Masters Degrees (Sociology and Social Anthropology)

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Browsing Masters Degrees (Sociology and Social Anthropology) by Author "Beukes, Almaz"

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    Queering gender : the life histories of gender counter-normative students at Stellenbosch University
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2020-03) Beukes, Almaz; Francis, Dennis A.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Sociology & Social Anthropology.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In March 2016, members of The trans* Collective student activist group at the University of Cape Town brought to light the erasure of gender counter-normative students’ contributions to the success of the RhodesMustFall movement in 2015. Equally important, the Trans University Forum (TUF!) released a report in 2017 that compiled the experiences of gender counter-normative individuals at seven South African higher education institutions. The report evinced that universities are sites that marginalise and alienate gender counter-normative staff, students and workers. In this thesis, I explore the experiences of three gender counter-normative Stellenbosch University students as they navigate the university environment. I employ life history research to document the range and the richness of the students’ daily lived experiences. In contemplating the challenges that the students as gender counternormative individuals face, their resilience in negotiating these challenges become apparent. The students proactively resist the manifestations – and proponents – of the gender hegemony that endeavour to negate and invalidate their existence. The present research thus addresses the gap in scholarship that does not consider gender counter-normative individuals in higher education, especially within the South African context. The thesis also departs from past literature that has, whether deliberately or not, framed the lives of gender diverse individuals as altogether burdensome. Certain details of the students’ narratives affirm that the structural design and institutional culture of Stellenbosch University reinforces the marginalisation and alienation of gender diverse individuals. Drawing on queer theory, the thesis suggests tentative recommendations for how Stellenbosch University can work towards affirming gender diversity.