Does the flirting behaviour of a selection of black South African youths differ from Western perspectives on flirting

Abstract

Research shows that flirting is found in all cultures and societies. However, very littleresearch has been conducted on the differences in the courtship and flirting behaviourof people from diverse cultures. Like all other communication behaviour, flirting behaviourvaries from culture to culture, and acceptable flirting behaviour in one culture might beviewed as inappropriate in another. Likewise, because all forms of communication aredynamic, generation gaps may lead to conflict as a result of differences in opinion aboutthe appropriateness of certain behaviours. Thus, the patterns of flirting behaviour areculture-specific and even generation-specific. Although there are research findingsavailable on flirting behaviour in Western and Eastern cultures, very few scholars haveresearched flirting behaviour in African cultures. This article provides a brief summaryof existing research findings. In order to gain insight into culture-specific views andopinions, a qualitative research design in the form of focus group interviews with aselection of black South African youths was utilised. The primary aim of the study is toexplore the similarities and differences between the flirting behaviour of a selection ofSouth African youths from an African background and Western research findings on flirtingbehaviour. Secondary aims are to explore whether some black South African youths’perceptions of acceptable flirting behaviour differ from their interpretation of theirparents’ views, and to utilise a qualitative research design in order to identify useful andappropriate variables that could be tested quantitatively in follow-up studies. It iscautiously concluded that there are both similarities and differences between the reportedflirting behaviour of South African youths from an African background and Westernresearch findings on flirting behaviour. Furthermore, most of the participants indicatedthat the flirting behaviour they exhibit is unlikely to be viewed as proper behaviour bytheir parents