Abstract
Hunting is a hotly debated topic and has strong links to class, race and more specifically, gender. The hunting industry is gendered in that it is perceived to be an activity associated with particular masculinities and for this reason the hunting industry is greatly male dominated. Yet, women are negotiating boundaries and becoming a massive part of the hunting industry through different means. The research question asks, ‘what are the gendered experiences of women professional hunters in South Africa?’ Very little literature looks at hunting from a woman's perspective and previous work has failed to address the experiences of women hunters in a South African context or women professional hunters and their experiences as women in a field dominated by men. Therefore, this research project is important in that it concentrates on the gendered experiences of women professional hunters in South Africa by understanding how gender identities are shaped and acted out within the hunting industry and how women negotiate access to and build successful careers within the hunting industry. In order to answer the research question, formal and informal interviews with women professional hunters and other key players in the hunting industry were carried out along with participant observation. Through this, it was found that women professional hunters each negotiate access in their own way according to their unique socialised backgrounds and instead of trying to take power from men in the industry, they create their own power by forming their unique brand as huntresses. In this, they prove the true uniqueness and strength of the heart of the huntress.
M.A. (Anthropology)