User:Kathryndck/gap analysis

Gap analysis

 * What is the title of the article in which you identified a gap. If no article exists at all, what should the title be?

Zanele Muholi


 * Document the gap you found, describe how you identified it, and analyze its impact on knowledge.

When searching for artist Zanele Muholi, I found that her existing page did not specifically place her concern of lesbian rapes in the context of South Africa’s post-Apartheid era or explain the causal conditions of the increased occurrence of rape. This gap in information limits the knowledge of what factors caused the increase in sexual violence (esp. corrective rape), and therefore became the motivation behind her work. South Africa’s Apartheid institutionalized an imbalance of power all across the state and the effects of it are tied to the violence experienced by lesbians throughout the state. This additional information should be detailed on Muholi’s Wikipedia page because it helps to explain the reason for her artistic movement and sheds light on her artistic context. In order for an artist’s work to be understood, the context needs to be accessible.
 * Propose a paragraph of new or substantially edited content based on reliable sources. (If you are editing existing content, post the current version along with your edited version, and clearly mark which is which.)

In addition to Zanele Muholi’s pre-existing article, the post-Apartheid context of South Africa should be included in an additional section titled “Post-Apartheid Context” located between her “Early Life” and “Career” sections. Zanele Muholi’s work brings awareness to the post-Apartheid rape of lesbians, which is considered to be corrective rape but also has to do with power dynamics stemming from the desire to exert masculinity. During the Apartheid the institutionalized emasculation of black South African males triggered an increase in rapes targeting lesbians in attempt to reclaim the masculinity of black South African men. Muholi’s work is influenced by the intersectional experience of being a black, female, lesbian in the South African sociopolitical climate, which is damaged from institutionalized racism, classism and sexism. Muholi specifically addresses the oppressive nature of Apartheid passbooks in her photographic art, which isolated and dehumanized black South Africans. Butch lesbian women are of particular concern to Muholi because they are targeted by sexual violence. It is believed that the institutionally emasculated men feel especially threatened by butch women in South Africa because they are sexually unavailable to them and because they are considered to be competition for female companions. The black community in South Africa is essentially attempting to regain/reclaim their masculinity, through sexually violent crimes against lesbians who are seen as threats. Muholi emphasizes that it is not possible to separate factors such as gender, sexuality, race, class, or historical/political context. Although South Africa has a robust constitution, it fails to support the rights of the LGBTI community.


 * List the reliable sources that could be used to improve this gap. (You can use the Cite tool from the editing toolbar above to input and format your sources.)