Lesedi Itumeleng Mashego is a research fellow at AVReQ 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). She is passionate about holistic wellness and intentionally nurtures her spiritual, physical, emotional, and mental well-being. Her research explores how Black women construct their feminine identities within the context of mother–daughter relationships, with a particular focus on the meanings ascribed to strength and womanhood.  Her research highlights the role of maternal influence, as well as spaces of agency and resistance, in shaping and transmitting Black feminine identity in contemporary South Africa.

Current Research Project

Lesedi’s study explores how young Black women in South Africa construct their identities within the context of the mother–daughter relationship. Her study focuses on the ways in which cultural expectations, societal norms, and family narratives, particularly those around womanhood and strength, are transmitted, negotiated, and sometimes resisted across generations. Grounded in a black feminist standpoint and intersectional framework, the research challenges dominant westernised and patriarchal constructions of Black femininity by centring the lived experiences of Black women. It seeks to understand how mothers or mother figures shape their daughters’ perceptions of what it means to be a Black woman, and how daughters interpret, embody, or reject these notions.

Supervisors: Dr Anell Stacey Daries, Dr Anthea Lesch

Email: 23553928@sun.ac.za