https://glenpherd.com glenpherd Mon, 09 Feb 2026 10:12:17 +0000 https://glenpherd.com en https://glenpherd.com/About-me Fri, 02 Aug 2024 16:34:04 +0000 glenpherd https://glenpherd.com/About-me (Soul) food for thought (with Caribbean seasoning)Professional nitpicker &amp; woke killjoyVisual culture &amp; lens-based researchBorn and raised on Curaçao—a young island nation navigating the complexities of rapid changes and a legacy of colonialism—I bring an acute awareness of the transformative potential in addressing issues at the intersection of art, culture, ecology, and identity. I apply postcolonial, anthropological, and critical theory to my work—combining incisive cultural analysis with reflexive knowledge production.&nbsp;With my public scholarship and artistic research, I explore how histories are constructed, whose voices are amplified, and how knowledge circulates across disciplines and media. Throughout my career, I have cultivated a deep interest in visual culture, archival practices, and Caribbean orature, all of which serve as central themes in my work. https://glenpherd.com/Framing-Femicide Mon, 09 Feb 2026 10:12:17 +0000 glenpherd https://glenpherd.com/Framing-Femicide Framing Femicide in the NetherlandsAnalysing Media and Audience Discourses on Xco-authored with A. Hamel, D. Houtman, K. de Koning, and S. J. Krabbendam &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; In the last few months, articles about femicide cases in the Netherlands have increased significantly (NPO Funx 2025; JOOP 2025; Van Spronsen and de Vries 2025). Femicide is a form of violence that affects all women, independent of status, religion or race. Between 2018 and 2022, in 172 out of 217 reported cases of femicide, the perpetrator was found to be someone from the victim’s domestic environment—most often an ex-partner (51 percent) (Rijksoverheid 2024). Since 2022, political attention to femicide has increased, yet the number of cases has not decreased. There has also been a greater focus on improved police recognition of violence and earlier intervention by organisations such as Veilig Thuis. Furthermore, the government launched Stop Femicide! in 2024—an action plan to combat lethal violence against women (Rijksoverheid 2025). It is apparent, however, that these approaches have not led to significant change: this year alone, 26 women had already been killed by August (EWMagazine 2025). The problem of femicide has sparked wide debate and speculation in the Netherlands about its societal impact and root causes. Such discussions are especially lively in online environments like X (formerly known as Twitter), one of the largest social media platforms in the world.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Departing from a social constructivist framework—wherein knowledge, perception and reality are the result of human interaction and sociocultural factors—this paper investigates how social media users on X make sense of femicide causes in their online engagement with Dutch news coverage by NOS of gender-related killings of women in 2025. By zooming in on femicide news coverage and user responses to it, this research aims to provide an interdisciplinary exploration of these social media users’ sense-making of femicide causes in online social networking environments. In this way, we sought to gain a deeper understanding of how the audience’s knowledge about femicide causes is constructed in these mediated producer-consumer interactions. On the media production end, we firstly investigated the framing of femicide by Dutch broadcasting organisation NOS—i.e., how the Dutch news outlet frames causes of femicide in the Netherlands to audiences on X. From a consumer perspective, we looked at what main causes of femicide are conveyed by social media users in their engagement with NOS posts about femicide on X. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; The literature review explores the concepts ‘femicide’, ‘structural violence’, ‘symbolic violence’, ‘securitisation’, ‘intersectionality’ and ‘Othering’, which informs our analytical lens. The methodology section elaborates our interdisciplinary approach which combines discourse analysis and digital ethnography. Finally, some research limitations are briefly discussed. Methodology &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Our approach draws from methods that bridge academic strands of anthropology and postcolonial studies to clarify how media production and audience consumption co-construct situated understandings of femicide causes in the Netherlands through exchanges on the social networking service X. To that end, digital ethnography and discourse analysis were combined in an analytical framework following the four-stage model described by Diphoorn et al. (2023): disciplinary grounding, perspective-taking, finding common ground, and integration. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Anthropology is a field of study focused on the sociocultural development and experience of humans (The American Anthropological Association 2025). With the advent of the internet and subsequent proliferation of online community-building, digital ethnography takes the traditional anthropological method of ethnography—typically reliant on in-person investigation—to the digital realm. While it poses unique theoretical, practical and ethical challenges for researchers, it is also a method that lends itself well to experimentation and interdisciplinarity (Dean 2023). Digital ethnography can facilitate fruitful exchanges between theory and practice of the humanities and social sciences—especially when it comes to textual approaches. As such, its ethnographic methods are particularly suitable for researching social media platforms like X, given that user engagement is mostly text-based.[1] &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; The study of cultural texts lies at the heart of postcolonialism, a field of study focused broadly on the impact of colonialism. Based on the notion that “[discourses] constitute and produce our sense of reality and objects of knowledge,” postcolonial thought explores theories of colonial discourses to look at cultural representations and modes of perception that reflect historical conditions (McLeod 2010, 38). Discourse analysis is a documentary analysis method of the social sciences and humanities that examines the functions of written and spoken language. Particularly, as it affects the construction and interpretation of meaning through social interactions—in this case online—that mirror power dimensions (Hall 1997). In this sense, discourse analysis in postcolonialism addresses “the complicity of knowledge, representation and culture in the operation of power at any given moment and in any specific location” (McLeod 2010, 38). &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; By combining these methods, our research, on the one hand, offers an ethnographic account of how X users make sense of femicide as reported by Dutch news outlet NOS on the platform. On the other hand, our discourse analysis reveals how knowledge about femicide is discursively pre-shaped through the framings used by this outlet, influencing what users know about the subject and how they understand it. In conjunction, digital ethnography grounds our inquiry in lived online practices, while discourse analysis situates these practices within broader ideological formations. Together, they generate an interdisciplinary and theoretically rigorous understanding of how discourse enacts specific narratives, meanings, and knowledge about femicide among X users in the Netherlands. [1] From a media studies perspective, images and graphics can also be ‘read’ as texts and are commonly referred to as media texts.Literature Review &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Scholarly discussions of femicide often begin with the recognition that it is not only a crime against individuals, but also a phenomenon rooted in wider social structures. French (2024) defines femicide as “a gendered form of violence that targets women because of their social identity” (90). She stressed that the persistence of femicide, the failures of states to prevent or resolve these crimes, and their underrepresentation in official statistics constitute a global crisis. