Keywords

9.1 Introduction

Online social sites have become popular platforms that marginalized groups in remote, rural and mountainous communities such as Phuthaditjhaba (South Africa) can appropriate to challenge limiting cultural practices and formulate alternative self-liberating identities. Social network users create new identities through self-branding to attract the attention of the intended audience (Stokes and Price 2017) and transform cultural beliefs and perceptions. Schweingruber and Berns (2005) argue that people construct self-identities by managing impressions of the self that others make of them. Online platforms such as Facebook have potential to function as sites where discourses of equality and the emancipation of women can be performed and actualized. Many cultures, of which many in Africa, do not allow women to use public platforms to celebrate their bodies and construct identities that deviate from what is seen as culturally acceptable. However, online platforms have emancipatory potential because they provide spaces for marginalised groups to break the glass ceiling of socio-cultural restrictions.

The objective of this study is to explore how women in Phuthaditjhaba, a remote mountainous area in the Free State Province of South Africa, use Facebook as a platform to discourse emancipatory identities that often go against the grain of established cultural practices and traditions. We focus on social media identities in Phuthaditjhaba because it is a remote area with limited opportunities and spaces for women to fashion desired identities without clashing with cultural norms and restrictions. Urban areas such as Johannesburg, for example, are likely to offer multiple opportunities for self-identity construction because they have less cultural restrictions and more platforms and opportunities. Our objective is not to judge female bodies or engage in a debate on popular conceptualisations of what constitutes beauty but to investigate how women in Phuthaditjhaba appropriate social media to assert discursive agency by projecting the female body in new and creative ways that challenge cultural norms.

According to Jakaza (2022), early researchers on online self-presentation focused on identity construction in anonymous online environments. However, in recent times social media users create online identities with their audience in mind (Sima and Pagsley 2010). In fact, social media has become an important platform where ordinary people can formulate desired identities often in ways that prioritise individual aspirations and sensibilities. Since online identities in the form of statuses and profile pictures can be shared with a wide audience, they can be used as tools to build self-confidence and social presence among marginalized groups. Hall (1993: 350) defines identity as “the names given to the different ways people are positioned by and position themselves within the narratives of the past”. Oftentimes, historical narratives position some groups more favourably than others, resulting in distorted histories especially for marginalized groups. In view of this, social networks provide marginalized groups with an opportunity to discursively participate in the construction of self and interject culturally sanctioned erasures, silences and omissions. Hall further submits that “identity is moulded with countless points of identification, the uneven points of closure that are made within the discourses of history and culture; hence, there is always a politics of identity and politics of position” (Hall 1993: 392). The politics of identity that Hall theorises intertwines with the politics of positions because those that wield discursive power also position themselves and others in certain ways.

Feminist scholars of the ‘Fourth wave’ such as Cochrane (2013), Chamberlain (2017) and Rivers (2017) to mention but a few, argue that women should have freedom to define themselves outside the limitations of cultural precepts. These feminists have embraced a radical discourse that celebrates the female body in ways that give women confidence to challenge oppressive traditions especially on social media platforms. ‘Fourth wave’ feminism is a movement that started around 2012 and relies on social media to transmit its messages. It advocates and supports justice for women against sexual harassment, violence, and sexual stereotyping. It also assists women to develop positive identities that aid sustainable development of communities. Sollee (2015) characterizes ‘Fourth wave’ feminism as a movement that centres marginal identities such as “the queer, the sex positive, the trans-inclusive, the anti-misandrist, the digitally driven, and the body positive”. All these social formations of feminist advocacy seek to open up spaces for women to celebrate their different identities without feeling restricted by cultural norms.

The notion of “body positivity”, which is central to Fourth wave feminist discourse, is liberating because it takes a stance against body-shaming, thus allowing women and men of different body shapes and sizes to enjoy and love their bodies. The performance of “fourth wave feminist” identities online has in recent years, helped women and other marginalized groups to gain confidence and develop self-esteem, attributes which are critical in building equal and equitable societies. ‘Fourth wave’ feminist scholars and activists insist that women should be bold enough to express themselves without fear of being sanctioned by culture and tradition. In fact, many women who use social networks as platforms for identity construction have embraced a quasi-fourth wave’ feminist orientation in terms of how they challenge oppressive traditions and create experiential identities.

