Identity construction in adolescent girls: the context dependency of racial and gendered perceptions

Abstract

This study examines the life world of school‐going adolescent girls in Johannesburg and their construction of identity. It outlines the socio‐historical background of concepts relating to identity such as race and culture and their use and misuse in the South African context. In South Africa, race/culture/identity have been historically conflated for political purposes. This article considers ‘being Black’ and ‘being White’ as ‘invisible’ and pre‐constituted categories and shows how these categories are best understood as being context‐bound. These varied contexts are perceived by girls as being related to class location, geographical areas, socialization, religion, views on marriage speaking English, generational differences and the secrecy around racist discourse as well as the hopes for reconciliation between Black and White people. For White girls, the simultaneous confidence in and ambiguity of their ‘being White’ is inscribed in its negation and a world of dwindling privilege. Although race is a significant strand in Black girls’ identity, socio‐economic factors emerge as the most important formative feature of identity.

Notes

1. These programmes are run by various NGOs at top private schools and have excellent facilities and teachers, unlike the township schools. They provide educational enrichment for pupils from disadvantaged schools in the townships. They run every Saturday, with lessons in English and maths in the morning and cultural activities in the afternoons. Pupils enjoy these programmes and get a great deal out of them.

2. In the old system, under apartheid, schools were segregated. Schools for Blacks were called ‘model B’ schools and schools for Whites were called ‘model C’ schools. With the dismantling of apartheid the latter schools became open to all races and became known as ‘ex‐model C’ schools.