Bloedfamilie en gender en gender-identiteit van wit mans in die tekste Kontrei (Kleinboer) en Om na 'n Wit plafon te staar (Afrikaans)

Abstract

Na die 1994-verkiesing in Suid-Afrika het die posisie van wit, Afrikaanse mans (WAM’s) binne die gender-orde verander. Die vervlegting van WAM’s se subjektiwiteit met ’n dominante ideologie is deur die nuwe regering ongedaan gemaak. Gevolglik het veranderde diskoerse van mag en maskuliniteit al hoe meer in Suid-Afrikaanse literatuur ter sprake gekom. Hierdie verhandeling kyk na hoe WAM’s se maskuliniteit in twee literêre tekste, Kontrei deur Kleinboer (2003) en Om na ’n wit plafon te staar deur Jaco Kirsten (2009), manifesteer. Hierdie twee tekste is aan ’n stiplees onderwerp en, gebaseer op sekere teorieë van maskuliniteit, is sekere merkers van maskuliniteit belig. Beide tekste het die lewe van ’n WAM in post-apartheid Suid-Afrika as onderwerp en in beide tekste manifesteer magsverlies, onsekerheid, psigologiese gefragmenteerdheid en vervreemding op verkillende wyses in die manlike subjektiwiteit. ’n Eklektiese benadering tot maskuliniteit word in hoofstuk twee gevolg deurdat verskeie teorieë oor maskuliniteit bestudeer is. Die teoretiese perspektiewe van Jacques Lacan, Michel Foucault en Judith Butler word bespreek, aangesien hulle idees aangaande maskuliniteit suksesvol en ekstensief deur ander akademici toegepas is op die analise van maskuliniteit en literatuur. Psigoanalise en maskuliniteit word bespreek met spesifieke verwysing na die simboliek van die Oedipus-kompleks en die Lacaniaanse leegte wat maskuliniteit onderlê. In samehang met psigoanalise word maskuliniteit belig deur die falliese aard van die tekste en karakters uit te wys. Foucault se teorie oor diskoerse wat mekaar onderhou en terselfdertyd ondermyn, word in die tekste belig en die fragmentering van die karakters se maskuliniteit word uitgewys. Butler se herhaaldelike “performances” van die manlike rol kom in beide tekste voor. Verder word maskuliniteit as ’n sosiale konstruksie teen die agtergrond van Marxisme en sosiologie beskou. Hoofstuk drie kyk na die konteks waarbinne WAM’s se maskuliniteit in Suid-Afrika afspeel. In hoofstuk vier en vyf word die manlike karakters in beide tekste bespreek deur na hegemoniese merkers van maskuliniteit te kyk. Die man as jagter, soldaat en boer, beoefenaar van geweld en hoë-risiko gedrag, sy gebrek aan emosionele intimiteit, sy optrede teenoor vrouens en swartes as “ander”, sy seksualiteit, patriargale en fratriargale verbintenisse en politiese ingesteldhede word as merkers van maskuliniteit bespreek. ENGLISH : After the 1994 elections in South Africa the position of white, Afrikaans men (WAM’s) changed within the gender order. The intertwinement of WAM’s subjectivity with a dominant ideology was undone by the new government. Consequently, changing discourses of power and masculinity became more present within South African literature. This dissertation looks at how WAM’s masculinity manifests in two literary texts, Kontrei by Kleinboer (2003) and Om na ’n wit plafon te staar by Jaco Kirsten (2009). These two texts were submitted to a close reading and, based on certain theories of masculinity, certain markers of masculinity were exposed. Both texts have the life of a WAM in post-apartheid South Africa as subject and in both texts the loss of power, uncertainty, psychological fragmentation and alienation manifest in different ways in the masculine subjectivity. An eclectic approach of masculinity is followed in chapter two as a variety of theories about masculinity were studied. The theoretical perspectives of Jacques Lacan, Michel Foucault and Judith Butler are discussed, as their ideas have been used successfully and extensively by academics to analyze masculinity an literature. Psycho-analysis and masculinity are discussed with specific reference to the symbolism of the Oedipus complex and the Lacanian emptiness that underlies masculinity. Interconnected with psycho-analysis the phallic nature of the text and characters are exposed. Foucault’s theory about discourses that support and undermine each other simultaneously is exposed in the texts and the fragmentation of the characters’ masculinities are shown. Butler’s repetitive “performances” of the male role appears in both texts. Furthermore, masculinity is seen as social construct against a Marxist and sociological background. Chapter three looks at the context in which masculinity unfolds for WAM’s in South Africa. In chapter four and five the male characters in both texts are discussed by looking at hegemonic markers of masculinity. The man as hunter, soldier and farmer, perpetrator of violence and high risk behaviour, his lack of emotional intimacy, his behaviour towards women and blacks as “other”, his sexuality, patriarchal and fraternal connections and political predispositions are discussed as markers of masculinity.