It's hard work to be a girl : Adolescent girls' experiences of girlhood in three low-income communities in South Africa

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT : Gender plays a pivotal role in every aspect of our lives. It influences our behaviour and how we are treated, and is a critical driver of development, mental health and well-being. Since 1994, South Africa has taken great strides in establishing a society built on a culture of human rights that are enshrined in its Constitution and Bill of Rights. It has envisioned that in this 'new South Africa there would be a better life for all. Despite the gains since 1994 and the commitment to build a society based on human rights, equality and freedom, traditional notions of gender and gender discrimination tenaciously persist in both the private and public spheres of South African society, which tend to have a profound influence in the lives of women and girls. Hence, the aim of this study was to explore, with a group of adolescent girls from three low-income communities in the Winelands area of the Western Cape, what it is like to be a girl in their contexts. Further aims were to explore their constructions of femininities and masculinities; their experiences of gender; and how they negotiated their positions as girls in their communities.In this qualitative study, I used social constructionism and, feminist and objectification theory to conceptualise and understand the participants' experiences. The data were collected by means of focus group discussions and individual interviews. Sixty-one adolescent girls, between the ages of 13 and 15, participated in seven focus group discussions. Each focus group met for four consecutive weeks at a school in the three communities. Individual interviews were also conducted with four participants, one principal and two teachers at the different schools. I managed all the transcribed data with ATLAS.ti, a computer aided qualitative data analysis software (CAQDAS) programme, which supported a thematic analysis of the data.Three key themes were identified in this study: (1) About being a girl; (2) Menarche: Becoming a woman; and (3) Gender relationships at home and with peers. The findings of this study suggest that girlhood is a complex and dynamic process, and girls often straddle ambivalent and contradictory positions in their subjectification and embodiment of girlhood. The findings further suggest that girlhood, as experienced by these girls, is marked by high levels of gender inequity and surveillance. Thus, despite commitments to gender equity in South Africa, these girls were still socialised to know their place. Intense levels of surveillance were used to regulate normative femininity and the respectability of these girls, thereby keeping the 'good girl intact. It is recommended that a range of interventions should be initiated and implemented on multiple levels to promote gender equity and gender consciousness with parents, teachers, boy and girls.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University