MA GRADUATE COLLECTION
Traditional Afrikaner culture has often been associated with conservative beliefs, giving patriarchal figures such as the husband and father superior status. Although South Africa has undergone social progression, large numbers in Afrikaner communities still live according to old, patriarchal norms. My perceptions of Afrikaner masculinity, informed by my cultural background, enforce patriarchy's functioning in some Afrikaner homes, allowing the development of rigid expectations of a male's self-expression. These mind-sets of what masculinity is do not align with my values, beliefs, and the visual presentation of my identity. With the application of autoethnographic inquiry in this practice-based study, I was able to analyse and interpret the nuanced discrimination against the performance of my male identity in an Afrikaner cultural context. I implemented autoethnographic and practice-based methods to respond to and challenge outdated and conservative views regarding the prevalence of Afrikaner masculine ideals and their negative implications. The contribution of the research practice is FYN BOI, a fictive persona constructed and performed by me. He represents a liberated facet of my identity whose reaction is rejection against the Afrikaner cultural opinions of me, and in turn, is fuelled by the criticism to provoke further and challenge these views. The conceptual garments created are considered his wardrobe, which he uses in his self-expression online. With this unconventional approach to a fashion study, disseminating the research practice online instead of a physical exhibition allows for the study to be accessed to audiences beyond academia's domain. This undertaking intends to contribute to the existing discourse of masculinity and prejudice against individuals' self-expression of their identity.
* photography by Erin de Swardt @erindeswardt.photo
clothing by Dalton Smit
