Growing up women and men: gendered housework in Xhosa households in Langa
Date
2021-12
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
Abstract
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Housework and care work are gendered since men and women are expected to perform
different tasks that characterise their gender. This is called the gendered division of labour in
household which comprise practices of gender framed within binaries of gender, and where
hegemonic masculinity is held superior to femininity and non-hegemonic masculinities. These
binaries in the division of labour in the household, show that care continues to be feminised
and devalued. Given the gender-based division of labour, women, rather than men, are picking
up the added tasks of caring for family members. Furthermore, these binaries perpetuate
themselves with the younger generation as children become socialised in gender roles that are
aligned with their assigned gender. This research sought to explore how, through housework
and care work, gender is understood and constructed by children between the ages of 14 and
17 years old. The research used Xhosa households as the site of research. An outcome of this
research is understanding that the construction of gender is influenced by many factors such
as, the family, culture, societal norms, and the social environment in which children find
themselves. This research demonstrates that these factors influence how the participants
construct gender. Furthermore, the research demonstrates that when boys reach manhood, they
are free from housework. On the other hand, when girls reach womanhood, they are not
afforded that freedom and have a responsibility to continue with housework. The dissimilarity
here revolves around the notions of ‘rights’ versus ‘responsibility’, which further highlight how
the two genders are constructed differently. However, some of the participants resist the
imposition of gender roles and envision a different future for their own households.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Geen Afrikaanse opsomming beskikbaar nie.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Geen Afrikaanse opsomming beskikbaar nie.
Description
Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2021.
Keywords
Xhosa (African people) -- South Africa -- Langa, Household employees, Care of persons, Sexual division of labor, Langa (Cape Town, South Africa), Men -- Identity, Femininity, Children -- Xhosa -- Social life and customs, Children -- Xhosa -- Political and social views, UCTD