The objective of the body positive movement is to boost self-confidence among women and reject standards of beauty imposed by media and society. This movement has tremendously improved women’s sense of self-worth especially on online platforms. In fact, some fourth wave feminists argue that dressing affects the way a woman feels about herself in society. Yet most societies continue to prescribe culturally appropriate dressing for women without realising how appearance affects confidence and self-belief especially in the public sphere. The situation is worse for plus-size women often disparaged as ugly and unhealthy in public discourse. African women with big bodies struggle to find confidence in a world that subscribes to Western standards of beauty. Members of ‘Fourth wave’ feminism, such as Tess Holiday challenge established notions of beauty that seek to shame plus-size women and force them to adhere to a standard of beauty that celebrates slim women (Knight 2020; Witt, 2020).

In some historic scientific discourse, the female body has been represented as an image of abjection, castration and maternity. Kristeva (1981) describes the female body as a ‘leaking corpus’, the maternal body that defies clear boundaries, threatening the solid borders of the symbolic and imaginary. Freud (1927) argues that the nude female body, with its lack of penis, evokes in male spectators a fear of castration, a fear that can be alleviated by a fetish. Throughout history, patriarchal societies have oppressed women and exercised power over female bodies and sexualities. However, the advent of social media and other internet–based technologies have empowered women by creating spaces where they can confidently celebrate their bodies and create desired identities.

In Phuthaditjhaba, cultural and moral values of the Sotho generally govern and sanction behaviour of women perceived as culturally deviant. Patriarchal codes that project female bodies as objects of sexual appetite (Meko and Nel 2021) enforce an oppressive status quo. Patriarchy has created a situation where women must view themselves as appendages of men whose selfhood depend on approval (to be liked and viewed online) from and through the eyes of men. The question is whether online platforms such as social media sites can improve the social status of women especially in rural communities where oppressive cultural traditions are still rife. Seckler et al. (2015 cited in Dobson, 2015) argue that young women seek to attain self-actualisation by posting images of desired-selves online. Social media is not only a space where women and girls can potentially attain discursive power but also a site where women formulate and perform alternative identities. In light of this, this study found that women in Phuthaditjhaba see online spaces as potentially liberating platforms where they can build identities and relationships outside the restrictive parameters of culture and tradition.

9.2 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women

Scholars such as Adeola (2020), Struckmann (2018) Onditi and Odera (2017) argue that in spite of global efforts to promote gender equality and empower women as articulated in the United Nations’ Agenda 2030, gender inequalities persist in most countries. In fact, a wide gender gap persists in Africa’s social, political and economic life (Adeola 2020) in spite of global efforts to promote gender equality. Moyo and Dhliwayo (2019: 258) note that “harmful cultural practices” in some parts of African continue to “dehumanize and perpetuate the subordinate position of women in the household and in wider society”. In light of the above, it is evident that women need platforms where they can not only share their experiences but also challenge traditions and practices that promote inequality.

Although international organisations such as the United Nations have come up with initiatives to promote gender parity, scholars such Koehler (2016: 53) criticise these efforts for being “economistic” or biased towards stimulating economic growth while ignoring endemic socio-cultural attitudes and beliefs that continue to keep women on the margins of society. The general assumption embedded in global commitments to eradicate gender inequality is that economic growth will, one way or the other, lead to gender equality and the empowerment of women. Koehler (2016: 55) argues that “women continue to face systematic disadvantage, both in the sense of deliberate exclusion from access to assets, for example, and in the sense of persistent attitudes and beliefs that women are weak, or inferior, to men”. Studies such as Agarwal’s (2018) examination of how SDG 5 speaks to the role of women in the agriculture industry perpetuate the economistic approach to issues of gender equality and women empowerment. In this study, we argue that women need to develop a sense of self-worth before (and as) they participate in public life. In fact, Peace Corps (2020) defines women empowerment as ‘‘a woman’s sense of self-worth, her decision-making power, her access to opportunities and resources, her power and control over her own life inside and outside the home, and her ability to effect change’’. Empowerment is not only economic but also social and cultural. It involves enabling marginalised groups to challenge received knowledge. The empowerment of women entails “the capacity [of women] to make purposive choices, the ability to consider [themselves] able and entitled to make decisions, and the ability to have a critical consciousness of [their] rights and gendered power relations” (Yount, Peterman, and Cheong 2018).

