A visual analysis of 2019's #AmINext? movement

Abstract

As a result of Uyinene Mrwetyana’s murder in 2019, protest action under the banner of #AmINext? manifested itself near the steps of Parliament in Cape Town. When masses of predominantly female marchers assembled wielding protest signs, vocally demonstrating against the scourge of gender-based violence ravaging the country, it could be argued that this marked a momentous contribution to the annals of South African history. Therefore, in this dissertation, I identify, explore and interpret the symbols, visual tropes and myths of the protest movement. For the purposes of thorough contexualisation, other women-led movements are also explored by primarily focusing on their visual meaning-making by unpacking select protest imagery. These include images from the famed Women’s March of 1956, depictions of women in resistance photography during the apartheid era, as well as the intersectional feminist movements that mushroomed within the largely male-dominated spaces of #FeesMustFall and #RhodesMustFall. In doing this, the study seeks to offer a detailed visual analysis examining what can be deduced from the tropes, symbols, and myths captured not only at the #AmINext? march, but throughout some of South Africa’s most seminal protests advocating for women’s rights.