Women's Identity in a Country in Rapid Social Change: The Case of Educated Black South African Women

Abstract

African societies are currently going through a period of accelerated social change, charac terised by increasing population, rapid urbanisation, high regional, national and inter national migration and the assimilation of western values. These changes are increasingly eroding the clear gender role divisions, characteristic of traditional African society, leaving women with a greater personal responsibility to develop their identities. This article focuses on the identity formation of a group of South African black women in a process of rapid social change. The study involved interviews with 10 black African professional women from a rural background. The data from the interviews were analysed using the grounded theory approach.

The study revealed that the women's emergent identity was characterised by a strong feeling of independence as well as a commitment to their families. They largely rejected the traditional African gender roles and embraced an identity that encompassed both male and female roles in the family, taking upon them a heavy burden of responsibilities. In an attempt to find support and to valuate their newly emerging identities, they created a new reference group, consisting of like-minded women.

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