In view of the above, Struckmann (2018: 13) also criticizes the SDGs for “favour[ing] economic growth at the expense of addressing the structural drivers of women’s subordination and oppression”. Stuart and Woodroffe (2016) submit that empowerment should enable women to challenge and transform patriarchal structures of power that are responsible for exclusion and disempowerment in the first place. Reflecting on South Africa’s commendable efforts to meet the metrics of the MDGs of 2000, Struckmann (2018: 16) notes that “achievement of the MDGs is ineffectual in addressing the main obstacles that hamper the realisation of substantive gender equality and justice in the country, such as traditional culture, harmful cultural practices and other manifestations of masculinity and patriarchy”.

Consequently, efforts to promote gender equality and empowerment of women ought to focus on identifying “areas and structures that perpetuate gender inequalities” (Onditi and Odera 2017: 151) and redressing power relations and imbalances (Doğan and Kirikkaleli 2021). In fact, Onditi and Odera (2017: 148) concur that “the promotion of women agency” “has the potential of alleviating some of the traditional socio cultural disadvantages that deny women their basic rights”. The issue of agency, defined as “the ability to use endowments to take advantage of opportunities to achieve desired outcomes” (Onditi and Odera 2017: 154) is critical in promoting gender equality and the empowerment of women. The notion of agency involves “having voice in society” and “the ability to fully engage in public life” (Onditi and Odera 2017: 154). In a post-feminist reading of the United Nations’ Agenda 2030, Struckmann (2018:120) argues that SDGS ought to focus on “local issues of voice and agency” which are often submerged under the broad rhetoric of global development.

Chandler (2013) also argues that the empowerment of women and girls should not be limited to equal access to resources and power, but should also include the ability (or agency) to make decisions outside the pressures of culture and tradition. Therefore, the eradication of what Struckmann (2018: 20) calls “structural impediments to gender equality” is important if women and girls are to compete for economic opportunities with their male counterparts.

Moyo and Dhliwayo’s (2019) study of gender equality and women empowerment in Sub-Saharan Africa appropriates Crenshaw’s (2004) intersectionality to unpack the multiple systems and processes that create gender inequality in society. Women do not only suffer oppression because of structural economic inequalities but also because of cultural structures that favour men. In this study, we examine how women in remote communities such as Phuthaditjhaba can appropriate social media to curate new identities and challenge oppressive cultural practices. Women in Phuthaditjhaba use Facebook not only to highlight systems and processes that create gender inequality but also to construct alternative identities that deviate from cultural prescriptions. Moyo and Dhliwayo’s (2019: 261) study emphasises the importance of confronting “unequal gender relations which are constructed by culture, politics, ideologies and religion”. In light of this, we argue that the discourse of gender equality and women empowerment ought to focus on creating platforms for women to self-define and confront harmful practices that hamper their participation in the public sphere.

In most African communities, it is taboo to reveal or make comments about the female body in public spaces (Sobande 2020). Traditionally, a woman’s body should remain hidden until she is married. In this context, some African communities view the public display and celebration of the female body as shameful, embarrassing and disgraceful to the community. In Sesotho culture, like in most African cultures, cultural norms often prescribe appropriate dressing and behaviour for women and girls. A decent woman should not dress in a way that excessively reveals her body and potentially provokes men. Such cultural prescriptions often restrain women and make it difficult for them to gain confidence to participate in the public sphere. In light of this, social media platforms become important forums for the curation of transgressive and alternative identities that defy oppressive cultural norms.

Perhaps because of their affordability and accessibility, social media platforms have become modern battlegrounds where oppressed groups wrestle discursive power from their oppressors. Thus, young women who participated in this study used Facebook not only to contest repressive cultural norms but also to construct empowering and self-emancipating identities.

