https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/21514 2026-05-09T05:07:05Z https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/32446 My Research Journey into Family Domestic Work: Methodological Reflections of Conducting Research with Sister-Maids and Sister-Madams in Limpopo Bayane, Percyval Research has been conducted on domestic work in South Africa with studies focusing on domestic workers’ conditions during Apartheid and examining the little to no changes post-Apartheid. Domestic work in post-Apartheid South Africa involves the hiring of family and friends as domestic workers, and this is an under-researched area. As a young black man researching family domestic work, I was confronted with methodological challenges relating to negotiating access and conducting interviews with older black women hiring relatives and those working for family members as domestic workers. This reflexive paper reflects on my personal journey and experiences of conducting qualitative research on familial relationships in the domestic work sector, particularly with sister-madams[1] and sister-maids[2] in Limpopo. My paper contributes to the conversation on the significance of reflexivity in qualitative research, given how being reflexive assisted me throughout the research process to navigate my personal experiences, position as a researcher, and being a young black man, particularly in accessing participants and gathering data to avoid bias. [1] The term sister-madam was coined by Bayane (2019) to refer to family members who employ their relatives such as cousins or sisters as domestic workers in their homes to assist with all the domestic chores. [2] Bayane (2019) also coined sister-maids referring to family members working as domestic workers for their relatives such as sisters and cousins. 2025-12-01T00:00:00Z https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/32445 Reflexivity, Power and Positionality in the Field: Methodological Reflections of Researching Uber Drivers in Johannesburg Bayane, Percyval Researching precarious workers constitutes navigating complex methodological and ethical challenges, particularly in contexts marked by insecurity, power asymmetries, and mistrust. In this paper, I provide a reflexive methodological account of conducting qualitative fieldwork with male and female Uber drivers in Johannesburg, drawing on but not reporting the empirical findings of my PhD study. I specifically reflect on how my positionalities, informed by gender, class, and academic status shaped access, trust, and interpretation. These reflections highlight the negotiation of power dynamics, gendered interactions, and ethical dilemmas encountered in time-sensitive research with precarious digital platform workers. I argue that researcher reflexivity is not a procedural add-on but a core ethical and epistemological commitment, especially when engaging with participants in insecure labour contexts. By foregrounding these methodological dilemmas and ethical tensions, the paper contributes to debates on reflexivity, positionality, and power in qualitative research within the context of the gig economy and digital labour N/A 2025-10-01T00:00:00Z https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/32044 Exploring Heteronormativity and the Illusion of the ‘Real Man’: A Case Study of Sivuyile (Siv) Ngesi Maake, Tshepo; Smuts, Letitia In this paper, we aim to explore public reactions to non-normative expressions of masculinity within South African society. We argue that although society has become more accepting of such expressions, there still exists public criticism and heteronormative labelling of sexuality and gender. The case study of a local entertainment celebrity, Sivuyile Ngesi, is used to interrogate the illusion of the “real man” and the construction of heteronormative masculinities in the South African context. Ngesi’s personal portrayal of his masculine identity is unconventional and provides an example of an atypical expression of a Black African heterosexual identity. In the paper we draw on a range of local media sources, as well as an in-depth interview with Ngesi himself, to discuss an idiosyncratic vision of an alternative Black African masculine identity and the realities and implications around it. 2024-07-01T00:00:00Z https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/32043 A Quantitative Inquiry into South African Undergraduate University Students’ Perceptions of Religiously Sanctioned Homophobia Maake, Tshepo The paper investigates the factors that inform university undergraduate students’ perceptions of religiously sanctioned homophobia. Data was drawn from a quantitative survey conducted in 2017 on students’ perceptions of social norms, heteronormativity, and homophobia at a South African urban-based university. A total of 330 undergraduate students completed the survey. The study found statistically significant correlations between the factors of sex, degree of religiosity and family socialization and the undergraduate students’ perceptions of religiously sanctioned homophobia. Male students demonstrated more support for religiously sanctioned homophobia than did female students. Students with a higher degree of religiosity were more likely to support statements that enforced homophobia than did students with a lower degree of religiosity. Students who had been socialized in homophobic families were more likely to support religiously sanctioned homophobia than were students who had grown up in more tolerant families. The study did not find statistically significant correlations between the factors of frequency of exposure to religious services and place of origin and the undergraduate students’ perceptions of religiously sanctioned homophobia. The paper makes a substantive contribution to the limited South African studies that focus on the broader student population’s perceptions of religiously sanctioned homophobia 2022-08-01T00:00:00Z