Abstract
In this paper, I use discourse analysis as a framework to examine Facebook posts and understand how South African ethnic and racial slurs are used and responded to on social media platforms. I illustrate how language in general and slurs in particular work as tools for the negotiation, (re)production, (re)circulation and maintenance of particular ethnic and racial identities and representations. My findings focus on two interrelated aspects of the data: the first concerns the discursive features of the initial posts and the second relates to subsequent responses to the posts. The close examination of initial posts reveals the ways in which the original posters (OPs) position themselves and those they refer to using these slurs. Social media interlocutors recognise the words “kaffir”, “coolie”, “Hottentot” and “makwerekwere” as strongly tied to power and racial/ethnic identity and deliberately use them to provoke controversial debates and to construct “us vs. them” scenarios. The significance of the study is twofold: firstly, it contributes to literature that highlights the role of social media platforms as vehicles for racial and ethnic hate speech. Secondly, it underlines the complexities of race and ethnic relations in the country by highlighting the need for robust discussions around the way South Africans view themselves in comparison to out-group members, including other Africans.
Highlights
In May 2016, Matt Theunissen, a White South African, updated a Facebook status in which he was complaining about the Minister of Sport’s decision to ban the country’s sport federations from bidding to host any international events because they had failed to meet racial transformation goals
At the same time, he/she implies that the people he/she is apologising to were sensitive and were looking for reasons to fight and to be offended
As opposed to admitting that he/she was offensive because using the “K-word” is an offensive act, Lea highlights that the people he/she is apologising to took offence because they are sensitive and he/she in turn was insensitive to their sensitivity (“I apologise for my in-sensitivity to your sensitivity”)
Summary
In May 2016, Matt Theunissen, a White South African, updated a Facebook status in which he was complaining about the Minister of Sport’s decision to ban the country’s sport federations from bidding to host any international events because they had failed to meet racial transformation goals. The South African Human Rights Commission ordered Theunissen to engage in community service as a way of apologising. During the Arab trade in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries in South Africa, believers of the Islamic faith characterised everyone who did not believe in Allah as a kafir. Colonial groups such as the Portuguese, the Dutch and the English later took over the word and used it on the native Black people of Southern Africa to slander them and declare them inferior and as subhuman (Arndt, 2018; Baderoon, 2009; Hughes, 2006)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: International Journal of Critical Diversity Studies
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
