Hidden figures: reframing gender prototyping from a communication science perspective

abstract

On 26 July 2013, the United Nations launched the Free & Equal campaign in Cape Town, South Africa, to mark the global commitment to end gender discrimination. This event can be positioned in the “fourth wave of feminism” referred to by certain leading feminist scholars (for example Gouws 2010). However, while multiple disciplinary discourses herald the progress with regards to women’s liberation, notably pertaining to gender identities, they illuminate that in spite of winning a number of battles along the way, the wars on exclusion, discrimination, patriarchy and misogyny have not yet ended. This article aims to reflect on the current status quo of feminism by drawing on the work of seminal communication scholars, such as Herbert Mead, Irving Goffman and Serge Moscovici whose work on individual and social identity sheds light on the processes of gender prototyping that are rapidly changing. At present, the United Nations recognises 71 gender identities, while hegemonic heterosexual domination and discrimination still persist regardless of legislation and activism aimed at inclusion and non-discrimination of all gender identities. An overview of current research findings illuminates the need for employee activism and the development of representative woman gender prototypes in particular, to harness cultures of inclusivity and non-discrimination in the workplace.

keywords:

• gender identity
• difference
• equality
• social representation
• gender prototyping
• workplace diversity

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Karabo Sitto

CORNÉ DAVIS is a senior lecturer in Strategic Communication and specialised in social systems theory and second-order cybernetics in her doctoral study. She participates in continuous curriculum development and postgraduate supervision. She facilitates and develops undergraduate and postgraduate modules in Strategic Communication. She has presented papers at a number of conferences and published articles in accredited journals focusing mostly on sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). She is a known gender-based violence activist, a trustee of Matla a Bana, and an advisory to the TEARS Foundation.

Corné Davis

KARABO SITTO is a lecturer and PhD candidate in the Department of Strategic Communication, Faculty of Humanities at the University of Johannesburg. Her research areas of interest include online communication, identity, social representations, as well as teaching and learning. Contact email: [email protected]