Black Women In South Africa Research Articles

#BlackBodiesMatter

The purpose of this study is to examine the willingness and motivation to engage in body modification to attain an ideal body image from a cross-cultural perspective of Black women in the United States and Black women in South Africa. Semi-structured interviews ( n = 30) reveal that exercise is the most salient method of modification because it is inexpensive, promotes health and wellness, wards off familial health issues such as diabetes, and shapes the body to better fit clothing. Surgical methods are considered but, naturalness, costs, and potential health effects are viewed as deterrents. Both groups vary in terms of depicting what each group aspires to replicate through body modification. The findings in this article contribute to social comparison theory by expanding the theory and providing a lens for examining Black women’s body modification.

Vulnerability and Gonorrhea: A Qualitative Study of Black Women in South Africa

Vulnerability and Gonorrhea: A Qualitative Study of Black Women in South Africa

Ethnic differences in the association between lipid metabolism genes and lipid levels in black and white South African women

ObjectiveDyslipidaemia can lead to the development of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease (CVD), however its prevalence has been shown to differ between ethnic groups in South Africa (SA). Therefore the aim of this study was to investigate ethnic differences in the association between serum lipid levels and polymorphisms within genes involved in lipid metabolism in black and white SA women. MethodsIn a convenient sample of 234 white and 209 black SA women of Xhosa ancestry, body composition (DXA) and fasting serum lipids were measured. Participants were genotyped for the cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP, rs708272, B1/B2), lipoprotein lipase (LPL, rs328, S/X), hepatic lipase (LIPC, rs1800588, C/T) and proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9, rs28362286, C/X) polymorphisms. ResultsCompared to white women, black women had lower concentrations of serum total cholesterol (TC, P < 0.001), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C, P < 0.001), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C, P < 0.001) and triglycerides (TG, P < 0.001). There were significant differences in the genotype and allele frequency distributions between black and white women for the LPL S/X (P < 0.001), PCSK9 C679X (P = 0.002) and LIPC 514C/T (P < 0.001) polymorphisms. In black women only, there were genotype effects on serum lipid levels. Specifically, women with the LPL SX genotype had lower TC and LDL-C and higher HDL-C concentrations than those with the SS genotype and women with the CETP B2 allele had lower LDL-C concentrations than those with the B1B1 genotype. ConclusionPolymorphisms within the LPL and CETP genes were associated with a more protective lipid profile in black, but not white SA women. This supports the hypothesis that the more favorable lipid profile of black compared to white SA women is associated with polymorphisms in lipid metabolism genes, specifically the LPL and CETP genes.

1. Body composition measures as predictors of hypertension in urban black South African woman

Objectives: Hypertension is becoming increasingly prevalent in South Africa (SA), especially amongst the black population. Since body composition is a major risk factor for hypertension, it is important to investigate which parameter of body composition best predicts this disease. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether baseline and/or change in body composition, could predict the development of hypertension over a 10 year period in a sample of black SA woman. Research design and methods: This longitudinal study included 563 black SA women, aged 29-53 years, residing in Soweto, Johannesburg. Data on systolic and diastolic blood pressure, anthropometric, dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA)-derived body composition and simple anthropometric measures were collected at baseline (2003) and at 10-year follow-up (2013). Results: Over the 10-year follow-up period, all anthropometric [eg. body mass index (BMI): 30.3±6.1 to 32.6±6.8, p<0.0001], DXA-derived body composition measures (p<0.001) and blood pres...