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Farmer (2004) provides an anthropological explanation for certain persistent forms of harm with the term ‘structural violence’, which he defines as “violence exerted systematically—that is, indirectly—by everyone who belongs to a certain social order” (307). By normalising male dominance, structural violence is collectively sustained by making women’s suffering appear natural rather than socially produced. His concept shares theoretical connections with symbolic violence—where the dominant group imposes their values to make others seem inferior and establish a hierarchy of power between social groups (Glebbeek 2025, 26). Symbolic violence shows the “connection between real-life violent practices and socio-political themes such as power, control, and domination” (Mishra 2022, 3). These dominant actors enforce a form of internalised humiliation that makes disempowered social groups, like women, accept&nbsp;the narratives imposed by those in power (Mishra 2022). The victim-blaming narrative trope is an important example of this: a discursive pattern that contrasts ‘deserving’ and ‘undeserving’ victims based on sexual morality, class, or conformity to patriarchal ideals (Aldrete et al. 2024). In this narrative, blame is shifted away from the actual threat—the perpetrators—and, in the case of femicide, onto women themselves. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; It should be noted, however, that social groups are often understood from a reductive perspective wherein social identities are oversimplified and separated from each other. Kimberlé Crenshaw (1989) proposed ‘intersectionality’ to illustrate how social identities overlap and influence each other, resulting in specific forms of marginalisation. Consequently, one must be mindful of how gender-related violence—for example in the case of femicide—might also be linked to other marginalised social identities, such as race and class. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; The framing of femicide in the media furthermore tends to reduce the structural dimension to more individualised narratives. Questions of security play a role in this framing. Securitisation is the process through which certain groups or practices are designated as threats to a society (Goldstein 2015, 50). Analogous to this view, Spivak (1985) introduced the term ‘Othering’ to describe how colonial and patriarchal systems create the Other as a way of maintaining power relations. Later, Jensen (2011) expanded on this, defining Othering as a process where the powerful majority create subordinate groups and ascribe inferior characteristics to them (65). This process reinforces superiority and “conditions” how subordinated people see themselves in specific social contexts&nbsp;(63). &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Altogether, these processes shape how femicide is made sense of within public discourse. Femicide is increasingly recognised as a form of structural violence tied to entrenched inequalities, as well as symbolic violence tied to themes of power and domination. Furthermore, the media seems to frame certain narratives through tropes of Othering and victim-blaming. This raises important questions about how news audiences interpret such framings.Findings Discourse Analysis The Myth of Neutral Language &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; On X, NOS shares news items with its audience in posts that include a brief headline and a link to the full article on its website with an accompanying header image. A few characteristics of note stand out about these posts. Firstly, the headlines’ use of passive language—occuring when the subject of a sentence receives the action of the verb instead of performing it—in almost all instances. Such ostensibly neutral phrasing leaves out the act of violence committed against the female victim. The language naming and contextualising the harm with specific, accurate terms is therefore not conveyed to its audiences. This presents gendered victimhood detached from femicide as a broader phenomenon or form of structural violence, but instead as isolated incidents. The header images of the headlines analysed in our study might exacerbate this observed effect. All case-related news items depict photos of crime scenes, showing police presence and investigative procedures. Such imagery further reinforces the idea of violence against women as a matter of (personal) security requiring police intervention, rather than a societal issue maintained by circulating harmful representations, ideas, and attitudes that encourage—symbolic and structural—gendered violence. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Examples from 2025 illustrating passive and neutral language abound, including an article from October titled “Deceased woman found in home in Heerlen, police suspect foul play,” and an earlier one from September labeled “Woman (53) dies after stabbing incident in Groningen, man arrested,” respectively (NOS Nieuws 2025b; 2025c). The articles themselves obfuscate the correlation between actions of perpetrators and the consequence—death—for their victims. To illustrate, the victim’s wounds are mentioned as the cause of death in the second article, rather than the fatal stabbing and killing inflicted by the perpetrator. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; NOS often uses supposed neutral terms in its news articles when talking about women who were victimised by men. Editors seemingly choose to refrain from politicised and explicit terms in titles as well as articles to maintain the image of a nuanced and non-biased news source. What happens in doing so, however, might be the exact opposite: it creates an opportunity for readers to speculate—and sometimes confirm their own bias—about these cases. Especially since it is unclear how many users read the full articles, these headlines on their own serve to enact narrow understandings of gender-related violence against women. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; The second striking aspect about these posts is the avoidance of the term ‘femicide’. Despite its relevance for the cases discussed, it is never mentioned in any of the articles about gender-related killings. Among the 12 examined articles, only one makes explicit mentions of femicide—not related to any specific case, but in coverage of a women’s march against femicide (NOS Nieuws 2025a). The article quotes women who share their grievances about common victim-blaming narratives that overshadow the role of predominantly male perpetrators. In the article, Klumpenaar, one of the protesters shared how “men too often say: ‘what was that woman doing out alone late at night?’ We have to stop that. You can't blame a woman for being assaulted,” and how, “that discussion really needs to end.” The overarching counternarrative shared by the protesters emphasised the collective responsibility of protecting women and girls’ safety, rather than looking at their individual actions that purportedly lead to their victimisation. