Hip Afrikaners and neo-tribalism in post-apartheid South Africa

Abstract

This article situates the contemporary commodification of Afrikaner ethnic identity in the ethos of late capitalism, which attributes a central place to aesthetics in the global economy. The manner in which the commercial appeal of markers of Afrikaner ethnicity significantly vacillates across time is of concern here. It is argued that (post)modern expressions of Afrikanerness give access to the superior sensibilities central to hipsterism (which hinge on idiosyncratic or discerning modes of consumption), but also augment such knowledges via an ethnocentric vocabulary which is intelligible mainly to the Afrikaner consumer. By organising themselves into so-called “tribes”, premised on the collective consumption of particular goods in order to become visible—and visibly “cool”—to others, some Afrikaner youths possibly negotiate the loss of a coherent ethnicity (precipitated by the downfall of apartheid and Afrikaner nationalism) by forging new affective and aesthetic connections. A number of commodity items and images illustrative of such processes are discussed. Speculation is offered on the (economic and social) limitations and potentials of the notion of “hip Afrikanerness” available for appropriation by racial or ethnic others who also seek a sense of distinction via consumer culture.

Keywords:

• Afrikaner identity
• commodification
• hipsterism
• neo-tribalism
• postmodernism
• youth culture