9.3 Phuthaditjhaba: A Brief Historical Background

Phuthaditjhaba is a remote rural–urban area located at the foot of the Drakensberg Mountains in the Free State Province of South Africa. A former homeland of the Southern Sotho speaking people, Phuthaditjhaba has experienced many socio-economic challenges since the end of apartheid. In fact, most of the socio-economic challenges that Phuthaditjhaba has been grappling with over the years emanate from the homeland system that divided South Africa into autonomous communities, called homelands, run by majority ethnic groups residing in certain areas. Although the idea was to allow different ethnic groups to self-govern and lead their own development, the homelands were often poorly funded, hence the numerous socio-economic challenges. Like most former homelands in South Africa, Phuthaditjhaba has a high unemployment rate and most of its inhabitants, especially women, children and the elderly depend on government grants for their livelihood (Napier et al. 2001, Makombe and Nyambi 2021). Most of the young women who participated in the study were students studying at colleges and a university in the community. Others were unemployed matric graduates staying with their parents and/or relatives.

Although people in rural areas including Phuthaditjhaba usually subscribe to traditional cultural practices, the advent of the internet and social media has created platforms where individuals construct new identities that deviate from culturally prescribed ones. Social media has had a huge impact on Phuthaditjhaba’s cultural economy because it brings people together and offers them a platform to debate and question oppressive cultural practices. Young women in Phuthaditjhaba have particularly embraced social media as a tool for self-liberation especially in the context of traditions that continue to allow social freedom for men while imposing numerous restrictions on women.

9.4 Methodology

The study used random sampling to identify young women living in Phuthaditjhaba who could participate in the study. We distributed posters in strategic places around Phuthaditjhaba such as shopping malls (Mandela Park and Setsing) and restaurants such as Steers, KFC and McDonald’s. The posters requested young women Facebook users between 18 and 35 years to participate in the study. We requested those that were interested to contact the principal investigator via WhatsApp. Although 37 women expressed interest in participating in the study, only 30 met the selection criteria, which we will later explain in detail. We used netnography as method to identify and examine how young women from Phuthaditjhaba use Facebook as a platform to construct experiential identities that offer possibilities for self-emancipation. Netnography is a methodology derived from ethnography of research online communities. In an ethnographic study, the researcher observes and interacts with participants in real life situations. An ethnographic study engages the researcher with the problem in a way that enables him/her to formulate a better solution (Reeves et al. 2008; Makombe 2022). Similarly, in a netnographic study, the researcher observes the behavior of participants online without necessarily interacting with them physically. In this study, we used netnography to engage with images and texts that participants shared on Facebook.

Since the study involved human participants and social media, we had to acquire ethical clearance from the University of the Free State’s Research Ethics Committee. Ethical clearance was important for the study because social networks have proven to be an ‘ethically’ problematic field for researchers. Online research deals with images and texts posted by real human beings whom the researcher may never meet. This requires the researcher to observe the principles of confidentiality and anonymity, which are necessary in any research that deals with humans. Participants signed a consent form they permitted the researchers to access their Facebook accounts and use the images they posted for the purposes of the study.

We adopted purposive sampling to select data (images and texts) from the participants’ profiles on Facebook. The texts included status captions, comments and/or responses made by followers on participants’ profile images. Purposive sampling was appropriate because it allowed us to identify relevant data that aligned with the research questions.

We focused on young women between 18 and 35 years because previous studies have shown that this age group is active on social media platforms. We excluded young women who resided in Phuthaditjhaba but did not have Facebook accounts or did not use Facebook frequently. We excluded men because the objective was to explore how the representation of female bodies on social media can offer opportunities for the creation of emancipatory identities. Textual and image analysis were appropriated as theoretical prisms to read selected texts and images that participants posted on Facebook. All the images and texts that participants posted were analysed in accordance with the objectives of the study.

