Van Wyk, Tanya2019-02-282019-02-282018-09-11Van Wyk, T., 2018, ‘Liberating possibilities of a new identity: A review of Christi van der Westhuizen’s Sitting Pretty: White Afrikaans Women in Postapartheid South Africa’, HTS Teologiese Studies/ Theological Studies 74(4), a5220. https://DOI.org/10.4102/hts.v74i4.5220.0259-9422 (print)2072-8050 (online)10.4102/hts.v74i4.5220http://hdl.handle.net/2263/68528In this article, Christi van der Westhuizen’s sociopolitical contribution in her publication, Sitting Pretty: White Afrikaans Women in Postapartheid South Africa, is reviewed. In light of the official end of apartheid in 1994, South Africans are attempting to define a new identity. Van der Westhuizen’s publication focusses on how the identity of white Afrikaans women, as both the oppressor and the oppressed, influences and contributes to the endeavour of a search for new identity. In deconstructing and re-imagining new identity, Van der Westhuizen deconstructs the ‘supporting scaffolding’ of Afrikaner identity and examines the impact of white patriarchal hegemony that silences the voice of women, sexual minorities and black consciousness. The review concludes with the emphasis on the transformative role of shame, that is, the willingness to expose the false sense of goodness that we had of ourselves, as pointed out by Van der Westhuizen. In this regard, the recognition of the intersectionality of people’s experiences becomes a key aspect of the endeavour of a search for new identity.en© 2018. The Authors. Licensee: AOSIS. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License.IdentityPostapartheid South AfricaChristi van der WesthuizenWhite Afrikaans womenApartheid in 1994Black consciousnessVoice of womenSexual minoritiesTheology articles SDG-04SDG-04: Quality educationTheology articles SDG-05SDG-05: Gender equalityTheology theses SDG-10SDG-10: Reduced inequalitiesTheology articles SDG-16SDG-16: Peace, justice and strong institutionsArticle