AllPay and no work: spheres of belonging under duress

Abstract

AllPay and No Work explores the consequences of post-apartheid political-economic changes on the social fabric of Manenberg, a residential neighbourhood on the Cape Flats, Cape Town. I show that despite the important benefits of codified human rights for all, recent macro-level changes have meant that young women are currently struggling to establish themselves in their local spheres as socially valued individuals, or achieving "positive personhood". In a context of relative deprivation being socially valued is critical for belonging to "coping systems", the systems of support and reciprocity that cushion the worst aspects of suffering.