Gender-Based Violence and Digital Media in South Africa

Book excerpt: This book presents a new paradigm for attending to gender-based violence (GBV) social media discourse among marginalised Black women in South Africa. Focusing on the intersections of television and social media, the study charts the morphing and merging of the “inside” of the soap opera and the “outside” of the real world, amid a rise in feminist social media activism. The analysis begins with coverage of gender-based violence in a long-running South African soap opera and social media discussion of these issues, in parallel with real-world events and the collective social media response. The author offers pertinent insights into audiences in sub-Saharan Africa, presenting a new feminist trajectory for women and activism in the region. Offering new insights into an important issue, this book will be of interest to scholars and students of gender, cultural studies, film studies, television studies, sociology, development studies, feminism, media, and journalism.