Shona-Ndebele symbolic ethnic violence in institutions of higher learning: an analysis of male toilet graffiti at Midlands State University

Mangeya, Hugh

doi:10.1080/02572117.2020.1855716

Cited by 2 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…Besides, they are not considered taboo or sinful compared to other cultural contexts such as China (see Wang et al, 2020) or Malta (see Cassar, 2017). The absence of graffiti related to race (Yaziyo, 2018), ethnic tensions, tribal conflicts, and xenophobia (Mangeya 2020;2019) at the Scottish site, may be attributed to the differences in the student body's composition, as well as disparities in sociopolitical contexts between Zimbabwe, South Africa, and Scotland. According to data from the Edinburgh university website, over a quarter of students identify as Black, Asian, or belonging to a minority ethnic group.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The three entries all come with exclamation marks and drawings of a smiling face, a cat and what looked like two turtles or fireflies. The visual elements add liveliness, creativity, and sense of humour to the conversation-demonstrating a repertoire of literacy practices (see Mangeya, 2019Mangeya, , 2020. Indeed, besides anonymity and privacy, the written aspect of graffiti provides affordances not offered by face-to-face verbal encounters.…”

Section: Giving Support/advice and Encouragementmentioning

confidence: 99%

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“This Wall Does More for Mental Health than the Uni Does”: Theorising Toilet Graffiti as Safe House for Students

Victoria

2024

Innov High Educ

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Despite sometimes being considered unworthy of scholarly attention, the study of toilet graffiti, also known as latrinalia, has nevertheless garnered increasing interest among researchers. Graffiti writing still suffers from the stigma of being associated with transgression, vandalism, and a deviant subculture. However, findings from this study show that writing on the restroom wall can facilitate a unique form of communication among the writers. Drawing from semiotic linguistic landscaping and serendipity as methodological inspiration, this research explores data collected from a women's restroom at a UK university over a ten-month period. It examines how restroom users utilized the graffiti-covered wall as a safe house and a repository for their anxieties and concerns. The findings illustrate a palpable emotional connection to this specific wall, where writers seek and offer advice, share personal struggles, and provide mutual support to the extent that they see it as contributing more to their mental health than the university does. Through an analysis of the conversational threads present in the graffiti, this study underscores the potential for examining latrinalia within educational institutions to gain valuable and meaningful insights into the student body. The main implication is for educators to consider innovative, non-traditional ways of reaching out to students outside of the formal spaces of learning such as classrooms and libraries. This study, therefore, encourages us to reconsider toilet graffiti as potentially offering an additional or supplementary communication platform for individuals who might otherwise lack the confidence to express themselves openly through traditional means of soliciting feedback.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Giving Support/advice and Encouragementmentioning

confidence: 99%

“This Wall Does More for Mental Health than the Uni Does”: Theorising Toilet Graffiti as Safe House for Students

Victoria

2024

Innov High Educ

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“…Ethnic tensions between the Shona and Ndebele tribes continue to be felt in contemporary England, making data collection for this study more challenging [36,38,39]. Despite this challenge, data for this study were collected from five couples in Shona/Ndebele inter-cultural marriages and five adult children born from such marriages.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Conflict may arise when the husband feels that his language should be the major language the child should learn. Mangena and Ndlovu (2013) [36] found that fathers desired their children to be identified with their side and culture but were often away. Such tensions are common and contribute to some parents feeling uncomfortable about giving consent to inter-tribal marriage, hoping to prevent their grandchildren from having identity problems rather than seeing exposure to both cultures as an advantage.…”

Section: Children and Identitymentioning

confidence: 99%

The three-legged pot and the lasting impact of the Gukurahundi: Shona Ndebele inter-tribal families in England

Maendesa

Hakak

2022

Soc Work Soc Welf

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This qualitative study explores the lived experiences of Shona/Ndebele inter-tribal families in England, the challenges they face, and their responses to these. The findings show that the atrocities of the Gukurahundi continue to cast their shadow on some of these families. Disapproval of the marriage from one or both sides of the couple's parents leads to the couple's parents' subsequent lack of interest in the children born in these families. This is then extended to the wider family. Gender imbalances, culture shock and communication difficulties were other challenges faced by such couples. Couples learned to compromise and bring their cultures together, for example through cooking. The three-legged pot' metaphor was used by older women to teach younger, mainly Ndebele, women to accept male infidelity. This study will inform practitioners working with such couples as well as other mixed couples, especially those originating from areas of conflict.

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Shona-Ndebele symbolic ethnic violence in institutions of higher learning: an analysis of male toilet graffiti at Midlands State University

Cited by 2 publications

References 14 publications

“This Wall Does More for Mental Health than the Uni Does”: Theorising Toilet Graffiti as Safe House for Students

“This Wall Does More for Mental Health than the Uni Does”: Theorising Toilet Graffiti as Safe House for Students

The three-legged pot and the lasting impact of the Gukurahundi: Shona Ndebele inter-tribal families in England

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