9.5 Presentation and Discussion of Findings

The objective of the study was to investigate how young women in Phuthaditjhaba appropriated social media to construct self-emancipatory and experiential identities that challenged oppressive cultural practices and traditions. The study was framed by the United Nations’ Agenda 2030, which aims to achieve gender equality and empower all women and young girls. Available literature suggests that the United Nations’ SGDs take an economistic approach that does not take cognizance of the cultural realities of women living in remote communities such as Phuthaditjhaba. After a critical analysis of 30 Facebook profiles of young women living in Phuthaditjhaba, we identified ten self-empowering and self-emancipating identities that the women curated. The identities revolved around the discursive and visual representation of the female body in the public space against a cultural environment that sought to confine women to the domestic sphere. The 30 young women whose profiles we analysed sought to subvert this narrative by appropriating Facebook as a platform to create a new narrative about the female body and how it can be used to promote discourses of self-empowerment and self-emancipation. The implication is that confidence in one’s body and/or physical appearance intricately intertwines with self-empowerment. The Facebook profiles of the 30 participants we studied subverted Sesotho culture by celebrating the female body and using it as an instrument of self-emancipation.

After examining the Facebook Profiles, we identified ten identity categories that emerged from the data and named them as follows: Trend Setter, Yellow Bone, Slimy/Portable, Curvaceous, Confident and Full-bodied, Naturals, Sexy charm, Sexy and Bold, Queen Charisma and Perfection Belle. The identity categories encapsulated the different ways in which women in Phuthaditjhaba used social media to construct self-emancipatory identities that contested culturally correct ways of being woman. The table below shows the different identity categories that emerged from the data and the number of women that belonged to each category. We identified the categories based on salient self-emancipatory attributes that particular profiles exhibited. Some categories, such as Sexy charm and Sexy overlapped with each other, however, they had certain attributes such as boldness (Sexy Bold) and charm (Sexy charm) which they did not share.

9.6 The Trendsetter Identity: Empowerment Through Keeping Abreast with Modern Trends

The Trendsetter category consists of young women who seek to influence other social media users to embrace certain identities. Trendsetters usually follow the latest fashion trends so that they can maintain a cutting-edge online identity. For Trendsetters, dressing is an important part of one’s identity. Hence, they dress in ways that attract the attention of followers and viewers in general. Their dressing is designed creatively to put pressure on the audience and influence behaviour change in ways that confront oppressive cultural practices. Tight-fitting dresses, stilettos and handbags become appealing packages that Trend Setters use not only to “look good” but also to brand the female body as a medium of self-empowerment. Trendsetters’ choice of dress shows exactly what body parts they want the world to see such as hips, cleavage and flat belly. Trendsetters reveal body parts often perceived as “sexy” in public social media discourse. Thus being sexy becomes a way of gaining cultural capital that enables Trend Setters to influence followers online.

Trendsetters seek to create a peculiar fashion-based identity, distinct from identities of other women online. Nithyaprakash (2015) argues that “everyday fashion is an interactive process through which individuals consciously project their bodily self in a distinctive manner in the form of clothing style.” In the contemporary world, young women are bound by “a media culture in which ‘empowerment’ is frequently articulated through the way their bodies look, what they can do with them, and how they beautify and decorate them for diverse junctures and circumstances, so that their appearance often takes priority over what they can do” (Holcomb 2012). According to Florova (2014) dressing the female body determines image and way of life and it has an impact on how people think as well as their attitudes towards others and the world. Trendsetters know that dressing has a huge impact on perception by others (Florova 2014) especially among young women. Lewallen and Behm-Morawitz (2016) submit that many people now use online platforms for self-branding purposes. Trendsetters seek to influence other women to embrace self-emancipatory identities through dressing boldly and confidently, against the grain of restrictive cultural dress codes.

Khamis et al. (2017) state that self-branding involves individuals developing a unique public image or identity to gain commercial and/or cultural capital. Trendsetters create unique images that draw on and modify established celebrity identities. They brand themselves as expensive women who wear “sexually” “appealing” designer clothes. Although most women in this category are not rich, they refuse to be defined by their socio-economic background. Such identities become vehicles for self-emancipation especially in remote communities such as Phuthaditjhaba where women remain on the margins of development. In most cases, Trendsetters keep their online images “fresh” by following latest trends in unique online identity creation. Women in the Trendsetter category manipulate popular discourse on beauty and “looking good” to boost their confidence in the social media space.

