Lesedi Itumeleng Mashego is a research fellow pursuing an MA in Psychology (thesis) at Stellenbosch University. She holds a BSc in Human Life Sciences and a BA Honours in Psychology (cum laude). Passionate about African literature, she collects books in her spare time, with Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie as her favourite author. Her research explores gender-based violence and intergenerational trauma in Black families, focusing on how mother-daughter relationships shape the Black feminine identity in the context of family violence. She examines spaces of resistance and agency within these co-constructed narratives, uncovering their impact on identity construction and transmission across generations.

Current Research Project

Lesedi’s study investigates the construction and transmission of the Black Feminine Identity in the context of gender-based violence (GBV) within Black families, focusing on the mother-daughter relationship. Using a post-structural African Feminist framework, the study will examine how Black mothers narrate their GBV experiences, resist dominant constructions of the Black femininity construction, and shape their daughters’ identities. Additionally, it explores daughters meaning making of their mothers’ experiences and how this influences their understanding of the Black Feminine Identity. Employing qualitative narrative-discursive analysis, the study explores intergenerational coping mechanisms, agency, and resistance within patriarchal structures. By highlighting the lived experiences of Black women, the research challenges silencing, offers insights into identity formation, and contributes to discussions on breaking cycles of violence through intergenerational narratives.

Supervisor: Dr Samantha Van Schalkwyk

Email: 23553928@sun.ac.za