Gender and naming practices, and the creation of a taxonomy of masculinities in the South African soap opera The Queen
Date
2019-07-01
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Names Society of Southern Africa
Abstract
The field of scholarly inquiry lying at the intersection of onomastics and gender studies is one that is
under-researched. Seeking to contribute to emerging debates on how names and naming practices
shape the construction and perception of gender identities, this article examines the naming practices
in the soap opera The Queen, and how these help to understand different forms of masculinities.
By bringing onomastic and gender perspectives into the conversation, this article contends that
naming practices in The Queen are important signifying constructs that possess an elocutionary force
of validating and invalidating different expressions of masculinity. The taxonomy of masculinities
that The Queen proposes makes it possible to examine how certain masculinities are deemed more
masculine than others. The names of the characters, together with their corporeal deployment, allow
for a rethinking of what it means to be male or a man in post-apartheid South Africa.
Description
CITATION: Ncube, G. 2019. Gender and naming practices, and the creation of a taxonomy of masculinities in the South African soap opera The Queen. Nomina Africana: The Journal of African Onomastics, 33(1):1–8, doi:10.2989/NA.2019.33.1.1.1331.
The original publication is available at https://www.nisc.co.za
The original publication is available at https://www.nisc.co.za
Keywords
Naming, Onomasiology -- South Africa, Masculinity, Gender identity in mass media, The Queen (Soap opera) -- South Africa
Citation
Ncube, G. 2019. Gender and naming practices, and the creation of a taxonomy of masculinities in the South African soap opera The Queen. Nomina Africana: The Journal of African Onomastics, 33(1):1–8, doi:10.2989/NA.2019.33.1.1.1331.