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Femicide has accrued connotations that have resulted in the term becoming heavily politicised in the Dutch context. By either not mentioning politicised terms at all or favouring ostensibly neutral language use, news sources enact narrative tropes of victim-blaming. Along with the invidious ideas about women and other minority groups that are put forward by dominant actors, this also further encourages readership speculation about what might have happened in these cases of femicide. Gendered Victimhood and Racialised Perpetratorhood &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; The nature of the relationship between the victim and perpetrator, an important aspect of femicide cases, is omitted from most NOS articles. When describing the possible relationship between them, articles often indicate that one exists but do not explain what this relation is exactly (see for example, NOS Nieuws 2025b; 2025c). This creates a certain mystification around the perpetrator’s identity: it is brought to the attention of the reader but also left anonymous and open for interpretation. Statistics from research on femicide have shown that the perpetrator in such cases is most often someone from the close, domestic circle of the victim, while only 26 percent comes from an unknown direction (Rijksoverheid 2025). Despite plenty of public data supporting this finding, our ethnographic observations on X found that readers still often assume the perpetrator to be a male stranger. More specifically, the perpetrator is seen as a male stranger from a foreign country due to popular and public discourse—in politics for example—linking unsafety to themes of migration in the Netherlands. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Mystification thus leaves room for readers to contrive their own conclusions, and, moreover, invoke dominant harmful ideas about minoritised groups—consisting of male immigrants of colour in this dynamic. As a consequence, symbolic violence can enter the stage by implanting dominant ideologies into the interpretation of the reader, which in turn maintains structural violence against this same group. Overall, the framing used in the articles posted by NOS on X discursively stimulates reader speculation about the perpetrator’s identity, who is often alleged to be a male foreigner even when the data shows a different reality. Especially in the current Dutch sociopolitical climate characterised by polarising framing of immigration as a crisis, threat, and hostile to the Dutch way of life (Monika 2025). &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; When looking more specifically at perpetrators, news articles frequently showcase redeeming qualities placing them in a good light. One article in cooperation with NH, for example, shares how bystanders will say—of the perpetrator—how he “was such a good neighbor,” “someone who was so nice,” and “always said hello” (NOS Nieuws and NH 2025). Personal accounts like these engender feelings of compassion, empathy, and even a sense of victimhood by emphasising their good character. In doing so, the narratives constructed by these news articles foreground the innocence of perpetrators as opposed to culpability, shifting attention away from their violent, fatal deeds. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Treating perpetrators as potential victims (of circumstance) establishes a certain hierarchy in which fatally victimised women are invisibilised and pushed to the background. Besides the female victims in question, the general increased vulnerability of women as a whole—i.e., taken as an entire social group—is by extension downplayed. Digital Ethnography Migrant-blaming &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; A striking number of comments framed femicide as a consequence of migration and open-border policies. Many users immediately assumed that the perpetrator was Muslim or Arab, even though the original post contained no information about his identity. Comments such as “definitely a primate from a backward part of the world” and “the perpetrator is of course one of those with a long beard and a crooked nose” show how racialised stereotypes were used to fill in missing details. Others mocked the EU and immigration policy more broadly: “what a bloody mess in the EU. Get rid of all those people. Then the police will finally have time for the streets,” and “it’s a party every day now, but by all means keep going with open borders and the import of violence”. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; These comments reflect symbolic violence, in which dominant groups impose their values to make others appear inferior and maintain hierarchies of power. By portraying migrants as dangerous and uncivilised, commenters reproduce ideas of moral and cultural superiority. In doing so, the commenters portray prejudice as common sense and hereby reinforce the social order that normalises both racialised and gendered forms of harm. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Many responses also connected cases to national politics, linking femicide to the government’s ‘failed’ asylum policies. One wrote, “Make the Netherlands safe again for women and children and close the borders”, while another demanded “a migration dashboard, just like we once had a corona dashboard”. Some used sarcasm to blame ‘left-wing’ actors for allegedly covering up the truth: “The same people who applaud when another batch of young men from Africa and the Middle East arrives. Strange”. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Several comments also targeted NOS—a Dutch public broadcaster—directly, accusing it of censorship or political bias: “NOS leaves this [the Arab appearance of the perpetrator] out of their reporting because they’d rather undermine the police”, and “Incident? Screw off NOS, this is daily news. Perpetrators: the damn Muslims”. ‘This’ here refers to the perpetrator's ethnicity. These reactions shift the focus to migration and national identity. Victim-blaming &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; When the blame was not being placed on migrants or Muslims, it was instead directed to the victims. Underneath one post about an 83-year-old woman being stabbed by her own husband, people started to downplay the actions of the perpetrator. One commenter said: “Sad, I think there's more to this than meets the eye”, and another said: “There is probably a huge underlying drama here. Sad, very sad”. There were even comments trying to explicitly blame the woman: “They can be annoying, you know. Ladies like that. &nbsp;But anyway. Now there is a victim to mourn, unlike in the Abcoude case”. <img width="210" height="276" width_o="210" height_o="276" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/e9ba3e3714b58d35215be8e3dd6ce6bdbc862634bf8f946f0929d4d094ce6db7/femi.png" data-mid="244620639" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/210/i/e9ba3e3714b58d35215be8e3dd6ce6bdbc862634bf8f946f0929d4d094ce6db7/femi.png" /> &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Other women were also blamed for the femicide cases in the news. One user posted an AI-picture (see Picture 1) with the caption: “Even after the countless incidents this week, they refuse to call it by its name. Meanwhile, the stabbings, rapes and cases of honour killings continue unabated,” underneath an NOS post about a protest against femicide. The image on the left side shows a ‘woke woman’ who votes for open borders, and the right side shows the same woman covered in dirt and bruises, complaining about the crimes against her