“It's hard work to be a girl”: Adolescent girls' experiences of girlhood in three low-income ...

388 Pages·2015·4.99 MB·English

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

Sherine Bronvin Van Wyk

Dissertation presented for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy
in the Department of Psychology, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences,

at the University of Stellenbosch

Supervisor: Professor Leslie Swartz

December 2015
Stellenbosch University https://scholar.sun.ac.za
DECLARATION
By submitting this dissertation electronically, I declare that the entirety of the work contained
therein is my own, original work, that I am the sole author thereof (save to the extent explicitly
otherwise stated), that reproduction and publication thereof by Stellenbosch University will not
infringe any third party rights and that I have not previously in its entirety or in part submitted it
for obtaining any qualification.
Date: December 2015
Copyright © 2015 Stellenbosch University
All rights reserved
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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
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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.

Keywords: adolescent girls, emphasised femininities, gender inequity, girlhood, low-income,
objectification, respectability, surveillance, womanhood

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OPSOMMING

Gender speel ‘n deurslaggewende rol in alle aspekte van ons lewens. Dit beїnvloed ons gedrag,
hoe ons behandel word, en dien as ‘n kritieke dryfveer vir ontwikkeling, geestesgesondheid en
welstand. Sedert 1994 het Suid-Afrika groot vordering gemaak in die totstandkoming van ‘n
samelewing wat op ‘n kultuur van menseregte gebou is, soos in die Grondwet en die Handves van
Menseregte vervat. Dit het ‘n beter lewe vir almal in hierdie “nuwe” Suid-Afrika in die vooruitsig
gestel. Ondanks die vordering sedert 1994 en die verbintenis om ‘n samelewing, gegrond op
menseregte, gelykheid en vryheid te bou, het tradisionele opvattinge van gender en gender
diskriminasie in die privaat en publieke sfere van die Suid-Afrikaanse samelewing, hardnekkig
bly voortbestaan. Dit het die geneigdheid om ‘n diepgaande invloed op die lewens van vroue en
meisies te hê.
Vandaar die doel van hierdie studie, om met ‘n groep adolessente meisies uit drie lae-inkomste
gemeenskappe in die Wynlandstreek van die Wes-Kaap, verkennend te bepaal wat dit beteken om
binne hulle konteks ‘n meisie te wees. Verdere doelwitte was om die meisies se konstruksies van
vroulikheid en manlikheid; hulle ervaringe van gender; en hoe hulle hul posisie as meisie binne
hulle gemeenskap beding, te verken.
In hierdie kwalitatiewe studie het ek gebruik gemaak van sosiale konstruksionisme en
feministiese- en objektiveringsteorie om die deelnemers se ervaringe te konseptualiseer en te
verstaan. Die data is deur middel van fokusgroepsbesprekings en individuele onderhoude
ingesamel. Een-en-sestig adolessente meisies, tussen die ouderdomme 13 en 15 jaar, het aan sewe
fokusgroepsbesprekings deelgeneem. Elke fokusgroep het vir vier agtereenvolgende weke in ‘n
skool, in die drie gemeenskappe, ontmoet. Individuele onderhoude is ook met vier deelnemers,
een skoolhoof, en twee onderwysers by die veskillende skole gevoer. Ek het die getranskribeerde
data met behulp van ATLAS.ti, ‘n rekenaarondersteunde kwalitatiewe sagtewareprogram,
verwerk. Die program het ‘n tematiese ontleding van die data ondersteun.
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Drie temas het in hierdie studie na vore gekom: (1) Die ervaring van meisiewees; (2) Menarg:
Om ‘n vrou te word; en (3) Genderverhoudings in die huis en met portuurgroepe. Bevindinge van
hierdie studie suggereer dat om ‘n meisie te wees, ‘n komplekse en dinamiese proses is, en dat
meisies dikwels ambivalente en teenstrydige posisies in hulle subjektivering en verpersoonliking
van hoe dit is om ‘n meisie te wees, huldig. Die bevindinge suggereer verder dat om ‘n meisie te
wees, soos deur hierdie meisies ervaar, deur hoë vlakke van genderonbillikheid en polisiëring
(“surveillance”) gekenmerk word.
Derhalwe, ondanks die verbintenis tot gendergelykheid in Suid-Afrika, is hierdie meisies steeds
gesosialiseer om hulle plek te ken. Intense vlakke van polisiëring is gebruik om normatiewe
vroulikheid en ordentlikheid by hierdie meisies te reguleer om sodoende die sogenaamde “goeie”
meisie in toom te hou. Daar word aanbeveel dat ‘n reeks intervensies op verskeie vlakke van
stapel gestuur en geïmplementeer word om gendergelykheid en genderbewustheid met ouers,

onderwysers, seuns en meisies te bevorder.
Trefwoorde: adolessente meisies, gendergelykheid, oordrewe vroulikheid, meisiewees, lae-
inkomste, objektivering, ordentlikheid, polisiëring, vroulikheid

