The social identity of township youth: Social Identity Theory and gender (Part 2)

Abstract

Social Identity Theory in the Bristol tradition has been criticized for failing to pay adequate attention to the social context of identity formation. This article explores the possibility of expanding the theory to lake account of one particular dimension of social context, namely power with particular reference to gender relations. The article draws on open-ended, semi-structured interviews with working-class township youth in the Durban area, 20 women and 20 men, aged between 17 and 23 years. Interviews were analysed according to the trialogue model of identity structuring outlined in Part 1 of the article. It is argued that traditional SIT's conceptualization of gender is too limited to take account of the role played by gender in identity, and that the concept of ideology serves as a useful conceptual device for expanding SIT in this regard.