which supposedly result from open border policies. This relates to the blaming of migrants discussed above, but it also puts the blame on women themselves. The user alleges that if women vote for open borders, they should not be surprised when the crime rate against women goes up. One comment “Weak beta males are often dangerous and frequently come from the left-wing climate movement with loose hands indeed. But left-wing women can also get under your skin. A deadly cocktail,”[2] also implied that ‘woke women’ themselves are to blame since they get “under your skin”, which can incite male violence. Another comment, which said: “As if that will help. What we need is a halt to asylum. Why are women/ladies/girls always so naive????” also seems to assert that women are to blame for their own suffering because of their naivety. Criticism on Neutral Language &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; In April, a 39-year-old woman had been stabbed to death with NOS referring to it as a ‘stabbing incident’. Most comments condemned this phrasing, and some argued how murders of women happened so often to the point that news outlets frame it as an incident rather than murder. One user wrote: “‘stabbing incident’ Have we sunk so low in this country that we now refer to a terrible event in which someone loses their life as an ‘incident’? In other words: get used to it, this is going to become normal?” This tendency of news outlets to neutralise language reflects broader patterns of symbolic violence where framing (lethal) cases of gender-related violence as mere ‘incidents’ has become normalised, making them seem inevitable. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; When examining the articles, one recurring pattern was the use of neutral or depoliticised language. Many readers noticed this as well and voiced their criticism in the comment sections under NOS posts, especially when they refer to murders as ‘incidents’. Some accused the news outlet of downplaying serious cases, writing remarks such as “Get lost with your half-baked ‘newspeak.’ A brutal murder is not a ‘stabbing incident.’” and “You are misspelling murder.” Additionally, news consumers started to use the term ‘femicide’ when referring to the increasing number of murdered women, emphasising the increasing insecurity of women where existing systems that are supposed to offer security continue to fail them. Replies like “STABBING INCIDENT???? It's pure murder! These so-called stabbing incidents are becoming a ‘continuous process,’ happening every single day!,” and, “Died after a stabbing incident? You mean stabbed to death? You mean femicide?” reveal frustration among readers when the news outlet failed to refer to deadly crime as murder, consequently feeding into a broader system where gender-related violence persists. [2] Tweet has since been deleted. Conclusion &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; By integrating discourse analysis and digital ethnography, we examined how news framing and user responses shape public understandings of femicide. Specifically, how social media users on X make sense of causes of femicide in their engagement to Dutch news coverage by NOS of gender-related killings of women in 2025. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Discourse analysis showed that Dutch news outlet NOS often uses passive and neutral language that hides the act of violence and avoids the term ‘femicide’. By describing killings as “incidents” and showing police images, the media frames gender-based violence as a security problem instead of a deeper social issue. This neutral framing—with news outlets trying to stay non-biased—creates space for its readers to speculate, often confirming their own biases about perpetrators and victims. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Digital ethnography showed how many X users linked femicide to migration and open-border policies, using racist language that portrays migrants as a dangerous Other. Such reactions reflect symbolic violence, by portraying migrants as dangerous, uncivilised and inferior—normalising racialised and gendered forms of violence. Victim-blaming was also common, with women held responsible for their own deaths through their actions, relationship choices, or political views. However, some users pushed back against this narrative by referring to gender-related harm as femicide and criticising the media for downplaying violence, calling attention to how such framing normalises gender-based violence. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; When conditions arise where readers get the opportunity to determine the culpable actor—in cases of femicide, sometimes the perpetrator and sometimes the victim, or both— stereotypes, mostly of minoritised social groups, become the familiar repertoire to provide answers. This pattern also illustrates the relevance of intersectionality to understand constructions of victimhood and perpetratorhood. When looking at reader engagement, it becomes apparent that the dominant understanding of femicide constructs the victim as a white female set against a male perpetrator with a migrant background. Thus, it becomes evident in replies on X that men of colour are scapegoated as the root cause of violence against (white) women, which simultaneously enhances both racialised violence and gender-based violence. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; The framing used by NOS—characterised by the discursive patterns mentioned earlier—pre-shapes how social media users on X construct the causes of femicide, not as a shared social responsibility rooted in patriarchal structures but because of external threats, in particular migrants. These ideas reflect wider beliefs in Dutch society where symbolic violence, Othering, victim-blaming and ignoring deeper social causes hide the real, structural roots of femicide. Yet a growing number of voices now call for femicide to be seen as a serious social issue requiring collective action rather than a series of random incidents. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Since this research was based on limited data, we cannot generalise this conclusion to all news broadcasters, news consumers on social media, or Dutch society as a whole. NOS was the only news outlet that we analysed and it does not reflect the journalistic conventions of all news reporting in the Netherlands. Besides generalisation, interpreting tweets can be challenging as well, as short replies often lack certain sociocultural context and other carriers of meaning like tone and intent.[3] It is not always possible to know exactly what users mean or whether their comments are, for example, sarcastic, emotional, or serious. We have personally translated the quoted replies according to our own interpretations and with consensus among researchers. This could have affected the intended message conveyed in the original text. Despite these limitations, our analysis offers valuable insight into how people make sense of femicide on social networking services through online engagement with news coverage. [3] Some tweets are understood better in their original language. In addition, due to ethical considerations the identities of the X-users are not revealed as to not compromise them. Bibliography Aldrete, Mariana, Nermin Taşkale, Eloísa Rivera Ramirez, and Víctor Daniel Gil Vera. 2024. “Media Representations of Femicide. A Systematic Review of Literature in English and Spanish.” Annals of the International Communication Association 48 (3): 219-236. https://doi-org.utrechtuniversity.idm.oclc.org/10.1080/23808985.2024.2336924. Crenshaw, Kimberlé. 