Abstract
M.A.
The objective of this study was to explore the experiences of racism of a sample of educated young South Africans and to establish to what extent their understanding of racism is associated with demographic variables. The most prominent recent study on racism in South Africa was the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) inquiry into racism in the media undertaken in 2000. An analysis of the reports that comprised the investigation revealed two key weaknesses. Firstly, racism was not defined adequately. Because of this, and since the terms 'race' and 'racism' are prone to emotive interpretation, a brief historical analysis of the concepts was conducted. A second criticism against the SAHRC inquiry was its failure to engage the audience. This study was done partly in response to that challenge. The respondents were first-year Sociology and Mathematics students at the Rand Afrikaans University (RAU). Their conceptualisations and experiences of racism were gauged in a survey with quotations from mainstream newspapers in Gauteng. Key findings were that sex and race were both associated with respondents’ experience of racism, but that sex was the more important of the two. The joint effect of race and sex was however more significant than either in isolation, and white men were set apart from all other respondents by their lack of sensitivity to discrimination. In conclusion, the results were located in the broader academic debate on racism.
Prof. J.M. Uys Ms. J.E. Lochner