Confessional testimony and performance: Exploring the rituals of gender as experienced by former South African Defence Force conscripts through embodied storytelling

Abstract

There is a growing research focus on gendered institutions, driven by the need to understand and dismantle the pervasive gender inequalities that constrain social, political, and economic equity, justice and flourishing. Institutions such as family, education, media, religion, and government define societal norms and roles, and aligning them with power structures, deeply influence and shape how gender is understood and expressed within a society. The gendered nature of institutions matters because it creates and perpetuates unequal access to resources and opportunities, leading to negative material, social and psychological consequences. Military organisation, along with certain religious institutions, are some of the most gendered and the most male dominated, masculinised of institutions. Between 1967 and 1994 the South African Defence Force (SADF) enforced the conscription of men only, and specifically white men, thereby ensuring that the military institution was a male-dominated, racially specific one. The military culture within the SADF was heavily influenced by hypermasculine values, and it othered Black and marginal masculinities, gay men, and women. In the conscription scenario, not only did one have to undergo military training as a result of being classified a man, but to be considered a man, one had to undergo military training. The link between white South African masculinity and the military was constructed, maintained and reinforced during Apartheid, both formally and informally. In institutions such as the military there are empirical manifestations of institutional power, including observable behaviour, codified rules, cultural and abstract symbols, and socially shared norms. This interdisciplinary thesis investigates the SADF as a fundamentally gendered institution, examining how it systematically constructed and enforced hypermasculine norms during the conscription era (1967-1994). Moving beyond a purely racial or political analysis, the study makes three primary contributions to the field of military and gender studies. First, it reframes the SADF through the lens of institutional gendering, demonstrating how military service functioned as a mandatory rite of passage essential to the social construction of white South African manhood. Second, the research assembles a unique corpus of confessional testimony from former conscripts. By translating their lived experiences into creative output, the project serves to visually archive an insight into a historically specific, multifaceted masculinity that is not foregrounded within the official military narrative. This 'visual archiving' through practice ensures that vulnerable histories are preserved in a medium that reflects their embodied nature. Third, the thesis advances a hybrid methodological model in which qualitative analysis and performative practice are mutually generative. By positioning artistic process as a rigorous mode of inquiry, the study demonstrates how intentional physical exploration and 'performing the archive' uncover nuances of institutional power that remain inaccessible through verbal articulation alone. Ultimately, the methodology focuses on uncovering the embodied nature of both the gendering processes within the SADF and the research process itself, asserting the value of practice-driven methods in fostering authentic connections and developing new expressive frameworks within the academic discipline.