2015. “Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Antidiscrimination Doctrine, Feminist Theory and Antiracist Politics.” University of Chicago Legal Forum 1989 (1): 139-167. https://chicagounbound.uchicago.edu/uclf/vol1989/iss1/8. Dean, Jake. 2023. “Digital Ethnography: An Introduction to Theory and Practice.” JSTOR Daily, September. https://daily.jstor.org/digital-ethnography-an-introduction-to-theory-and-practice/. Diphoorn, Tessa, et al. Traveling Concepts in the Classroom: Experiences in Interdisciplinary Education. 4 Mar. 2023, www.ojed.org/jise/article/view/4844. Hall, Stuart 1997. Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices. Sage; WorldCat. EWMagazine. 2025. “Meer Angst Na Moord Lisa – Maar Wat Tonen De Cijfers?” EWmagazine. https://www.ewmagazine.nl/politiek/blog/2025/08/moordcijfers-nederland-2025-femicide-partnerdoding-1496781/#:~:text=Dit%20jaar%20zijn%20in%20Nederland%2026%20vrouwen%20vermoord. 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NOS Nieuws. 2025b. “Vrouw (53) Overlijdt Na Steekincident in Groningen, Man Opgepakt.” NOS. September 7, 2025. https://nos.nl/artikel/2581522-vrouw-53-overlijdt-na-steekincident-in-groningen-man-opgepakt?utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=twitter. NOS Nieuws. 2025c. “Vrouw Dood Gevonden in Woning Heerlen, Verdachte Aangehouden.” NOS. October 6, 2025. https://nos.nl/artikel/2585387-vrouw-dood-gevonden-in-woning-heerlen-verdachte-aangehouden?utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=twitter. NOS Nieuws and NH, “Vrouw (50) Doodgestoken in Huis in Purmerend, 53-jarige Man Aangehouden,” NOS, October 3, 2025, https://nos.nl/artikel/2585006-vrouw-50-doodgestoken-in-huis-in-purmerend-53-jarige-man-aangehouden?utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=twitter. NPO FunX. 2025. “Opnieuw Femicide in Nederland: Zwangere Vrouw Doodgeschoten Door Partner in Sneek.” NPO FunX. https://www.funx.nl/news/up-2-date/a210998e-9a9e-4c2f-a9c1-218f50a0b8fc/opnieuw-femicide-in-nederland-zwangere-vrouw-doodgeschoten-door-partner-in-sneek. Rijksoverheid. 2024. "Plan van aanpak Stop Femicide! gepresenteerd." Rijksoverheid. https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/actueel/nieuws/2024/06/07/plan-van-aanpak-stop-femicide-gepresenteerd. Rijksoverheid. 2025. "Infographic Huiselijk geweld en femicide in Nederland - Wat vertellen de cijfers van 2020 - 2024 ons." Rijksoverheid. https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/documenten/publicaties/2025/07/10/infographic-huiselijk-geweld-en-femicide-in-nederland-wat-vertellen-de-cijfers-van-2020-2024-ons. The American Anthropological Association. 2025. “What Is Anthropology? - American Anthropological Association.” American Anthropological Association. January 10, 2025. https://americananthro.org/practice-teach/what-is-anthropology/. Spivak G. C. 1985. “The Rani of Sirmur: an Essay in Reading the Archives.” History and Theory 24 (3): 247-272. https://doi.org/10.2307/2505169. Van Spronsen, Lisanne and Maxime de Vries. 2025. “Veel jonge vrouwen voelen zich onveiliger na gewelddadige dood Lisa.” NOS Nieuws. https://nos.nl/artikel/2581823-veel-jonge-vrouwen-voelen-zich-onveiliger-na-gewelddadige-dood-lisa. https://glenpherd.com/Nanzi-s-Cunning-and-Caribbean-Orature Tue, 27 Aug 2024 15:49:30 +0000 glenpherd https://glenpherd.com/Nanzi-s-Cunning-and-Caribbean-Orature <img width="1080" height="1080" width_o="1080" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/260962c0d3468d21b81a4a9afc0ddde6bd9ee4c27d71ce922004737003617ba7/spiral.png" data-mid="217090602" border="0" data-scale="7" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/260962c0d3468d21b81a4a9afc0ddde6bd9ee4c27d71ce922004737003617ba7/spiral.png" />Nanzi's Cunning and Caribbean Orature: Subverting Colonial Narratives This article analyzes the subversive cultural strategies embedded within the folkloric orature of Nanzi; the cunning spider known for outsmarting his foes using his wit, knowledge, and creativity. The tales of Nanzi illustrate how oral literature —or orature, as I will refer to it— has historically fostered transformative agency in Caribbean native communities, promoting healing, change, and resistance (Marshall, 2012). While orature is increasingly recognized as a valuable source in historiographical scholarship, its academic use has broader epistemological implications and opportunities that merit further exploration. Frantz Fanon astutely observed how oral storytellers contribute to the development of national consciousness by preserving and revitalizing indigenous cultural forms. It is this transformative capacity of Caribbean folkloric orature that I aim to explore further. This text will focus on its potential as a methodological tool for decolonizing dialectics and as a catalyst for transforming postcolonial aesthetics. Forging National Consciousness from The MarginsFanon (1961, as cited in McLeod, 2013) described the Western-educated native intellectual engaged in anti-colonial efforts as someone navigating the space between the colonizing nation and the colonized natives. He extensively discusses the complex position of the native intellectual within these efforts, given the dual pressures from both the colonial regime and their indigenous communities. With the rise of neocolonialism in the Caribbean, Fanon’s analysis of the so-called native intellectuals and their role in (post)colonial societies remains pertinent, particularly given their position in the higher strata of society among the ruling elite. This work extends Fanon’s analysis by shifting focus from the native intellectual to the colonized natives themselves, decentering the intellectual native. While Fanon emphasized the crucial role of the native intellectual in shaping national consciousness, he also warned of their potential alienation from the people’s struggle.&nbsp;This alienation arises due to the social, economic, and cultural privileges they enjoy, which buffer them from the harms faced by other natives.&nbsp;Thus, centering the perspectives of native people—whom I will refer to as vernacular intellectuals—is essential to avoid reproducing colonial discourses. The act of engaging with postcolonialism must disrupt colonial discourse. Native intellectuals, including myself, bear the responsibility of relinquishing the authoritative power in discursive production conferred by Western education. This work highlights how storytelling through orature can challenge power relations in (neo-)colonial discourse. It responds to Fanon’s challenge for middle-class native intellectuals who may fall into neo-colonialism. The native intellectual must engage beyond the vacuum of academic discourses to engage meaningfully with vernacular intellectuals. Orature can amplify their voices, center their lived experiences, and convey ancestral stories. Nanzi embodies native people, representing their shared destinies in a postcolonial society. The Poetics and Politics of Orature &nbsp;It is important to acknowledge the role that postcolonial literatures have played in decolonisation efforts. Literature offers many beneficial qualities, notably its ability to be mobilized in an immutable state. It remains a primary medium for recordkeeping for various purposes. However, the limitations of written literary works in driving cultural transformation, particularly in the Caribbean context, must also be recognized. One must question the primacy of literature in a society characterized by a rich oral tradition. Historically, literature has held a privileged position in Western academia, often regarded as superior to oral traditions due to misconceptions about the reliability and authenticity of oral cultures. This misconception