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they were amused by the absurdity of the logic intended by the writer, so theirs was a preferred
reading. The Zulu group’s ‘popular cultural capital’ was their personal experience fighting a
system that had excluded them from any social or economic recognition; they understood the
strategies employed by the Afrikaner men to take economic advantage of the situation and never
saw humour in the situation, so theirs was an oppositional reading as they did not laugh. The
Afrikaans group resented the stereotype of Afrikaans men wearing short khaki trousers and being
portrayed as being unaware of the economic changes of power in the society. Meanings the
groups expressed validated their social experiences not their subordination. They could thus make
socially pertinent and pleasurable meanings from the semiotic resources of the text by asserting
their social identity in negotiation with the structures of domination in South African society. The
changing role of women in South African society was a topic of particular interest among the Zulu
women.
In GU III the translating skill of Jabulani allows him to communicate meaning and
control the narrative since he speaks various languages oscillating between Afrikaans, Sotho and
English; language as a symbolic practice gave meaning to the notion of ‘belonging’ to a culture
(Hall,1997a:5). Freda’s Afrikaans group really felt the erosion of power for Afrikaans speakers
and responded negatively to many of the black images in SB. The Zulu women’s reading of the
stereotypes of the characters tended to resist the preferred meaning and when asked about the
black characters they were far more aware of gender inequalities than the Afrikaans group. They
seemed to singularly ignore the white characters in most of the discussion and the oppositional
reading. Their readings were tied to perceptions of power, and arguments ensued about the
traditional responsibilities of women, which were mooted by some and bemoaned by others.
Women were regarded as abused homemakers, with excessive responsibilities for housekeeping.
Thando’s bid for president was regarded as progressive, but a few stated the Beijing conference
had sparked unrealistic expectations for women. Many women now expected pay equal to that of
men because they wanted to be like men. The purpose of the Beijing conference had been to
advance the cause of women’s rights at a global level by bringing together women from as many
different countries as possible. However, the reaction of these women to certain issues
promulgated at that conference was significant, as the publicity generated by the conference had
made an impact on their subjectivity. A conservative stance was not universally accepted by the
group and thus the reading of women’s economic role in society was not resolved.
Convention