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STATEMENT REGARDING FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE

The financial assistance of the National Research Foundation (NRF), The Andrew W. Mellon
Foundation and Stellenbosch University towards this research is hereby acknowledged. Opinions
expressed and conclusions arrived at, are those of the author and are not necessarily to be
attributed to the NRF, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and/or Stellenbosch University.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
As young girl and woman, I was privileged to be loved and nurtured by four remarkable women:
my late mothers, Doris and Margaret Chamberlain; my sister Lorraine Julius and my beloved
aunt, Jocelyn Kieswetter. You taught me the value of family and community, care and
compassion, how to discipline with love and to be of service to others. Thank you for all your
love and support. I salute you!
To my husband Chris, your love and support has been my mainstay through all the years. Thank
you for your continuous encouragement to complete this thesis when I became disillusioned with
the lack of change.
To my supervisor, Leslie Swartz, thank you for your encouragement, support and enthusiasm for
my work, and creating spaces for me to talk about my work.
Sincere thanks to my colleagues for their support and encouragement. To my critical friends,
Ronelle Carollisen, Zuhayr Kafaar, Lou-Marie Kruger, Marieanna Le Roux and Anthea Lesch,
thank you for listening to my thoughts and sharing your critical insights.
Many thanks to Anna Strebel for her valuable feedback on an earlier draft of this thesis.
I am grateful for all the assistance I received from the staff at the JS Gericke library, particularly
Marleen Van Wyk, Sidney February and Lorenda Boyd. Thank you for your patience and sterling
service.
Lastly, I am indebted to all the girls who participated in this study. Thank you for trusting me
with your stories and sharing your dreams, fears and anxieties with me. Thank you for the fun
and laughter!

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DEDICATION

To Liesl, Robin, Adrian and Jemma
Thank you for all the lessons you taught me about mothering and about myself

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Declaration..……………………………………………………………………………………....ii
Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………………..iii
Opsomming…………………………………………………………………………………….....v
Statement regarding financial assistance……………………………………………………...vii
Acknowledgements.…………………………………………………………………………….viii
List of Tables.…………………………………………………………………………………...xiii
List of Appendices……………………………………………………………………………...xiv
Chapter 1: Introduction ............................................................................................................ 1
1.1 Background, aims and rationale of the study .............................................................................. 4
1.2 Organisation of the thesis ............................................................................................................... 5
Chapter 2: Theoretical Framework ......................................................................................... 6
2.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 6
2.2 Social constructionism .................................................................................................................... 6
2.2.1 Discourses .......................................................................................................................................... 9
2.2.2 The social construction of gender..................................................................................................... 12
2.2.3 Some criticism of social constructionism ......................................................................................... 15
2.3 Feminisms ...................................................................................................................................... 16
2.3.1 First wave feminism ......................................................................................................................... 17
2.3.2 Second wave feminism ..................................................................................................................... 18
2.3.3 Third wave feminism ....................................................................................................................... 21
2.4 Objectification theory ................................................................................................................... 23
2.4.1 Sexual objectification ....................................................................................................................... 24
2.4.2 Self-objectification ........................................................................................................................... 26
2.4.3 Consequences of objectification ....................................................................................................... 27
2.5 Adolescent development and well-being ..................................................................................... 31
2.6 Summary and the relevance of the theoretical framework for this study ............................... 33
Chapter 3: Literature Review................................................................................................. 35
3.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 35
3.2 Gender as a determinant of well-being in South Africa ............................................................ 35
3.2.1 Traditional gender roles ................................................................................................................... 40
3.2.2 Gender violence................................................................................................................................ 39
3.3 Adolescent girls’ well-being ......................................................................................................... 40
3.3.1 Menarche: A key developmental factor ........................................................................................... 40
3.3.1.1 Girls' menstrual experiences and practices…...…………………………………………………… 48
3.3.2 Adolescent girls’ interpersonal relationships ................................................................................... 49
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