In 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. (shrink)

The focus of this reflection on Yolanda Dreyer's contribution to the academy is her research on gender, sexuality and marriage. The contributions she has made were written from a pastoral perspective and focused on pastoral interaction with women. The issues surrounding the church's view on marriage does not only concern the roles given to women but also the place and status that the church and society assigned to marriage as an institution. Her contribution in the area of sexuality is very (...) closely linked to the insights she provides in her research on homosexuality. How sexuality is seen has an impact on how homosexuality and heterosexuality are reflected on. (shrink)