“Binne ʼn halfuur het ek wit geword” : snypunte van gender, ras en klas in Suid-Afrikaanse fiksionele uitbeeldings van voorkoms

Abstract

This article explores how intersections of gender, race and class shape the evaluation of women’s appearance in selected South African works of fiction. These texts include Pat Stamatélos’ Kroes (2005), E.K.M. Dido’s ʼn Stringetjie blou krale (2000) and Zoë Wicomb’s You can’t get lost in Cape Town (1987), Playing in the light (2006) and The one that got away (2008). The novels and short stories that are analysed in the article reveal the extent to which the different authors regard aspects of appearance, such as hair texture, skin colour and facial features, as determining the material circumstances of the female characters’ lives. In the process they construct a landscape that contains marked similarities to South African society. Gender, race and class can, however, never be regarded as wholly separate constructions. These axes are intricately interwoven and must be considered together in any attempt to understand standards of appearance. By means of a literary analysis within the framework of feminist theories about the intersections of gender, race and class, the article investigates the types of pressure that are exerted on female characters in terms of their appearance. The article illustrates that female characters often invest a great deal of time and effort in their appearance. However, it emerges that power relations in a racist and patriarchal society strongly encourage women to conform to Eurocentric standards of beauty. The article suggests that women are not engaging in trivialities when they attempt to change their appearance. On the contrary, the experiences of the characters demonstrate that this may be the only way in which women are able to exercise some limited amount of power in a context where they are oppressed - due to the intersections of gender, race and class.