Twenty years of democracy and the politics of reproduction in South Africa

Reproduction is political. This article is about how young women's experiences of pregnancy and motherhood in South Africa have been affected by politics. Early childbearing has been a norm for a great part of the twentieth century, particularly among South Africa's black and coloured populations. However, it was only in the 1970s that the issue of ‘teenage pregnancy’ was singled out as an area of concern and one that was worthy of study. The interest in teenage pregnancy emerged at a time when young black people were increasingly becoming more vocal and militant in their opposition to apartheid. They presented a potential destabilising force in the country. In 1994, the African National Congress (ANC) took over the reigns of power as South Africa's first democratically elected government. Once in power, the ANC, under the leadership of President Nelson Mandela, made addressing and correcting past injustices a key priority, particular efforts were made to address racial and gender inequalities. The article examines health policy and legislation with regard to women's sexual and reproductive rights. The article discusses three key Acts that were introduced in the first five years of democracy which had the potential to impact on young women's sexual and reproductive health. Using ethnographic and secondary data sources, I suggest that while the Acts were significant and even groundbreaking at the time that they were introduced, today for many poor, young black women in South Africa, their impact is negligible. The article has two aims. The first aim is to show the ways in which particular ideas about young women and their sexual behaviour have resulted in the development of policies that have profoundly affected young mothers abilities to parent – positively and/or negatively. The second aim of the article is to comment on the gradual movement away from the protection of women's rights that was important in the early years of ANC rule to the increasing disregard for young women's sexual and reproductive health rights that is currently evident in the Zuma era, as well as unabashed attempts to control young women's sexuality.

Building South African women’s leadership: A cohort model for the PhD in student affairs

Despite the presence of a historically male-dominated culture in leadership, gendermediated obstacles and challenges, black women in South Africa have the passion to develop professionally and move to higher levels as educational leaders. The current study assessed female students’ perceptions regarding a joint pilot doctoral programme between the University of the Western Cape (UWC) and California State University, Fullerton’s (CSUF) Higher Education programme, and their experiences while in the programme. Five participants described programme expectations, challenges, strengths, weaknesses, and programme completion. Moreover, the research focused on the participants’ future hopes, aspirations, and their observations regarding any changes in their professional and academic growth. Students expressed that coming to CSUF after their experiences at UWC enabled them to learn from faculty members with expertise in student affairs, which has further developed their knowledge concerning student development strategies, philosophy and history. Recommendations for the programme centred on increased cohort meetings, expanded programme resources such as research, student support outside the classroom settings, and the improvement of programme funding in order to provide more financial support to students. The importance of professional development and formalised training programmes, expanding research dynamics, and teaching components with international collaborations are promising practices to address the challenges and obstacles black women face in preparing to become leaders in South African higher education.

Outsiders within: non-conformity among four contemporary black female managers in South Africa

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to foreground non-conformity in organisational life as it relates to black female managers. My intervention here is to problematise organisational theory in relation to its limited ability to engage with affect and to point to a more generative framework. Through centering the body, the author also seeks to offer a counter narrative to the field of Positive Organisation Scholarship and its drive to primarily engage with happy feelings and harmony.Design/methodology/approach– The author gives a close reading of four black women's interview-based narratives to engage with the ways in which they refuse to conform to organisational scripts of happiness. The author makes a case for using both critical discourse-based and affective readings of everyday experience which social science readings cannot readily account for.Findings– Non-conformity has a number of local effects including negotiating the present from a position of alternative histories of struggle and cultural values, and holding different and conflicting realities and subject positions. Moreover, a reading of these women's accounts suggests that affect is both personal and social and can manifest in multiple, embodied, transformative, and potentially destructive ways. The author comes to new ways of understanding organisations and resistance when the author uses affect as an investigative lens.Research limitations/implications– By virtue of the close reading necessitated by the nature of the study, the sample of this research is small. While the intention is not generality, the findings of the research have to be understood in context and applied within different settings with caution. The implications of this research are that there remains an urgent need for critical-orientated research which centers affect in order to counter the growing positive psychologies which relegate asymmetries to the margins.Social implications– In South Africa where black women constitute the numerical majority, there is an urgent need to understand and reverse their status as a minority in management and social life. This research goes some way in explicating this process.Originality/value– While there is well-developed body of feminist research which seeks to study black women in South Africa, there is a dearth of research into black women in the workplace. This paper therefore presents an original look at black female managers by applying international theoretical tools to a context that is under theorised. This research presents new methodological and theoretical tools and analysis to the South African workplace.

Socio-cultural, environmental and behavioural determinants of obesity in black South African women : review articles

SummarySouth Africa (SA) is undergoing a rapid epidemiological transition and has the highest prevalence of obesity in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), with black women being the most affected (obesity prevalence 31.8%). Although genetic factors are important, socio-cultural, environmental and behavioural factors, as well as the influence of socio-economic status, more likely explain the high prevalence of obesity in black SA women. This review examines these determinants in black SA women, and compares them to their white counterparts, black SA men, and where appropriate, to women from SSA. Specifically this review focuses on environmental factors influencing obesity, the influence of urbanisation, as well as the interaction with socio-cultural and socio-economic factors. In addition, the role of maternal and early life factors and cultural aspects relating to body image are discussed. This information can be used to guide public health interventions aimed at reducing obesity in black SA women.

