Abstract
The study explores late adolescent conversations about gender based violence. A
qualitative, interpretivist and ethnomethodological research design is adopted in
order to gain insight into the views late adolescents have about gender based
violence. The male and female participants were in matric and participated voluntarily
in the study. The consent of the school, the participants and the participants’ parents
was obtained prior to the research being conducted.
The participants listened to the song “Kim” by eminem after which the moderator
asked the participants “what role does gender play in violence?” The conversation
held in response to the question was video recorded, transcribed verbatim, coded
and verified through discussion with peers and supervisors. Data was analysed by
means of content analysis and conversation analysis. This detailed method of
analyzing the data contributed to the validity of my findings.
In light of the fact that gender based violence continues to be a prevalent and
concerning issue both within general society and educational contexts a number of
recommendations have been made. The pivotal role that conversation can play in
influencing views and challenging attitudes both within informal contexts and the
more formal therapeutic context is noted. Recommendations for further research
include exploring the use of humor in serious conversations.