Medium Article Review Part Seven (TikTok Edition)

 The Archetypes and The Scales – Political Forces vs. Personal Sovereignty

In a previous article, I identified five distinct archetypes with clear characteristics and psychological profiles, each representing different adaptation strategies to patriarchal systems. The spectrum of archetypes that I identified represents the various ways South African women are “redefined” after navigating The Clash of Values in their relationships. So, if you've wondered what are these norms that I speak of, or if this is something that can affect you, that you've experienced, or if it's just stuff of the movies, I hope this conversation sparks an interest in looking at your and others' experiences thoroughly and through a logical lens for once. I believe that this framework moves beyond simple labels and captures the complex and often painful journey of transformation.

This comes from a statement I wrote in my article that states:

“In every romantic endeavor, one is bound to come out a redefined person. Before we go further, is it the worst-case scenario for one to adapt to this environment that doesn’t seem to care for sincerity and genuine interactions? Is it wrong to be the fittest to survive? Because I feel like women are penalized for being selfish and simply wanting to exist in a mental tax-free environment.”

I often hear the term "politically correct", and I wonder if political correctness applies to this excerpt, or if politics do apply at all in "matters of the heart". I've already discussed - in a manner of justification - the norms that black women face under the patriarchy, and I say justify because, as black women, strength is forcefully attributed to us, so much so that we have to prove that our pain is painful. I do want to clarify more on that by defining what the Political and Personal Sovereign Scale means.

The aim of framing the archetypes and the aspects that contribute to their formation was to show that there are:

1. Political forces at play—which in this case can be defined as external systems that shape women's lives, like how constitutional equality exists alongside an ingrained patriarchy in daily life.
2. And to show that Personal Sovereignty has to do with the personal assets and barriers that create different experiences of the same political realities. I want to show that a woman's position is not random, but is determined by the precise interaction between external systems and internal resources. Think of it as a game of chess: the Political Scale sets the board and the rigid rules, while the Personal Sovereign Scale is the skill, strategy, and pieces each woman has to play in a game she never consented to play.
   
   
   

                                                            Defining the Two Scales

The Political Scale: The External Battlefield

This scale represents the macro systemic forces that shaped and shape the environment every black South African woman has to and must navigate. These are pre-existing “rules of the game”; they are outside of our control, and they create the overarching clash of values.

The Political Scale Aspects

Constitutional Equality: We can define it as the legal framework of rights and protections. For example, the Bill of Rights in the South African constitution prohibits discrimination and grants women the right to security, dignity, and equality. This is essentially the Recognition of Customary Marriages Act of 1998, which gives a wife equal status to her husband. The biggest lie of note is that this is the promise on paper—a powerful tool that exists in constant tension with the next aspect.

Ingrained Patriarchy: We can define it as a deeply embedded social and cultural system that privileges men and male leadership. It contradicts the constitutional equality aspect in that it expects a man to be the head of the household, where his decisions are final, or the social shaming of a woman who challenges her husband.

That’s why you will find men saying things like “women these days have too much freedom, it wasn’t always like this,” referring to the past in which both black men and women were either colonized or under the apartheid regime, in which the laws then ensured that black women had no rights. Not taking into consideration the stark contrast between now and then, we can't and honestly shouldn't have to navigate today's world the way colonization or the apartheid regime intended for us to. Like I said, decentering men is also decentering colonization and apartheid systems.

Economic Inequality: This is the systemic economic disparity that disproportionately affects women. For example, the gender pay gap, higher unemployment rates for women, and the fact that women are more likely to be engaged in unpaid care work or informal low-wage labor.

My experience of this is that in my area of work, men, most likely artisan leaders/supervisors, prefer to work with men, and the reason revolves around “them not wanting to be tempted during work.” Or that I am more likely to fall pregnant as a woman, which will inconvenience them. Or the expectation that a man knows more about the job than I do as a woman, or videos being taken while working where the male colleagues will be making comments like “yeah she should work, they wanted 50-50 thinking they can do a man's work”, or a man not wanting to go out with a female technician because she is “too masculine.”

Cultural Traditions: These are the social norms, customs, and practices often justified as “the way things have always been.” For example, the norm of deference, the practice of patrilocality, and the distorted transactional view of lobola. I extensively dissected these in the previous articles.

The Personal Sovereign Scale: The Internal Arsenal

This scale represents the micro personal resources and circumstances a woman possesses in order to navigate the political scale. It is a woman's individual capacity for agency, resilience, and choice—and for those who are poorly positioned initially before getting into a romantic relationship with men will come out poorly “redefined”, it can be a woman’s lack of such capacity— the sovereign scale determines how a woman experiences and responds to the external forces.

The Personal Sovereign Scale Aspects

Class: This is the woman’s socioeconomic standing, wealth, and access to financial capital. Examples of this include, but are not limited to: let’s say a woman from an upper-middle-class family—she can afford a lawyer to fight for her marital property rights. These types of women also have a financial safety net to leave abusive relationships. Meanwhile, a woman in poverty may feel forced to endure abuse for survival.

Black men treat black women differently based on how close she is to wealth. Sometimes it's the opposite, where you find the man exploiting the woman's resources cruelly and harshly—something as a collective we are surprised by, because women with money are as close to whiteness as possible, and that is something most black men aspire to, so why fumble the bag? Maybe there's a revelation we should consider, and it's that patriarchy isn't just about gender; it intersects with class and racial aspiration, creating complex hierarchies even among black women.

Education: This is her level of formal schooling and knowledge. For example, a tertiary-educated woman is more likely to be aware of her constitutional rights, have a career that grants her economic independence, and possess the critical thinking skills to deconstruct patriarchal norms. While a woman with little formal education may be more reliant on traditional structures and less aware of her legal resources.

Urban/Rural Divides: This is her demographic and social context. For example, a woman in Gauteng may have access to support networks of like-minded friends, GBV shelters, and anonymous living, which can empower her to leave a toxic relationship. While a woman in a deep rural village may face immense community pressure, a lack of anonymity, and limited access to support services, making it harder to break free from restrictive and oppressive social norms.

Personal Support Systems: This is the network of people who provide emotional, practical, and moral support. For example, a woman with a strong “board of directors”—supportive parents, siblings, and friends who validate her experiences and encourage her self-worth—will have a stronger foundation to challenge injustices. While a woman who is isolated, and whose family prioritizes “keeping the marriage” or “the man that takes care of her financially” at all costs, has a much weaker sovereign position.

So by now you can tell that I think that we shouldn't conform to these norms since they are not our original customs or traditions. You can also tell that women, as a collective, are saying enough is enough. What does that mean for our future? If that was not your bone of contention, maybe it should. Which scale are you currently reading from, and what does your arsenal look like?

Look at me wearing a fringe, I need my forehead to come to the fore 😛😜