9.7 Confident and Full-Bodied Identity: Empowerment Through Body Positivity

This category consists of full-bodied women who have a positive attitude towards their bodies. Fourth wave feminist scholars such as Cochrane (2013), Chamberlain (2017) note that full-bodied women are often subjected to body shaming especially on social media platforms. However, in this study, full-bodied women manipulate the social media space to create alternative narratives about plus-size female bodies. Confident and full-bodied women contest societal expectations about how women should look (slender and slim) by celebrating big and plus-size bodies. In most societies, full-figured women often face challenges related to body shaming and stereotyping. Similarly, most studies on full-bodied women emphasize issues such as body dissatisfaction, body shaming and health to suggest that full-bodies carry negative connotations. Scholars such as Thabethe (2008), Fardouly et al. (2015), and Shettar (2015) write that body dissatisfaction among young women can have serious consequences such as self-hate and suicide. Mills et al.’s (2018) study of full-bodied women indicate that some full-bodied women hold insecurities about their weight and general body image. As a result, the images/photographs that they like about themselves are those linked to the way they want society to see them. Papa (2010) also states that women face many challenges and frustrations on dressing when they first enter the world of work because popular discourse often labels full-bodied women unhealthy and ugly.

However, the young women we studied did not pay attention to ‘body shamers’, instead they celebrated their bodies and represented themselves as “alternative beauties”. Images that women in this category posted did not discriminate based on class or social standing. Regardless of class, all images reflected positive body aura. According to Limatius (2018) full-bodied women use body descriptors, such as ‘voluptuous’, ‘fat’ and ‘curvy’ to create a unique online identity. The terms ‘voluptuous’ and ‘fat’ are traditionally perceived as derogatory while ‘curvy’ is considered flattering and positive. Body image is important because it feeds into social and cultural comparisons that might affect a person’s sense of physical attractiveness and larger self-worth. This is because the body image, particularly the female body image, is a corporate entity that draws substance not only from one’s views of the self but also from the views of others.

9.8 The Slimmy Portable Identity: Manipulating Popular Discourses About Beauty

Research shows that most women go through a punishing dietary ordeal to gain and maintain a slim body. Young women are usually under pressure to align their identities with popular standards of beauty (Anaya-Sánchez et al. 2020; Willem and Tortajada 2021). Images in the Slimmy Portable category consist of young women who associate beauty with slim bodies. Like Trendsetters, Slimmy Portables manipulate popular discourses to construct empowering and self-emancipatory identities. This category presents itself as the opposite of the Full bodied and Confident category in that while the Full-bodied category contests stereotypical narratives about big-size bodies, the Slimmy Portable category manipulates Western representations of beauty, for purposes of self-emancipation. The Slimmy Portables do not body-shame other women; instead, they appropriate commercial images of beauty and healthy living to carve out a discursive space for themselves.

9.9 The Yellow Bone Identity: The Quest for Relevancy

In his seminal book, Black Skin, White Masks, Franz Fanon (1952) argues that whiteness is often perceived as a symbol of beauty (angels are white) while blackness is seen as a symbol of ugliness (the devil is black). McClintock (2013) explains that women of colour suffer from internalised oppression because society makes them believe that white skin is powerful and superior. This colonial mentality has caused many black women to hate their skin color and perceive whiteness as the standard measure of beauty. In our study of Facebook profiles of young women in Phuthaditjhaba, we found that light-skinned women posted revealing images to affirm public social presence. Like Slimmy Portables, Yellow Bones (i.e. light-skinned black people) also manipulated the “yellow bone” narrative in South African popular discourse to construct assertive and self-emancipatory identities. South African popular discourse often portrays Yellow Bones as beautiful, attractive women who deserve to be treated with utmost care. In fact, Yellow Bones present themselves to the world with confidence because they believe they are beautiful. Although Bizela (2016) posits that the desire to become ‘yellow bone’ and, therefore, white, through skin whitening practices, is a popular phenomenon among black people, the young women whose profiles we analysed did not associate themselves with whiteness. In fact, they used the Yellow Bone identity as a tool to navigate the public sphere and influence other young women to be bold and assertive.

