The politics of respect: Gendered address terms in the Vhavenḓa community

Abstract

Gender-based violence remains prevalent in many communities, including the Vhavenḓa community, where language plays an important role in shaping social interaction and gender relations. This study explored how gendered Tshivenḓa address terms are interpreted and enacted, focusing on their role in negotiating respect, authority, social roles and relational responsibilities. The study was conducted in the Vhavenḓa community within Collins Chabane local municipality, Vhembe District, Limpopo, South Africa. Guided by African feminist theory, the study adopted a qualitative case study design. Twenty participants were approached directly by the researcher and, where appropriate, referred by other participants and their recruitment criteria. Data were collected through face-to-face semi-structured interviews and analysed thematically. Findings showed that titles such as ‘vhamusanda’ and assertive male postures function as culturally recognised markers of status and authority. Conversely, gestures of deference, including kneeling, bowing, avoiding eye contact and lying on one’s side, communicate respect and acknowledge social hierarchies. Participants indicated that failure to observe these forms of address may be perceived as disrespectful. The use of teknonyms and honorifics such as ‘vho’ further reflects local understandings of gender, authority and relational responsibility. The article concludes that Tshivenḓa address terms are culturally significant practices through which social roles, hierarchies and gendered power dynamics are expressed and negotiated.
Contribution: The study contributes to scholarship on language and gender by demonstrating how indigenous address practices shape everyday negotiations of respect, authority and gendered power within the Vhavenḓa community.