Convening Black Intimacy: Christianity, Gender, and Tradition in Early Twentieth-Century South Africa

During the first half of the 20th century, Christianity transformed Black South Africans' views on gender, sexuality, marriage, and family, influencing ideas about intimacy and challenging traditional practices. Natasha Erlank's book explores how Christianity reshaped Black intimacy, arguing that it was not solely due to migrant labor but also due to the spread of Christianity among educated Africans.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 280 pages
Publication date: 25 October 2022
Publisher: Ohio University Press

An in-depth exploration of the profound impact of Christianity on the beliefs and practices related to gender, sexuality, marriage, and family among Black South Africans during the first half of the twentieth century. This book reveals that the primary driving force behind the construction of modern Black intimate life in early twentieth-century South Africa was not the commonly cited influx of migrant workers, as previously believed, but rather the widespread adoption of Christianity. During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, African converts developed a novel conception of intimate life, which profoundly shaped their ideas about sexuality, gender roles, and morality. While this transformative process initially emerged among educated Africans who aspired to middle-class status, it eventually encompassed all Black Christians, accounting for 60 percent of the Black South African population by the 1950s. In turn, certain Black traditions and customs played a crucial role in the acceptance of sexual modernity, which gained traction due to its inclusion of practices such as lobola, where a bridegroom expresses his gratitude by transferring property to his brides family. While the ways of understanding intimacy informed by Christianity resonated widely because they partially aligned with traditional ways of life, others were drawn to the new ideas because they departed from established norms. Regardless of individual preferences, Natasha Erlank argues that Christianity has undeniably altered what Black South Africans consider to be their traditions. By asserting the paramount influence of Christianity on shaping ideas about family, gender, and marriage, Erlank challenges social historians who have previously attributed the primary factor to be the migrant labor system. Erlank draws upon a diverse range of sources, including popular Black literature, the Black press, African church and mission archives, and other relevant historical materials, to provide a comprehensive and nuanced account of this transformative period.

Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780821424995