Amy Biehl and the ANC: A Scholar-Activist in South Africa, 1992—93

ABSTRACT In the twenty years since her death in South Africa in 1993, American Fulbright scholar Amy Biehl has been memorialised in numerous ways – by a historical marker in Gugulethu, a novel and play by Sindiwe Magona (Mother to Mother, 1998 and 2009), a documentary film on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (Long Night's Journey Into Day 2000), and the continuing work of the Amy Biehl Foundation. Biehl's death was among the most highly publicized killings in the turbulent period before South Africa's first democratic election in 1994. Although the circumstances of her death were widely reported – she was attacked by a group of militant black students chanting anti-white slogans as she was giving several black friends a ride home – relatively little was revealed about her activities in South Africa before her death. This article outlines Biehl's work in South Africa in 1992–1993 and shows that she forged close ties with leading members of the African National Congress (ANC) and did substantive research on the role of black women in South Africa's transition to democracy. In documenting her work, the article also reveals how Biehl tried to balance the roles of scholar, activist and outsider during a crucial period in South Africa's recent history.

A qualitative analysis of South African women's knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about HPV and cervical cancer prevention, vaccine awareness and acceptance, and maternal-child communication about sexual health

In South Africa, cervical cancer is the second leading cause of death among women. Black South Africa women are disproportionately affected by cervical cancer and have one of the highest mortality rates from this disease. Although the body of literature that examines HPV and cervical cancer prevention is growing in the developing world; there is still a need for a better understanding of women's knowledge and beliefs around HPV and cervical cancer prevention. Therefore, this formative study sought to examine women's attitudes, beliefs and knowledge of HPV and cervical cancer, HPV vaccine acceptance, maternal-child communication about sexuality, and healthcare decision-making and gender roles within an urban community in South Africa. Women ages 18-44 were recruited from an antenatal clinic in a Black township outside of Johannesburg during the fall of 2008. Twenty-four women participated in three focus groups. Findings indicated that the women talked to their children about a variety of sexual health issues; had limited knowledge about HPV, cervical cancer, and the HPV vaccine. Women were interested in learning more about the vaccine although they had reservations about the long-term affect; they reinforced that grandmothers played a key role in a mother's decisions' about her child's health, and supported the idea that government should provide the HPV vaccine as part of the country's immunization program. Our findings indicate the need to develop primary prevention strategies and materials that will provide women with basic cervical cancer prevention messages, including information about HPV, cervical cancer, the HPV vaccine, screening, and how to talk to their children about these topics. Prevention strategies should also consider the cultural context and the role that grandmothers play in the family unit.

Our Lives Through Embroidery: Narrative Accounts of the Women's Embroidery Project in Post-Apartheid South Africa

The study explores the meanings newly employed women attach to the notion of being “emancipated.” It draws on critical feminist and post-colonial theorists to investigate how Black South Africa women (n = 21; age range = 30–55) with experience of oppression and colonialism use embroidery to narrate their personal histories. Three in-depth, individual semi-structured interviews and one focus group were conducted using convenience sampling within the embroidery collective. Lieblich, Tuval-Mashiach, and Zilber's (1998) narrative data analysis model and Overlien, Aronsson & Hyden's (2005) focus group data analysis were employed to explore key themes of renegotiation of gender roles, racial relations and personal stories stitched into bags that travel the world, re-presenting the women to a global audience. Findings reveal that the embroidery project enabled successful re-negotiation of gendered roles at home and in the community. Perceived proxy control by historically privileged others undermined the sense of empowerment in the women participants.

The employment relationship in the domestic workspace in South Africa: beyond the apartheid legacy

Employing more than one million people, domestic service is one of the largest sources of employment for black women in South Africa. In this article, we contend that, historically, the impact of apartheid has been to skew the analysis of employment relationships in domestic workspaces in South Africa so that the power asymmetry and exploitation that so characterise these relationships have been labelled an artefact of the racist apartheid regime and its legislation. By reviewing literature on domestic workers globally and drawing on a study into the impact of the Sectoral Determination for the Domestic Worker Sector, which was promulgated in 2002, we argue for a broader understanding of this relationship: one that takes into consideration its global similarities.

