Hope, fear, shame and frustration: Continuity and change in the expression of Coloured Identity in white supremacist South African 1910-1994

dc.contributor.authorAdhikari, Mohamed
dc.date.accessioned2016-03-22T06:45:41Z
dc.date.available2016-03-22T06:45:41Z
dc.date.issued2006
dc.date.updated2015-12-17T10:12:10Z
dc.description.abstractThis article seeks to explain the basic impulses behind coloured exclusivity in white supremacist South Africa and to elaborate on continuity and change in the processes of coloured self-definition by identifying the core attributes of coloured identity and outlining the ways in which they operated to reinforce and reproduce that identity. The central argument is that coloured identity is better understood not as having evolved through a series of transformations, as conventional historical thinking would have it and as the existing literature assumes, but as having remained remarkably stable throughout the era of white rule. It is argued that this stability derived from a core of enduring characteristics that informed the manner in which colouredness functioned as an identity during this period. This is not to contend that coloured identity was static or that it lacked fluidity, but that there were both important constraints on the ways in which it was able to find expression and sufficiently strong continuities in its day-to-day functioning for coloured identity to have remained recognisably uniform despite radical changes in the social and political landscape during this time. The principal constituents of this stable core are the assimilationism of the coloured people, which spurred hopes of future acceptance into the dominant society; their intermediate status in the racial hierarchy, which generated fears that they might lose their position of relative privilege and be relegated to the status of Africans; the negative connotations, especially the shame attached to racial hybridity, with which colouredness was imbued; and finally, the marginality of the coloured community, which severely limited their options for social and political action, giving rise to a great deal of frustration.en_ZA
dc.identifier10.1080/03057070600829542
dc.identifier.apacitationAdhikari, M. (2006). Hope, fear, shame and frustration: Continuity and change in the expression of Coloured Identity in white supremacist South African 1910-1994. <i>Journal of South African Studies</i>, http://hdl.handle.net/11427/18136en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationAdhikari, Mohamed "Hope, fear, shame and frustration: Continuity and change in the expression of Coloured Identity in white supremacist South African 1910-1994." <i>Journal of South African Studies</i> (2006) http://hdl.handle.net/11427/18136en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationAdhikari, M. (2006). Hope, fear, shame, frustration: Continuity and change in the expression of coloured identity in white supremacist South Africa, 1910–1994. Journal of southern african studies, 32(3), 467-487.en_ZA
dc.identifier.issn0305-7070en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Journal Article AU - Adhikari, Mohamed AB - This article seeks to explain the basic impulses behind coloured exclusivity in white supremacist South Africa and to elaborate on continuity and change in the processes of coloured self-definition by identifying the core attributes of coloured identity and outlining the ways in which they operated to reinforce and reproduce that identity. The central argument is that coloured identity is better understood not as having evolved through a series of transformations, as conventional historical thinking would have it and as the existing literature assumes, but as having remained remarkably stable throughout the era of white rule. It is argued that this stability derived from a core of enduring characteristics that informed the manner in which colouredness functioned as an identity during this period. This is not to contend that coloured identity was static or that it lacked fluidity, but that there were both important constraints on the ways in which it was able to find expression and sufficiently strong continuities in its day-to-day functioning for coloured identity to have remained recognisably uniform despite radical changes in the social and political landscape during this time. The principal constituents of this stable core are the assimilationism of the coloured people, which spurred hopes of future acceptance into the dominant society; their intermediate status in the racial hierarchy, which generated fears that they might lose their position of relative privilege and be relegated to the status of Africans; the negative connotations, especially the shame attached to racial hybridity, with which colouredness was imbued; and finally, the marginality of the coloured community, which severely limited their options for social and political action, giving rise to a great deal of frustration. DA - 2006 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town J1 - Journal of South African Studies LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2006 SM - 0305-7070 T1 - Hope, fear, shame and frustration: Continuity and change in the expression of Coloured Identity in white supremacist South African 1910-1994 TI - Hope, fear, shame and frustration: Continuity and change in the expression of Coloured Identity in white supremacist South African 1910-1994 UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/18136 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/18136
dc.identifier.urihttp://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03057070600829542
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationAdhikari M. Hope, fear, shame and frustration: Continuity and change in the expression of Coloured Identity in white supremacist South African 1910-1994. Journal of South African Studies. 2006; http://hdl.handle.net/11427/18136.en_ZA
dc.languageengen_ZA
dc.publisherTaylor & Francisen_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Historical Studiesen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Humanitiesen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.sourceJournal of South African Studiesen_ZA
dc.source.urihttp://www.tandfonline.com/toc/cjss20/current
dc.titleHope, fear, shame and frustration: Continuity and change in the expression of Coloured Identity in white supremacist South African 1910-1994en_ZA
dc.typeJournal Articleen_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceArticleen_ZA
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