Chapter 2: Modernity and identity in the 20th century
The definition will refer to how “identity is formed in the interaction between self and society” (Held & Hubert &Thompson 1996:597), with the inner core concept still intact. However, it is influenced by the constant dialogue with the outside cultural world and their ideas about the concept of self-identities they present. A high culture which originated in Europe maintain the high culture for the rest of the world and it was later followed by mainstream culture which is spearheaded by America as the country rewrote history and their ideas on how the world should be is filtered all over the world and ultimately affects they way one thinks and do things. European high culture was seen as a universal culture and now it has been replaced by American culture. Its ability to reach the globe and alter ideologies is made easily by the advances of globalisation.
The hegemonic change of power in which “a movement from high culture to American popular culture and its mass cultural, image-mediated, technological forms" (Hall 104), has altered what ones daily experience is, which is now easily accepted into the cultural fabric of a country.
Identity matters particularly when it is faced with a crisis that threatens its legitimacy to exert control on to the masses. Modernity transformed the way we view the world and its inhabitants, there has been a hybridization of cultures which affects identity. This hybridisation is impacted by ideology "which refers to a set of intellectual beliefs of thinking individuals that are stimulated, substantiated and constrained by the shared belief of society at large" (Yun Kim 2007:238).
Within the broader scheme of this study, Drum magazine has been the voice of the black people by covering articles that related to the cosmopolitan life that was slowly brewing while still imposing their own views and standards. This fixed and stable way of culture is transforming and this ”is fragmenting the cultural landscape of class, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, race and nationality which gave us firm location as social individuals” (Held et al 1996:596). Ultimately these universal cultural transformations change one's personal identities which lead to displacement in one's sense of self, and subsequently will create a crisis by because it starts ends up “de-centering individuals both from their place in the social and cultural world” (Hall et al 1996:596).
The following section will provide a brief history on the role of the media in the society as well as its power to influence society at large. The media has come a long way to become a self-standing entity that is not bound by the control of the government. In the 17th and 18th century United kingdom, the press media gained its independence, which removed any legal restriction and subsequently led to greater economic growth to function on its own , “however the key breakthrough is said to have occurred in the mid-nineteenth century when press taxes, intended to price newspapers beyond the means of ordinary people, were initially abolished” (Curran 2002-5).
This freedom gave people more information especially when it relates to political issues, as more publications were printed and covered an extensive area, the people opinions began to be a matter of importance.
Free media was further strengthened by the process of democracy, as “the media extended the political nation by making information about public affairs more widely accessible and promoting a culture of democracy” (Curran 2002-8), the press became more people orientated and less governmental based. Although this switch of power was a great victory for freedom of speech, the remainder of people's narrative centred on men. This point is of importance as it will be discussed further, the different discrepancies between men and women in the society are reflected on the covers of the magazines as women were not regarded less important than men.
Curran (2002-8) asserts that “in the early eighteenth century, patriarchal values strongly embedded in popular culture and reinforced the subordination of women”, the media preferred to celebrate men and their achievements in the society and depicted women in a different light which presented them in the traditional patriarchal norm. the media reinforced (Govender 2015-21)" the stereotypical beliefs that women are expected to be weak and timid or merely token female, whereas men are supposed to be strong and forceful”. Women were seen as gentle, emotional by nature, occupy domestic chores as well as serve the men as they conquer life because it was believed that men possess the mental and physical capabilities to do so.
Men strength to occupy social roles and take care of their families was celebrated and femininity was constantly reinforced in the media as the ideal characteristic needed to take care of the household. When the feminist ideology gained a revived momentum in the 1960s, it was met with unfavourable attitudes, particularly from the men. In the media such as women magazines, the publications was used to discredit the movement by placing women in social positions such as in the kitchen and playing with children that legitimate the claim of the ideal role women ought to possess .who were not in favour of this movement us
According to Curran (2002-13) ” whilst one strand of feminist thought subverted chauvinist argument by proclaiming the superiority of women, another strand placed greater emphasis on differences between women", which ultimately created a change when it came to the general idea around biology differences. It is the biological ideas governed the gender roles which were in place that span over two centuries. The media representation began to embrace women from all social spheres instead of a one-dimensional notion, however, traces of patriarchal values were still eminent in the magazine covers, which will be discussed further.