Preference for dry sex, condom use and risk of STI among HIV-negative black women in the Western Cape province, South Africa

The practice of dry sex is reportedly common among young black women in South Africa. The aim of this study was to explore the relationship of women's preference for dry sex with condom use and the prevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis (CT), Neisseria gonorrhoea (NG) and Trichomonas vaginalis (TV) infections. Between January 2006 and December 2007, 446 women completed a behavioural survey in isiXhosa which assessed demographic information, sexual behaviours, condom use behaviour and other potential correlates. In total, 159 (36.72%) women indicated prefer- ring dry sex. A multivariate logistic regression model indicated that participants who preferred dry sex were more likely to report past STI episodes and to have a partner who also preferred dry sex. The findings indicate that dry sex behaviour was not directly associated with condom use and STI (CT, NG, and TV) prevalence but may have been associated with relationships in which sexual preferences of the male partner were dominant. : dry sex, gender role, sexual behaviour, condom use, sexually transmitted infections

Lipstick evangelism: Avon trading circles and gender empowerment in South Africa

Increasing numbers of corporations are vying to capture one of the largest untapped consumer markets – the world's poor – in ways that are not only economically profitable but socially responsible. One type of initiative that has gained increased traction is trading partnerships between multinational corporations and women's informal exchange networks, creating micro-enterprise opportunities that not only deliver soap and mobile phones, but financial empowerment for women. This article examines one such initiative – the trade in Avon cosmetics. It aims to determine the extent to which the initiative alleviates poverty, and fosters empowerment, among black women in South Africa. It suggests that as unlikely as cosmetics may seem as a vehicle for development, direct sales of beauty products can offer low risk opportunities for women to become entrepreneurs, and form a potentially promising route to gender-equitable poverty reduction.

Condom use promotion among isiXhosa speaking women living with HIV in the Western Cape Province, South Africa: a pilot study

The prevalence of HIV infection continues to increase among women in South Africa while there are few interventions specifically targeting condom use promotion in this population. We report the results of an experimental pilot study of a health education intervention aimed at enhancing coping skills and consistent condom use among HIV-positive women attending primary health clinics in the Western Cape province of South Africa. One hundred and twenty women were randomised into the intervention condition or a control condition. Both groups completed an interviewer administered questionnaire that included measures of self-esteem, attitude towards condom use, and self-efficacy towards condom use and negotiating condom use, and provided vaginal swab specimen at baseline and three months after the intervention. Tests for intervention effects at three months while controlling for baseline revealed that only self-esteem was significantly higher in the intervention group relative to the control group. No significant differences were found on measures of coping skills and condom use behaviour. Importantly, incidence for Chlamydia Trachomatis, Neisseria Gonorrhea and Trichomona vaginalis during the study period were significantly lower in the intervention group than the control group. These results are strong indications that this intervention could serve as a basis for the development of potentially effective interventions to reduce STI-related sexual risk behaviours among HIV-positive black women in South Africa.

HIV Infection, Stressful Life Events, and Intimate Relationship Power: The Moderating Role of Community Resources for Black South African Women

Background: Black women in South Africa are vulnerable with limited power in intimate relationships. This study explored whether stressful life events and/or HIV infection were associated with relationship power and whether the impact was moderated by community resources. Method: One hundred four women living with HIV and 152 women not living with HIV participated in individual interviews. Results: Undesirable life changes were negatively associated with relationship control. HIV infection and women's knowledge of community resources were associated with mutual decision-making, while frequency of family use of community resources was negatively related to female dominated decisions. Women living with HIV perceived their male partners as less dominant when they perceived their community resources to be more helpful. Conclusions: Power in intimate relationships may enhance the quality and length of life for black South African women living with HIV. Knowledge of and perceived helpfulness of community resources are avenues for promoting relationship power.

