Home Institution
Colby College
Publication Date
Fall 2015
Abstract
This study focuses on how gender roles and the Black identity affect Black women in present day social movements in Cape Town, South Africa. The goal of this project is to analyze how Black female students identify with the present day Black Consciousness Movement and their views on what roles women should engage in during social justice movements. Young Black women have forcefully been present in the current social movements such as Rhodes Must Fall and Fees Must Fall. These movements not only aim to tackle colonization, but also enforcing the inclusion of feminism and LGBTQ principles within the goals of the movements. The recent movement, Patriarchy Must Fall, puts an emphasize on ending gender inequality and Black women at the university have been engaging with the movements on the vision of an intersectional movement. Should the focus solely be on decolonization and then the violence towards gender and sexuality shall be left to question? Five Black female students express that this is not an option through personal narratives and through the utilization of their education at UCT. This study was conducted through methods of acquired conversations through snowballing at the University of Cape Town located in Rondebosch. These conversations are analyzed through the history of women’s involvement in social justice movements globally, the response to gender roles in African culture, and the effects of the marginalization of race. The aim of this research paper is to better understand why it is necessary for Black women to demolish gender oppression along with white supremacy, while still finding support in the Black community and with each other.
Disciplines
African Studies | Civic and Community Engagement | Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies | Gender and Sexuality | Inequality and Stratification | Leadership Studies | Politics and Social Change | Race and Ethnicity | Race, Ethnicity and Post-Colonial Studies
Recommended Citation
Bell, Aaliyah Michele, "I’m Black and I’m Proud… and Female: The Role of Gender and Black Consciousness for Black Female UCT Students in Social Movements in Cape Town." (2015). Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection. 2157.
https://digitalcollections.sit.edu/isp_collection/2157
Included in
African Studies Commons, Civic and Community Engagement Commons, Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons, Gender and Sexuality Commons, Inequality and Stratification Commons, Leadership Studies Commons, Politics and Social Change Commons, Race and Ethnicity Commons, Race, Ethnicity and Post-Colonial Studies Commons
Program Name
South Africa: Multiculturalism and Human Rights