DIGITAL XENOPHOBIA: THE BULLYING OF ‘SELF’ AND THE CULTURAL CARICATURE OF A CRIMINAL NIGERIAN ‘OTHER’

Abstract

ABSTRACTMany studies have examined xenophobia in South Africa, particularly its black-on- black narrative and violent consequences. But what happens when xenophobic attacks are not directed at immigrants but those associated with them? A new form of xenophobia, proxy xenophobia, is emerging in South Africa. Using digital ethnography, this study explores reactions to an online story in the Mail & Guardian newspaper about United Nigerian Wives in South Africa (UNWISA). This is a support group of South African women married to Nigerian immigrant men; their aim is to combat the stigma they experience and the xenophobic attitudes toward Nigerians. The inherent nature of social media and computer-mediated communication allows for disinhibition and de-individuation that permit the cyber bullying of these women. This proxy xenophobia portends a troubling repercussion, as bullying online may lead to real-life consequences. For Nigerians, the cultural caricature of a criminal persists in their representation.