Sarojini Nadar

Palatable patriarchy and violence against wo/men in South Africa - Angus Buchan's Mighty Men's Conference as a case study of masculinism

Robert Connell, the immanent scholar on masculinity studies, has urged scholars to undertake more concrete and located studies of the construction of masculinity. Taking up Connell’s challenge, this paper uses The Mighty Men’s Conference (MMC) started by Angus Buchan in 2004 in Greytown, South Africa, as a case study in masculinity and argues that Angus Buchan’s Christian MMC is a step toward masculinism, (destructive male power) not positive masculinity. Using Stephen Whitehead’s and Frank Barrett’s three propositions concerning the ways in which masculine power is created, namely forceful power, positional power and discursive power, the paper argues that the latter two forms of power are most evident in the MMC. Given the researched links between discourses of submission and headship and violence against wo/men, these latter two forms of power which are promoted through such discourses in the MMC is declared as unhelpful. Finally the paper concludes that while men’s movements are certainly important and needed in South Africa, movements that lead men down a garden path to a false sense of what it means to be a man, by appealing to outdated and destructive ways of being a man, will do more to aggravate the problem of violence than overcome it. The paper concludes with three proposals for alternative steps toward positive masculinity, namely a deconstruction and reconstruction of masculinity and a deliberate search for, and promotion of positive role models

'Hermeneutics of transformation?' A critical exploration of the model of social engagement between biblical scholars and faith communities : general

This paper seeks to critically explore the ideological, academic and socio-political implications of the model of social engagement as developed and espoused by Gerald West, almost two decades ago. It will do so through an examination of three focus areas: Motivation, method and representation. First the paper will discuss the rationale behind social engagement. Thereafter, an exploration and interrogation of the method itself (to be found primarily in the contextual bible study) will be undertaken, by asking vital questions concerning the functions and the responsibilities of both the faith communities and the intellectual / academic in such engagements. Thirdly, the paper will seek to question the ways in which communities of faith are subsequently represented in academic discourse. The paper brings the discussion to a close with an appraisal of the three focus areas explored in the paper, by arguing that each of the focus areas examined produce different results in key areas, when viewed at from the perspective of organic intellectuals. By bringing West?s work into dialogue with organic intellectuals who have used similar models, but have done so differently, the paper concludes that collaboration between scholars and the community is a vital one, but that the challenge which remains is for more organic intellectuals to use the opportunities which they have been given through their privileged access to education, to empower those in the community who have afforded them the opportunity.

“Stories are data with Soul” – lessons from black feminist epistemology

abstract When asked to give the keynote address at the Annual Women in Research Lecture at the University of South Africa the author decided to change the topic from ‘Women in Research’ to ‘Feminist Research’. Here she submits that researchers have much to learn from African feminist epistemology and research values, and draws attention to one particular defining feature of African feminist epistemology, namely ‘narrative knowing’. She argues for the power of story as integral to qualitative research practice and at the very least as complementary to quantitative research practice. The benefits of STORY for researchers are that stories encourage and encompass: Suspicion of master narratives of knowledge; Tools of knowledge gathering and dissemination; Objection to objectivity; Reflexivity of the positioning of researchers; and Yearning for and working for transformation and change. Drawing on the works of Black feminist scholars like Patricia Hill Collins and Obioma Nnaemeka, she discusses each of these benefits of narrative knowing for research and teaching in turn, by extracting and explicating the stories she has collected over the years as a researcher and a teacher. These stories provide a critique to conventional academic ways of knowing, particularly its claim to be science. This article concludes, in agreement with Brene Brown, that indeed ‘stories are just data with soul’.

“Don't touch me on my psychology and religion!” Feminist backlash in a wearable cloak and different voice

abstract In this article it is argued that feminist successes in South Africa are being ‘overshadowed’ by movements which are essentially anti-feminist and brazenly patriarchal, but which go unchallenged because these movements are protected by the freedom of religion clause in the Constitution. Further, these movements and the messages they preach are drawing large numbers of educated men and women of all ages under the guise of what Nadar (2009) has labelled Palatable Patriarchy and what Nadar and Potgieter (2010) have labelled Formenism. This article draws on the online advice column run by Gretha Wiid (one of many ‘services’ offered by her) as material for a feminist rhetorical discursive textual analysis, and illustrates how these growing movements are challenging and negating feminist successes with very little (if any) challenge from feminist intellectuals, feminist organisations and especially the State. Two rhetorical discourses emanating from the movement are identified—termed psychologisation and pastoralisation. These movements are offering a space whereby everyday challenges (bankruptcy, global economic crisis, unemployment, marriage problems, crime) of persons from a range of backgrounds are being addressed in “ways” and by people who they identify with and aspire to. In conclusion the article engages with how feminists could respond to these challenges.

Undoing ‘Protective Scientism’ in a Gender, Religion and Health Masters Curriculum

The Gender, Religion and Health (GRH) Masters Programme at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) sought to encourage such problem-solving research (focusing on the issue of sexual and reproductive health) through merging three disciplinary areas of study into one programme: gender studies, religious studies and health (sexual and reproductive health). In the first two years of the programme, the curriculum was designed in a multi-disciplinary form, rather than an interdisciplinary one owing to pragmatic and operational reasons, given that this was a pilot programme that was launched in 2013.

Mediating the ‘sacredness’ of religion, culture and law in contexts of sexual violence

abstract Literature on sexual violence shows that in many countries around the world the law is seen as the most significant means to provide sexual security to women. Feminist scholars, however, have recognised the limited utility of the law in deterring perpetrators and protecting women from sexual violence, when the law is interpreted through essentially patriarchal lenses. In this article, using a critical feminist discourse analysis of two legal judgments on rape in Sweden and South Africa, we extend the literature on feminist critique of sexual violence convictions, by focusing on the significant role that religious and cultural values, as well as “ultra-liberal rights” values play in the interpretation of the law and how these negatively impact on women. Our analysis reveals that even when there was space within the law to impose stricter sentences on the perpetrators of rape, the law was interpreted in a way that minimised the trauma that both females experienced, ultimately making the courts an insecure space for women who experience sexual trauma. This can be attributed to either a positivist view of the law, as was the case in Sweden, or the religious and cultural lenses which were used to interpret the law, as was the case in South Africa. In order to address the problem of insecure courts we propose a shift from a legal positivist hermeneutic to a critical feminist hermeneutic. We conclude that this shift must take into account that religion and culture cannot be privatised in societies that claim secularity and that courts need to be aware of the complex relations between religion, culture, and law. We will show that the complex, frequently taken-for-granted gendered assumptions and hegemonic power relations are discursively produced and affect legal judgments.