Post-Feminism in South Africa: Gender Equality Challenges

This essay delves into the concept of post-feminism in South Africa, examining its existence and manifestations within the society. It highlights the historical context of apartheid and its impact on women's and gender issues, noting the complexities of achieving gender equality in the post-apartheid era. The essay explores the delayed incorporation of feminist ideologies compared to Western feminism and the simultaneous imposition of both feminism and post-feminism in South Africa. It discusses the challenges faced by South African feminism, including racial stereotypes, the voices of black women being usurped, and the incorporation of diversifying traditions. The essay concludes by emphasizing the ambiguous positions of women in South Africa, marked by victimhood, oppression, and the ongoing process of constructing a distinct South African feminism to address gender issues and biases.

Running head: POST-FEMINISM
POST-FEMINISM
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

1POST-FEMINISM
The term “Post feminism” means “beyond” feminism. The term refers feminism as a
historical legacy and following it, Post feminism is further defined in the scholarly literature.
Post feminism introduces three concepts. The first one is described as the anti-feminism
backlash, meaning the societal perception is politically resisted. The backlash concept itself
indicates the retrogressive movement backward towards the time of pre-feminism. The
second concept includes the mainstream cultural movements and politics. It is not visible as it
is already accepted in the discourse of post-feminism. The third concept signifies the
evolution of feminism through the ways of productive self-reflection. It also associates the
perspectives of post-feminism with the concept of third-wave feminism to encourage the
instillations of innovative and conservative measures (Silva and Mendes, 2015). Following it,
later in social context, post feminism is perceived as the contradictory politics that contains
the traits of feminist concepts and is further modified in response to the demands of the
transitioning social context, where woman are asked to approach to be involved in gender
politics in order to identify as female in every new dynamics. The essay focuses on the
deliverance of the post feminism status in South Africa highlighting whether the concept of
post feminism is existent and manifested yet in the South African society.
The South African women and gender issues are identified globally that were majorly
on the narrow constructions of the woman and gender issues. It has been observed that
several analysis has been carried out based on the women who were under apartheid.
Apartheid is a social and a political system embarked in South Africa during the period of the
White minority rule (Chisholm, 2015). Under this system, the factors like racial
discrimination were enforced against the people who were non-whites, suggesting that they
were focused mainly on the colour and facial features of the people. This turmoil existed in
the twentieth century, from the year 1948 to the early 1990s. The women in South Africa is
observed to be oppressed by the system of racial discrimination than the masculine

2POST-FEMINISM
dominance (DePalma and Francis, 2014). South Africa even after incorporating the
democratic movement overlooks the active participation of the women and gender issues.
The complexity due to the struggles of freeing the apartheid system has led to the
uninterested attitude towards the women’s active participation in the movement of equality
(Silva and Mendes, 2015). South Africa has manifested the ideologies of feminism and
gender politics much later than the western feminism because the mindset of the South
African people were still inflicted with the post effect of the Apartheid liberation struggles
(Chisholm, 2015). Through the politics on feminism has been widely considered and
incorporated by theorizing it over the last two decades, yet there are still flaws and large gaps
in the practice of equality among the community of South Africa (Coppock, Haydon and
Richter, 2014). Following it, it is understood that the feminism has not yet fully evolved or
developed and manifested in the South African society. But following it, it does not mean
that the system of post feminism and considerations have not yet started to manifest and
incorporate in the society of South Africa (DePalma and Francis, 2014). Based on the
analysis and global observations, it is understood that South Africa is simultaneously in the
parameter of imposing feminism and post feminism, the state where gender equality is still a
major issue amongst the women scholar and activists, yet the approach to the concept of
feminism is often mobilized through the considerations of post feminism.
South Africa is known to have the largest percentage of women in the parliament and
their contribution is now recognized as the ‘new’ South Africa. On the contrary, it is
observed that South Africa has the highest record of violence and rape in the world. These
contradictions highlights the reverberation of the past struggles in South Africa (DePalma and
Francis, 2014). Today’s South Africa still needs exploration of further African feminist
theories as the issues of voice, victimhood, gaze, silences, subjectivity is still casted on the
South African women. The termed ‘Womanist’ coined by Alice Walker, is introduced

3POST-FEMINISM
majorly to highlight the racialized atmosphere of societal experience (Coppock, Haydon and
Richter, 2014). In addition, the term also centralizes black women within the paradigm of
different or polarized tradition of feminism. Through these perceptions or concepts, issues
based on the political, social, national and cultural context are recognized in the space of
gender concepts (Silva and Mendes, 2015). There are challenges that South African
Feminism has been able to get rid of the society. The major challenge for the society was
racialised stereotypes and the unfavourable practices, for instance, there were cases where
white women usurped the voices of black women in the name of gender empowerment.
Thereby these practices becomes discursive practice as the western feminist involves in the
representation of other women, which further implies the process of domination (Coppock,
Haydon and Richter, 2014). On the basis of this context, there has been many controversial
approaches as there is major difference between “speaking of” and “speaking for”. Thereby,
the concept of silence is emerged. Another challenge that is recognized for South African
feminism is the act of incorporating diversifying traditions in a woman (Jenainati, 2014).
With respect to this idea, different ideologies of tradition and culture were respected, whether
these practices are struggled based or indigenous practice.
From the above discussion, it is concluded that the essay highlights the idea of
ambiguous positions that revolves around the African scholarship provided with the positions
of women and the concept of feminism that is reflected in today’s South Africa, the place
where the state of the women dwells in the factors of victimhood and oppression whether
seen or unseen. Thereby, South Africa, being the country of democracy provided with the
installation of concepts gender equalities, post feminism theories followed by feminism, still
is in the process of defining and constructing a particular South African Feminism in order to
get off or at least reduce the rate of gender issues and biasness.

4POST-FEMINISM
References:
Ahikire, J., 2014. African feminism in context: Reflections on the legitimation battles,
victories and reversals. Feminist Africa, 19, pp.7-23.
Chisholm, L., 2015. Changing class: Education and social change in post-apartheid South
Africa. Hsrc Press.
Coppock, V., Haydon, D. and Richter, I., 2014. The illusions of post-feminism: New women,
old myths. Routledge.
DePalma, R. and Francis, D., 2014. Silence, nostalgia, violence, poverty…: What does
‘culture’mean for South African sexuality educators?. Culture, health & sexuality, 16(5),
pp.547-561.
Jenainati, C., 2014. Introducing feminism: A graphic guide. Icon Books Ltd.
Silva, K. and Mendes, K. eds., 2015. Feminist erasures: Challenging backlash culture.
Springer.