obstructs the decolonization of dialectics. Oral traditions should not be judged by Western standards of authenticity, reliability, and truth, as they inherently operate differently (McRanor, 1997, pp. 63–64). While literature and orature are part of a broader discourse, they have distinct practices and power dimensions. Oral traditions, with their unique poetics (how they are practiced) and politics (how they are invested with power), are mediated through specific cultural practices. The uncritical superiority attributed to the written tradition perpetuates colonial paradigms of idealism and essentialism, excluding other cultures from participating in the transformation of discourse and knowledge production. &nbsp;As David Henige’s research suggests, “[a] non-Native historical record based on the observations of a single male operating in an official capacity with a reputation” is not by default more reliable than Native accounts drawing on an intergenerational community, relying on collective memory instead (Henige, 2009, p. 141). In fact, oral histories maintain their essence through continuous performance and exhibit significant diversity in how they are presented by different groups, individuals, and even by the same person over time. The story of “How Nanzi tricked the King,” as compiled by Pinto et al. (2005), exemplifies these characteristics by metaphorically depicting colonial power dynamics and shared experiences of colonised natives. Its layered representation and re-presentation of (de)colonial narratives resonates across various intersections of identity. Dynamic Narratives: Stories are Supposed to Change The practice of storytelling through orature as a medium is powerful because of its dynamism. As discussed earlier, orature allows for a continuous reinterpretation of narratives, enabling communities to adapt their histories and social realities in ways that resonate with their current circumstances (Henige, 2009, pp. 141–142). This flexibility contrasts with the static nature of written literature, which, while valuable, often fails to capture the evolving complexities of Caribbean societies. As Hood (1959) aptly noted, “The notion of preservation as the primary function of an oral tradition is misleading and carries the static or negative connotation of protection and safe-keeping, a process which inhibits change and consequently obviates development” (p. 201). Oral storytelling, rather, allows both narrator and listener to redevelop their sense of self within the contemporary historical, social, and cultural context. Through orature, Caribbean people have found agency and voice, narrating Nanzi stories in their own language and interpretations. This dynamic nature of orature, as discussed previously, is what enables it to effectively challenge and subvert colonial narratives. Nanzi orature creates a counter-narrative to colonial representations, subverting the status quo through counter-aesthetic practices. This counters the notion that written traditions are inherently superior, a point emphasized when discussing the limitations of literature in driving cultural transformation. Orature, as demonstrated by Nanzi tales, engages with power structures by offering alternative modes of knowledge production and cultural expression. How Nanzi Tricked the King: A tale of Power In the following analysis of "How Nanzi Tricked the King" I will delve deeper into the ways this tale reflects the dynamics of power, survival, and desire, illustrating the complex moral landscape that colonized subjects navigate. This tale is about an unfortunate encounter Nanzi has with the King, highlighting the hierarchical society in which Nanzi, part of a struggling class, must navigate. The story starts with Nanzi entering the King’s palace on a whim[1]: One day Nanzi was walking by the King’s palace. He got an urge to enter the palace. He didn’t think too long about it, but immediately did what came to mind. […] Nanzi entered the King’s Hall. He sat down comfortably on the King’s throne. Then he put on the robe that was draped on the throne. It was hot and it didn’t take long before Nanzi started falling asleep. […] The King was shocked to see Nanzi seated on his throne wearing his robe. What lack of respect! This excerpt depicts Nanzi sitting on the King’s throne and wearing his cloak, driven by a desire to occupy the King’s position. The King’s abundance of resources is something that the struggling Nanzi could never access. The King’s disdain at the sight of Nanzi, a poor native, on his throne is portrayed as "wrong" because it challenges the established social and symbolic order — it is "unaesthetic." This image symbolizes the impossibility of the native occupying the King’s position, as it disrupts what Fanon (1994) refers to as an "aesthetic of respect for the status quo" (p. 3). Even when Nanzi briefly experiences what it is like to be in the King’s position, he quickly learns that within the existing (neo)colonial relations, he can only experience proximity to power. This part of the tale imparts a crucial lesson about colonized subjects' desires, self-image, and reality, illustrated by W.E.B. Du Bois’ (2015) concept of double consciousness. Du Bois explains that colonized individuals often view themselves from two perspectives: their own identity and culture, and the lens of a society that deems them inferior. The pressure to conform to a dominant culture that may not accept them, while also trying to maintain a connection to their true sense of self, is a difficult balancing act. Because the King epitomizes material abundance, it is tempting for Nanzi to imagine a better life within the existing social structures—essentially, to envision himself in the King’s position. The narrative raises a critical question: how does one reconcile the double desire to conform to normative structures while simultaneously seeking to subvert them? Nanzi’s Cunning Escape As the story continues, Nanzi uses his wit and cunning – traditionally negative traits – to narrowly escape death, leading to the King’s demise. Nanzi must now face the consequences for sitting on the King’s throne. He is sown shut in a sack to be drowned, but quickly concocts a scheme. While left unattended for a moment by the King’s soldiers, he tricks a nearby sheep herder. The unsuspecting herder, lured by false promises, ends up trading places with him. After the herder is trapped in the sack, Nanzi places the herder’s hat on his head and goes about herding the sheep as if nothing happened. The soldiers inevitably take the herder who ends up drowning after he is thrown into the ocean. This part of the story has multiple layers. Firstly, it shows how native intellectuals can fall into the trap of neo-colonialism which Fanon warned of, by betraying their own people. Nanzi’s survival depends on using his intellect in a way that harms fellow natives. This dilemma reflects the reality that survival sometimes involves reproducing the harm one suffers. Additionally, Nanzi weaponises the sheep herder’s desire against to trick him; the same desire that got Nanzi in trouble. This illustrates a collective human desire for better material conditions. Nanzi’s orature captures the complexity of individual and collective experiences, giving voice to various colonized narratives. Nanzi’s Final Triumph Nanzi’s adventure concludes with a final encounter with the King, who is shocked to find Nanzi still alive: ‘But Nanzi, are you not at the bottom of the ocean?’ ‘There I was, Your Majesty. But you know, King, there is so much to see there! Like this herd of sheep. Because they did not have a herder, I followed them and that is how I arrived on land after a long while. At the bottom of the ocean there are lots of beautiful things to see. […] Immediately [the King] ordered his soldiers to put him in a sack and throw him into the ocean. […] He was never found. [Nanzi] took possession of all the King’s property and lived as a king until this day. In the end, Nanzi defeats the King, representing his antithesis, using only his wits. The story highlights the fine line between desire and greed and the lengths to which people will go to attain their desires. Whether this conclusion is viewed as a victory depends on one’s perspective. The tale offers multiple, sometimes contradictory truths, providing an authentic account of how desire influences behavior. Additionally, Nanzi’s adventure underscores the collateral damage of certain survival strategies and serves as a cautionary tale about the ease with which individuals may perpetuate the status quo based on their position within a hierarchical structure. Living Texts: The Power of OratureThis work explores orature as an aesthetic practice within postcolonial scholarship. Specifically, it examines how orature, as a dynamic medium, influences the transformative potential of postcolonial texts in forging national consciousness while incorporating marginalized perspectives. The analysis of “How Nanzi Tricked the King” demonstrates that orature is a storytelling mode that prioritizes the storyteller’s voice and empowers vernacular intellectuals. This approach allows all natives to engage in subverting colonial discourse. While orature offers new opportunities for postcolonial engagement, it is crucial to remain vigilant to avoid reproducing colonial discourses. BibliographyDu Bois, W. E. B., &amp; Marable, M. (2015). Souls of black folk. Routledge.Fanon, F. (1994). The Wretched of the Earth, trans. Richard Philcox. Grove Press, 3. Henige, D. (2009). Impossible To Disprove Yet Impossible To Believe: The Unforgiving Epistemology Of Deep-Time Oral Tradition. History in Africa, 36, 127–234. JSTOR. Hood, M. (1959). The Reliability of Oral Tradition. Journal of the American Musicological Society, 12(2/3), 201–209. https://doi.org/10.2307/829541 Marshall, E. Z. (2012). Anansi’s Journey: A Story of Jamaican Cultural Resistance. University of the West Indies Press. McLeod, J. (2013). Beginning postcolonialism: Second edition. Manchester University Press. https://books.google.nl/books?id=Q3a5DwAAQBAJ McRanor, S. (1997). Maintaining the Reliability of Aboriginal Oral Records and Their Material Manifestations: Implications for Archival Practice. Archivaria. https://archivaria.ca/index.php/archivaria/article/view/12176 Pinto, N. M. G. J., van Duin, L., Bramlage, D., &amp; Joubert, S. M. (2005). Kon Nanzi a nèk Shon Arei i otro kuentanan antiano di e araña sabí: Zirkoon. https://books.google.co.in/books?id=NbzaPQAACAAJ [1] Text translated from Papiamentu to English by me. I translated the story as literal as possible. https://glenpherd.com/Why-does-Chichi-has-no-eyes-and-hands Thu, 04 Jul 2024 19:36:10 +0000 glenpherd https://glenpherd.com/Why-does-Chichi-has-no-eyes-and-hands <img width="1080" height="1080" width_o="1080" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/260962c0d3468d21b81a4a9afc0ddde6bd9ee4c27d71ce922004737003617ba7/spiral.png" data-mid="214146093" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/260962c0d3468d21b81a4a9afc0ddde6bd9ee4c27d71ce922004737003617ba7/spiral.png" /> “Why does Chichi® has no eyes and hands?”Visuality, Representation and The Body as a Site of Discourse <img width="642" height="960" width_o="642" height_o="960" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/7ddde7dd2e5ffef73a79f793b59b75847a450fa02a1a4537d347b843f2faf863/Imagen-63.JPG" data-mid="231507238" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/642/i/7ddde7dd2e5ffef73a79f793b59b75847a450fa02a1a4537d347b843f2faf863/Imagen-63.JPG" /> <img width="960" height="720" width_o="960" height_o="720" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/1b94e443e95e7595fc931b25ce499001fa9ffad35f5778fbca7c135238d7b8f2/Imagen-43.JPG" data-mid="231507221" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/960/i/1b94e443e95e7595fc931b25ce499001fa9ffad35f5778fbca7c135238d7b8f2/Imagen-43.JPG" /> <img width="722" height="960" width_o="722" height_o="960" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/26b0c1524a0ef0dfdb02d3f6f9f50e52056162fba79dff34ec67567d1cab56cf/Imagen-62.JPG" data-mid="231507237" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/722/i/26b0c1524a0ef0dfdb02d3f6f9f50e52056162fba79dff34ec67567d1cab56cf/Imagen-62.JPG" /> <img width="2048" height="1536" width_o="2048" height_o="1536" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/6b487d938ae95479269621e5a3f6ca74236cbe01f5413a92c802f2ff5c33a431/Imagen-44.JPG" data-mid="231507222" border="0" 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src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/960/i/f0e3f4c5888b64b83c35744053b4ed8c9df0a4bfa07fd8cc8409fbb9da3c999e/Imagen-45.JPG" /> <img width="640" height="1316" width_o="640" height_o="1316" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/9cc7e84f62527753264e78781ec9c10ecf6d556cceb254e677885e5ee99ebfdf/Imagen-21.JPG" data-mid="231507755" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/640/i/9cc7e84f62527753264e78781ec9c10ecf6d556cceb254e677885e5ee99ebfdf/Imagen-21.JPG" /> <img width="2048" height="1365" width_o="2048" height_o="1365" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/90a62ec7e2c907ed6f854884088fa37aece97e74b874f189b41798205eda5cdc/Imagen-22.JPG" data-mid="231507204" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/90a62ec7e2c907ed6f854884088fa37aece97e74b874f189b41798205eda5cdc/Imagen-22.JPG" /> <img width="2048" height="1150" width_o="2048" height_o="1150" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/2f6a53a9d2d9b769891c1da7c7feb521625899258cc73317295018168b6eb5fd/Imagen-56.JPG" data-mid="231507234" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/2f6a53a9d2d9b769891c1da7c7feb521625899258cc73317295018168b6eb5fd/Imagen-56.JPG" /> <img width="1408" height="1408" width_o="1408" height_o="1408" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/11f2567e4521d94c9f87f20a55a53a6cebda8e06741b4808dc34e6731653259d/Imagen-15.JPG" data-mid="231507200" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/11f2567e4521d94c9f87f20a55a53a6cebda8e06741b4808dc34e6731653259d/Imagen-15.JPG" /> <img width="960" height="933" width_o="960" height_o="933" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/c9b6d9d6bca28e9ea0a1bc90d165ceab949612e403dc5a6e905dcfbcfc1d8015/Imagen-54.JPG" data-mid="231507230" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/960/i/c9b6d9d6bca28e9ea0a1bc90d165ceab949612e403dc5a6e905dcfbcfc1d8015/Imagen-54.JPG" /> <img width="2048" height="1536" width_o="2048" height_o="1536" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/1114296cc39bb6521ca7961e8dd5f6f6c65382fb51f303240579d3114c5d81a4/Imagen-55.JPG" data-mid="231507232" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/1114296cc39bb6521ca7961e8dd5f6f6c65382fb51f303240579d3114c5d81a4/Imagen-55.JPG" /> <img width="1018" height="1154" width_o="1018" height_o="1154" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/f84fccd9d45d7f303283096b0c5aef4b1185c51ec52202a3ee671cfce11c6d86/Imagen-05-07-2024-a-las-19.46.JPG" data-mid="231507192" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/f84fccd9d45d7f303283096b0c5aef4b1185c51ec52202a3ee671cfce11c6d86/Imagen-05-07-2024-a-las-19.46.JPG" /> <img width="720" height="960" width_o="720" height_o="960" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/29a07140afd5216633e46001c84721cb502e9935ea55c2d617777b683f60378f/Imagen-19.JPG" data-mid="231507202" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/720/i/29a07140afd5216633e46001c84721cb502e9935ea55c2d617777b683f60378f/Imagen-19.JPG" /> <img