The media is indeed powerful as it is able to influence the mass audience attitudes by providing inaccurate ideas that reinforce a particular worldview. It must be noted that not all women are submissive nor do they lack ambition and the media do little to discredit this idea and that women are as strong and capable of achieving the same as men do. Magazines as a powerful tool of cultural identity construction can contribute to the formation of the beliefs and viewpoints of its readers. Its media language is used to transmit powerful message which places men as the general norm and creates a negative connotation of women within the society. Governder (2014-19) asserts that “apart from language in magazine content photographic images are powerful and they alone in the media can tell myriads of stories and shape consensus” and it is these visual representations of gender roles and heighten sexual positions can have a negative impact on the self-esteem of women.
Media has been at the forefront of reflecting and influencing how the society thinks and acts, the freedom of the media has made it, possible to debate these practices and its formation. As minorities, female representation within the media emulates from how there are perceived in the society at large and Drum magazine has reflected these gender stereotypes on their cover during the 1950s. the publication has made several changes during its inception phase and it is argued in this study that how the society views woman has been influenced by how women are depicted on their magazine covers and articles. It is because the “gender stereotypes are also constructed and perpetuated through the assignment of voice to messaging sources as narrators of the spokesperson” (Jere 2014-2) and it is these voices that portray men as dominant and women as subordinate.
Chapter 1: political context
The following section provides a brief history into the political history of South Africa, the political climate during the 1950s affected every sphere of life including the media itself. Drum magazine operated during a harsh time in the country and subsequently it influenced its choice of content that appeared on the publication with the two dominant ideologies such as patriarchy and politics. As a major voice within the black community, Drum magazine documented the true realities of the people while maintaining the broader discourse of gender stereotyping, which is created by patriarchal norms.
The South African political climate has been through many changes since the dawn of democracy in 1994. When the apartheid system was introduced in 1948, its practices did not favour those who were not- white and the majority of people in South Africa were not only deprived of access to basic services but were also sidelined from the mainstream activities of economic progress ( Nnadozie 2013:85). Apartheid policies restricted movement of those from African descent and active from political participation, which sparked resistance from the population and riots broke out nationwide as a way of demonstrating the disagreement of the laws. Struggle heroes such as nelson Mandela and Chris Hani fought hard to end the law and as a result of their efforts they served time in prison.
South Africa has a turbulent past, having been colonised by the English and Dutch regime in the 17th century. The discovery of the diamond minerals resulted in the Boer war between the Dutch and English and ultimately this led to the Dutch (Afrikaners) having majority power of the country. The apartheid system was a policy that aimed to have major control of the economic system which spread into the social system of the country such as education and labour. The introduction of the apartheid law was maintained by the use of white domination and subsequently the separation of the race occurred. A way of executing this plan was through control of movement with the introduction of pass laws and enforcing police brutality for those who disagree with the policy.
Racial segregation was implemented into housing, the government in charge separated homeland according to their ethnicity. These homelands were over populated and lack quality basic services compared to those of European origin. Even though people were separated to their designated homeland, people were still required to carry the passport to gain entry to the rest of the country. Resistance from black people intensified during the 50's and 60's as political parties mobilised the people against the carrying of passes, and a mass shooting in Sharpeville, which left many people died and wounded occurred.
The government enforced heavy punishment laws to theses that refuse to adhere to the rules put forth by those in authority.
Because the government of that time refused to give the people “equal rights, regardless of origin and equal recognition of all cultural traditions in the public sphere”(Adam 1995:459). All of these changes subsequently resulted into a loss of identity. The black community was treated as subordinates and their entire existence was controlled by those in power. It is therefore that the inception of Drum magazine gave a voice to the voiceless minority groups, at a time where the was none and full of chaos, still, the publication aimed to redefine the emerging black community migrating to Johannesburg by documenting their cosmopolitan lifestyle as well as the daily challenges in the country. The magazine has faced its fair share with the government, which will be discussed in the next chapter, operating under these harsh political circumstances was an immense challenge, however, the publication played an important role in forming black identity and pride.
The end of apartheid signified a beginning of an era where racial segregation is no longer a reality; people of all race and age were able to movement wherever they wanted without the restriction of a pass book. This democratic freedom ultimately resulted in dignity for the country. As South African attempts to dismantle the racial hierarchy post-1994, with a few alterations, Drum continued to serve the public. This research argues that traces of patriarchal norms from the 1950s onwards are still found in the publication and women representation cannot go unnoticed, the major change of cultural and capital ownership has been the mandate of the government, but yet one cannot escape the legacy of white supremacy created by the apartheid institution.