Subashini Govender

Subashini Govender is a final year undergraduate student majoring in Sociology and Industrial, Organizational and Labour Studies at UKZN. She describes herself as a dedicated student of Sociology and as a passionate researcher who is making her publishing debut in Undressing Durban. She thinks Durban is a flourishing city with much potential for growth. But she also stresses that there are many issues which need to be undressed and addressed for communities in Durban to reconcile and unity to be achieved.

In their co-authored chapter, Two women researching (male) ‘gangsters’ in Newlands East, Subashini and One Selohilwe interpret research interviews not as simple means or instruments for eliciting information but as social encounters in which relations are forged and identities performed. They focus on Carl, an ex-‘gangster’, examining not only what he said about being a gangster, but, also, the kinds of relations he established with them, the female student interviewers. In a group interview, Subashini and One were surprised at how normal these ‘guys’ were, but they also felt ‘uncomfortable’ because much of the men’s conversation revolved around women as sex objects. This collective performance of a particular kind of masculinity contributed to the sense of solidarity in the group, but made them (as women) feel marginalised and excluded.

Reference:
Govender, Subashini, and Selohilwe, One. 'Two women researching (male) ‘gangsters’ in Newlands East', in Rob Pattman and Sultan Khan (Eds.), Undressing Durban (Durban: Madiba Press, 2007), pp. 279-290.