Preference for dry sex, condom use and risk of STI among HIV-negative black women in the Western Cape province, South Africa

The practice of dry sex is reportedly common among young black women in South Africa. The aim of this study was to explore the relationship of women's preference for dry sex with condom use and the prevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis (CT), Neisseria gonorrhoea (NG) and Trichomonas vaginalis (TV) infections. Between January 2006 and December 2007, 446 women completed a behavioural survey in isiXhosa which assessed demographic information, sexual behaviours, condom use behaviour and other potential correlates. In total, 159 (36.72%) women indicated preferring dry sex. A multivariate logistic regression model indicated that participants who preferred dry sex were more likely to report past STI episodes and to have a partner who also preferred dry sex. The findings indicate that dry sex behaviour was not directly associated with condom use and STI (CT, NG, and TV) prevalence but may have been associated with relationships in which sexual preferences of the male partner were dominant.

“Coming to Town”: The Impact of Urbanicity, Cigarette Advertising, and Network Norms on the Smoking Attitudes of Black Women in Cape Town, South Africa

This study was conducted to examine the effect of urban living on smoking attitudes among black African women in South Africa. We examine how urbanicity affects attitudes toward smoking and how it moderates the relationship between both advertising exposure and network norms on black women's smoking attitudes. Respondents were 975 black women currently living in Cape Town townships, some of which were raised in rural villages or small towns. Respondents completed a cross-sectional survey, which included data on smoking attitudes, norms, and exposure to cigarette advertising. Multiple linear regression analysis was performed with smoking attitudes as the response variable, and urbanicity, cigarette advertising exposure, and network smoking norms as primary explanatory variables. Interactions were tested to determine whether urbanicity modified the effect of advertising exposure and network norms on smoking attitudes. Independent effects of urbanicity, exposure to cigarette advertising, and greater smoking prevalence within women's networks were associated with more favorable smoking attitudes. In addition, urbanicity moderated the relationship between network smoking norms and smoking attitudes, but not cigarette advertising exposure and smoking attitudes. Urbanicity, cigarette advertising, and networks play important roles in women's attitudes toward smoking, and potentially, smoking behavior. Overall, our results suggest that strong and creative anti-smoking efforts are needed to combat the potential for a smoking epidemic among an increasingly urbanized population of black women in South Africa and similar emerging markets. Additional research is warranted.

Total daily energy expenditure in black and white, lean and obese South African women.

In South Africa (SA), the prevalence of obesity in women is 56%, with black women being most at risk (62%). Studies in the United States have demonstrated ethnic differences in resting (REE) and total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) between African American (AA) and their white counterparts. We investigated whether differences in EE exist in black and white SA women, explaining, in part, the ethnic obesity prevalence differences. We measured REE, TDEE and physical activity EE (PAEE) in lean (BMI <25 kg m(-2)) and obese (BMI >30 kg m(-2)) SA women (N=44, 30+/-6 year). REE, TDEE, PAEE and total awake EE were measured during a 21 h stay in a respiration chamber. Black and white subjects within obese and lean groups were not significantly different for age, mass, BMI and % body fat. However, fat-free mass (kg FFM) was consistently lower in the black women (P<0.01) in both weight groups. After adjusting EE measurements for differences in FFM, REE was not significantly different for either body weight or ethnicity, although 24 h TDEE (kJ) was significantly greater in the obese women (P<0.01) and white women (P<0.05). Total awake non-PAEE was not significantly different for either groups, while total awake time was only significantly lower for the lean groups (P<0.01). Total PAEE (kJ min(-1)) was significantly lower in the lean (P<0.001) and black groups (P<0.01). In this sample of matched, lean and obese, black and white SA women, differences in TDEE were largely explained by ethnic differences in PAEE, and were not as a result of ethnic differences in REE.

Restless worlds of work, health and migration: domestic workers in Johannesburg

The lives of migrant women have generally received far less attention than those of their male counterparts. Similarly, male migrants have been the focus of research on the relationship between migration and HIV/AIDS. Little attention has been paid to the vulnerability of female migrants themselves to HIV infection and their access to health care and treatment. Domestic work is the second largest sector of employment for black women in South Africa, and the largest for black women in Johannesburg and, as this article shows, most of these workers are migrants. Based on a survey of 1100 domestic workers in Johannesburg, the article explores the lives of domestic workers, focusing on their experience as migrants, their working conditions, use of health-care services and knowledge of and possible vulnerability to HIV/AIDS.