that denounces anti-racism and anti-sexism is concerned. Therefore, the idea is that if the values of a society are flexible to change– and if we believe that values can be taught – South Africa’s culture of anti-black sexism ought to be radically replaced with values that espouse black feminism. Furthermore, if the government of South Africa adopted a black feminist praxis as its “Founding Document for an Equal Society”, recognizing it as a politic whose radical singularity finds a healthy alternative to anti-black sexism; in addition to recognizing and thus promoting the notion of intersectionality as a healthy alternative to liberal heteronormative standards of human life, South Africa would realize its true potential of an antisexist and antiracist country. 4 5 Table of Contents Page number PREFACE …………………………………………………………………………………6 CHAPTER 1. GUIDING CONCEPTS AND INTRODUCTIONS TO THE ARGUMENT……………………………………………………………………………….8 1.1. Introduction…………………………………………………………………………..8 1.2. Black Feminism……………………………………………………………………..10 1.2.1. Intersectionality…………………………………………………………………….18 CHAPTER 2. BLACK FEMINISM VS. SOUTH AFRICAN POLITICS………………23 2.1. Black Feminism in South Africa? ……………………………………………….23 2.2. Role of South African women in resistance …………………………………..34 2.2.1. Winnie Madikizela-Mandela: Of the Casualties of White Supremacy and Patriarchy…………………………………………………………………………………..50 CHAPTER 3. CASE STUDIES ON RACIALIZED PATRIARCHY IN POSTCOLONIAL SOUTH AFRICA ……………………………………………………60 3.1. Anti-Black Sexism – Current Contexts………………………………………60 3.2. #FeesMustFall: A Case Study………………………………………………...73 CHAPTER 4. RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS – TOWARDS A FOUNDING DOCUMENT FOR A BLACK FEMINISM SOCIETY…………………..81 4.1. Core Issues………………………………………………………………………….81 REFERENCE LIST……………………………………………………………………….87 5 6 Preface Statistics South Africa's (Stats SA) mid-year population estimate (as at July 2018) reported that of the 57.7 million people living in South Africa, black African women make up an estimated total of 41.4% (23 896 700); making them not only the highest demographic group within Black South Africans in particular, but also the highest across South Africans in general. Yet, Stats SA also revealed (as at February 2018) that black South African women's unemployment rate sits at 34.2%, irrespective of education level – the highest across all demographics1. Moreover, in 2017 the South African Human Rights Commission found that approximately 17% of black women aged 15 years and over do not have an education level over Grade 7, compared to almost 12% of coloured women, 7% of Indian women and less than 2% of white women. The ‘black female question’ has occupied much of postmodern socio-historical narratives, particularly pertaining to the meaning of black womanhood in post-colonial societies. That is, the realization of black women’s lived experience being largely informed by intersectional oppression – or the double jeopardy of being black and female. In South Africa, a ‘young’ democracy with arguably the most vibrant, race/gender-inclusive Constitution in the world, black women remain the systematically excluded majority. That they are the highest demographic group in the country, who are also the most affected by the remnants of the country’s legacy of institutionalized racial segregation, represents South Africa’s dire political vacuum. Because of this, it necessitates an urgent need for socio-political reform. The idea is that, and as the minor dissertation largely demonstrates, if the values of a society are 1 Coloured women follow at 23.5%, and white women were the least affected at 6.7%. 6 7 flexible to change (for the better) – and if we believe that values can be taught – South Africa’s culture of anti-black sexism ought to be radically replaced with values that espouse black feminism. Adopting black feminism as a guiding principle is not only necessary in reversing the lived conditions of black women in the country. It is also necessary in dismantling the culture of racialized sexism that South African black women confront in mainstream media (i.e. portrayals), corporate South Africa and the labour market – to name a few. From working as a domestic worker under apartheid South Africa to fund her schooling, to singlehandedly raising two children in a one-bedroom shack, to navigating the consistent terrain of apartheid and its unique effects on black women; my mother – an educator – was my first painful introduction to anti-black sexism and its adverse consequences for black women in South Africa. Black feminism is therefore necessary not only for the black mothers who had experienced racial exclusion throughout its many layers, but for South Africa’s overall quest for radical equality across the board. 7 8 Chapter One: Guiding Concepts and Introductions to The Argument 1.1. Introduction As with any philosophical study, primarily that relating to the subject, it is the imperative of the author to locate an intended argument within the necessary context so as to derive a comprehensive appreciation of the study. That is, that there is a need to interact with the historical nuances of the issue before delving into what the issue is – precisely if it means the history of the issue largely informs its current pulse. This particular issue, namely anti-black sexism as it intersects with the socio-economic and historic landscape of South African politics, has a varied context. What I mean here is that in trying to advocate for – or locate – black feminism in South Africa, it would firstly be necessary to study and analyze what black feminism is (in relation to its extension to traditional liberal feminism); how anti-black sexism is rooted in intersectional exclusion; the history that informs South African black women’s lived experience; and how the need for black feminism is precisely located in the socio-historic experiences that have largely shaped South Africa’s current context in terms of its relation to black women. The need for black feminism in South Africa is proven in various facets of society through systematic racism and sexism that intersect to form a multifold character of oppression for the black women in its society. The argument is necessitated by the dearth in postmodern theoretical accounts of South African black women’s lived experiences. While the effects of institutionalized racism post-1994 have justifiably been theorized and discussed at great lengths by various social structures in South Africa, rarely has the same consideration been given to the effects of anti-black sexism (sexism and its specific effects on black women in South Africa) as it manifests in 8 9 present day South Africa. This has further assisted the continued systematic exclusion of black women, in addition to rendering their ‘struggle’ (i.e. against both racism and sexism – and their various manifestations) insignificant. The minor dissertation then, seeks to provide