9.10 Curvaceous Identity: Emancipation by Playing with the Male Gaze

The Curvaceous category consists of women with curvy body structures. The curvaceous body images that we analysed were generally in three parts to provide an all-round view of the body. Women in this category took advantage of their physical structures (curvy hips and buttocks) to construct self-empowering identities. Most women in this category preferred to wear tight fitting dresses, jeans and short skirts that exposed flesh and accentuated certain body parts. The postures and self-presentations of curvaceous women did not only challenge cultural norms that do not allow women to display their bodies in public spaces but also curved self-emancipatory identities through self-love. The images they posted demanded attention from viewers and forced social presence. Although women in the Curvaceous category also desired the good life like Trendsetters, they preferred casual dressing that could easily emphasise their curvaceous bodies. Stolovy (2021) observes that “the fashion industry is concerned with spectacle, display and creativity; it celebrates the edgy, the fashionable, the erotic and the transgressive”. Similarly, Curvaceous women celebrated the edgy, the erotic and the transgressive by posting images that traced the curvaceous contours of their bodies.

9.11 The Naturals Identity: Empowerment Through Self-affirmation

The Naturals category consists of women who considered themselves naturally beautiful. They did not use make-up to enhance beauty and often, they posted images in natural hair. In our analysis of the images they posted on Facebook, we observed that most Naturals preferred to show off their faces instead of the whole body. For social media users, showing the face is a self-branding technique that draws on the popular assumption that “the face reflects the self: that a person’s inner character or personality will shine through the outer appearance” (Featherstone 2010: 12). Naturals believe that the face has potential to leave lasting impressions on viewers and followers. Given that the natural look is associated with originality, genuineness and honesty, the Naturals appropriated the natural outlook to assert agency and subjectivity online.

9.12 The Sexy Category as an Identity: “When You Look Good You Feel Good”

Generally, “sexy” images of women on social media platforms, as in cinema, tend to play with the male gaze and male fantasies about the female figure as Mulvey (1975) argues. Participants in the Sexy Categories (Sexy Charm and Sexy Bold) posted images that showed a bit of skin to celebrate their femininity. According to Floyd et al. (2022), women who post semi-revealing images on social media seek to gain a sense of “grandeur” grounded in the seductive power of the female body. Most participants in this Category used lingerie to construct bold “in the face” identities that drew inspiration from what is popularly considered “sexy”. It is important to note that in popular social media discourse, the word “sexy” is not necessarily associated with sex. Rather it is associated with an eye-catching appearance that has potential to influence followers. Women in this category believe that when one looks good, one feels good. To be “sexy”, therefore, is to be attractive and fashionable and not to be an object of the maze gaze.

Sexy women wore silk or lace clothing to signify their yearning to escape the rigors of labour and social-cultural responsibilities. The images they posted on Facebook suggested “amused detachment, casual playfulness, flirtatiousness without demand, and lightness of touch …a delightfully unconscious relationship [with the] body” (Schroeder and Borgerson 1998). By posting semi-naked images online, sexy women make a bold statement of self-confidence. In the context of this study, sexy women used beauty and clothes to “stimulate desire in pursuit of power or advantage” (Calogero et al. 2007: 280) which, in turn, unsettled the patriarchal social order. Most women in this category used their bodies to defy cultural norms and traditions on how the female body should be dressed. According to Stolovy (2021), people use dress to express desired identities and often times women use dress to challenge established identities. New dress styles correspond with new identities that resonate with trending global fashions and give women, including those living in remote locations such as Phuthaditjhaba, a sense of contemporaneity, modernity and global connectedness.

9.13 The Charismatic Identity: Empowerment through Appropriating Discursive Power

Women in the Charismatic category did not derive subjectivity from their physical appearance or attractiveness like those in the Sexy category. Charismatic women had the ability to influence other women. They postured as decent, self-reliant and successful. Instead of using the body as a tool of self-emancipation, charismatic women took advantage of their likeability to assert social presence in the public sphere and inspire confidence among their followers. Although charismatic women had a good taste for fashion, they did not make it a mission to surf for latest fashions as Trend setters did. Some women in this category wore sporty outfits that made them look healthy, well-shaped and physically fit. The objective of Charismatic women is to embody an online outlook and character that is worthy emulating.

9.14 The Perfection Belle as an Identity: Breaking the Ceiling of Possibilities

The Perfection Belle category represents social media users who seek to portray the best look to their followers. They do so by dressing in expensive-looking clothes, assuming dignified postures and revealing a bit of skin in “appropriate” places. Perfection Belles aspire to embody all the identities that we have discussed above in equal measure. The “perfection” of Perfection Belles is attained through maintaining the right balance between hairdo, make-up, dress code, body shape and body posture. The Perfection Belle is probably the most expensive online identity to maintain because it occupies a liminal space between cultural conformity and non-conformity. In our analysis, we identified two categories of Perfection Belles, namely the voiced and the unvoiced. The voiced Perfect Belles are those who talk about their perfection online while unvoiced Perfection Belles let the images they post speak for themselves.

9.15 Summary of Findings

The advent of the internet and social media has created platforms for marginalized groups around the world to construct identities outside the confines of dominant cultures. As the findings of the study show, online platforms have potential to empower women and promote gender equality by providing them with spaces where they can construct desired identities outside the parameters of cultural norms. While most of the literature on Sustainable Development Goals, particularly goal five, focuses on empowering women by transforming their socio-economic status, we argue that gender equality and the empowerment of women should also include creating spaces for women to self-define and establish a sense of control over their identities. Online platforms such as Facebook and Instagram have potential to empower women because they offer them safe platforms to articulate desired identities in public spaces. The results of the study show that women can use social media for self-emancipatory purposes, to create, build and manage desired selves, which in most cases, have been suppressed by oppressive cultural practices. Although Phuthaditjhaba is a remote town, women in this area have successfully appropriated Facebook to build a discernible online footprint that has potential to empower women and promote gender equality. The different identity categories that we discussed above do not only seek to celebrate the female body as a site of subjectivity and agency but also to open a discussion on how women can use social media for self-empowerment and emancipation. We argue that the focus on material empowerment in the discourse of sustainable development overlooks an important formative pillar in the journey towards gender equality and self-emancipation. Economic and political empowerment, which is emphasised in the Sustainable Development goals, is only possible if women are located in an enabling cultural context that allows them to self-define without fear of being labelled “loose” and “indecent”. All the identity categories discussed above seek to find a space for women to particulate in the public sphere, which has, for many years, been dominated by men.

9.16 Recommendations for Future Research

This study focused on how women in an underdeveloped and remote community, Phuthaditjhaba, can appropriate social media to construct self-emancipatory identities. Future studies can explore how women in these communities can use social media for economic self-emancipation. Given that social media allows users ‘follow’ others, especially celebrities and influential figures, future studies can investigate how women in poor communities can use online connections to share business ideas and create economic networks. Future studies can also explore how women can use social media to create groups that share ideas on how to dismantle oppressive traditions and cultural practices and include women into macro-economic activities.

9.17 Conclusion

Remote communities such as Phuthaditjhaba usually experience economic exclusion because of their inaccessible geographical location and history of marginality. The United Nations’ Agenda 2030 comprises 17 Sustainable Development Goals that all member countries should realise by the year 2030. UN SDG 5 aims to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls. In view of this, this study has argued that the attainment of gender parity and empowerment of women requires platforms that prepare women to participate in the public sphere. Women in remote communities need access to platforms that enable them to challenge oppressive practices and build confidence to compete for access to economic opportunities with their male counterparts. Oftentimes, women in marginalised communities such as Phuthaditjhaba do not have access to support structures that can enable them to move towards socio-cultural and economic emancipation. Social media enable marginalised groups to access the public domain and voice their sensibilities. The 30 young women who participated in the study used Facebook in transgressive ways that challenged oppressive cultural norms and promoted alternative self-empowering identities. In Sesotho culture, like in most African cultures, the ability of women to make decisions (agency) is often thwarted by restrictive cultural norms. Images that young women in Phuthaditjhaba posted on Facebook portrayed the female body as a site of personal agency and subjectivity. To accept one’s body and celebrate it publicly is to gain confidence and confront traditions and practices that limit possibilities for women. The postures that women assumed and the way they dressed online communicated messages of power/status, confidence and class to potential viewers and followers. Facebook is a potentially liberating platform that enables women (and other marginalised groups) to curate new and alternative identities often suppressed in the offline environment. We therefore argue that people living in rural communities such as Phuthaditjhaba can realise the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals by using online technologies in ways that challenge oppressive cultural practices and enable them to build self-confidence necessary for economic emancipation.