width="1488" height="2000" width_o="1488" height_o="2000" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/3228b14d81c0a43f65af529b7011fedde5fc24813abfd5c6507e2d1f77ea2161/Imagen-24.JPG" data-mid="231507206" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/3228b14d81c0a43f65af529b7011fedde5fc24813abfd5c6507e2d1f77ea2161/Imagen-24.JPG" /> <img width="720" height="960" width_o="720" height_o="960" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/5e85953f76b3977340da20f970dde8a6b6be54a388cfeacd87912489755e12b5/Imagen-25.JPG" data-mid="231507207" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/720/i/5e85953f76b3977340da20f970dde8a6b6be54a388cfeacd87912489755e12b5/Imagen-25.JPG" /> <img width="756" height="1013" width_o="756" height_o="1013" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/61dcce49aecbfd85b97282eeeb713d7e16841661a3879b8b9136433e439f5939/Imagen-26.JPG" data-mid="231507208" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/756/i/61dcce49aecbfd85b97282eeeb713d7e16841661a3879b8b9136433e439f5939/Imagen-26.JPG" /> <img width="1512" height="2016" width_o="1512" height_o="2016" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/22097cd6f82888efab1677478289998912372a74d36eaf3f8c28b402c3387568/Imagen-30.JPG" data-mid="231507211" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/22097cd6f82888efab1677478289998912372a74d36eaf3f8c28b402c3387568/Imagen-30.JPG" /> <img width="960" height="868" width_o="960" height_o="868" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/9059a36b1c0b162027d1a985a5a0e49eb00283875f459173a3e66f6a0f80f9fa/Imagen-29.JPG" data-mid="231507210" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/960/i/9059a36b1c0b162027d1a985a5a0e49eb00283875f459173a3e66f6a0f80f9fa/Imagen-29.JPG" /> <img width="1500" height="2000" width_o="1500" height_o="2000" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/8be6f654473a458e6b71857935ca261cee0bb978050d791931f6a149a96975c8/Imagen-31.JPG" data-mid="231507212" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/8be6f654473a458e6b71857935ca261cee0bb978050d791931f6a149a96975c8/Imagen-31.JPG" /> The nickname Chichi is deeply enmeshed with cultural meaning in the context of Curaçao – a touristic hotspot in the Caribbean and (former) colony of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It originated in the vernacular of local Afro-Curaçaoans as a term of endearment for the eldest sister in a nuclear family setting. This sister was usually tasked with extra domestic responsibilities, including the care of younger siblings in the household. To this day, many women on the island are still lovingly referred to as Chichi among Afro-Curaçaoan families. However, the ‘image’ of Chichi has recently undergone a radical transformation. When you utter the name Chichi nowadays, many people immediately visualise something entirely different in their mind’s eye: a statuette that has become something of a ‘glocal’ icon. Yet, despite their popularity, especially among tourists, these statuettes are not entirely uncontroversial and have not been positively received by everyone. While these sentiments have largely gone unnoticed in common discourse, a closer examination reveals that there is more at play than meets the eye. To fully grasp what is at stake, it is necessary to investigate further the origins of these sentiments by taking them seriously. Despite their seemingly innocuous status as decorative artistic objects, the Chichi statuettes have been scrutinised by local people. They contend that the Chichi statuettes perpetuate a harmful stereotype with deleterious effects on local Black women.1 In stark contrast, the creator of the Chichi statuettes claims that the objects instead celebrate the local culture, history and people. This ongoing debate forms an entry point in local popular culture that illustrates the persistent dynamics on the island, which have existed since its establishment as a Dutch colony and major outpost for the transatlantic trade of enslaved African people. The latter brought together different racialised groups of people in the colony, most notably the descendants of enslaved Africans and those of white Dutch planters.2 The resultant hierarchical racial divide stemming from colonialism is still palpable on the island in many ways. The Chichi statuettes exemplify one of those instances where tensions escalate among the population due to sentiments of social inequity along the dimensions of race, gender, and class. The above dynamics are nevertheless often presented or discussed as a simple matter of truth-finding that, sometimes literally, remains on the surface of things — a tendency that spills over into historical research. Such studies merit much more nuanced investigations that, at the very least, seek to contend with the complexities of postcolonial existence. Consequently, a teleological explanation focusing solely on the end effect or purpose is insufficient for understanding the full significance of these visual objects and where the pain lies. Without identifying the causal factors and preceding events that lead to particular effects and outcomes, we miss the critical historical and social contexts that shape these representations. What I am getting at is that it is insufficient to search for objective facts or truths among differing opinions without first investigating the very ‘structures of truth’ that govern people’s experiences. As Guno Jones aptly put it, “Dutch historiography has left the myth-fact dichotomy unproblematised, which can silence certain perspectives by labelling them as myth”.3 He proposes to ask instead how “definitions of reality function in a power-matrix”. Jones' proposal opens the investigation to include an analysis of the 'structures of feeling', which could provide a deeper understanding of the emotional and experiential dimensions within these visual representations.4 Using this proposal, I aim to go below the surface through an intersectional decoding of Chichi’s interlocking signs and connect them to salient elements of the local social structures of visuality. Chichi will function as a figuration to address the interplay between levels of representation and the overlapping axes of gender, race, and class. I will employ a scavenger methodology to bridge semiotic and discursive traditions.5 Additionally, this approach allows me to bridge gaps between disciplinary boundaries. To my knowledge, there has not yet been a similar attempt to contextualise the social structures of visuality on both concrete and symbolic levels using this specific case study. The first section provides a close reading of an image of Chichi statuettes at the concrete level, followed by an analysis at the symbolic level. From this point, a handful of elements of the social structures of visuality will be traced to situate the symbolic analysis within a broader socio-historical context. Theoretical tools and concepts are then introduced to help explain the observed phenomena in the preceding analysis. Finally, I will reflect on how my observations contribute to larger discussions of symbolic violence, cultural hegemony, and contemporary relevance, thereby tying this case study to broader theoretical debates.On the shiny black surface: a close reading of Chichi A detailed visual analysis at the most basic level, starting with the concrete, observable details, gives us a clearer understanding of the primary visual elements of the Chichi statuettes. Figure 1 shows several versions of the renowned and iconic Chichi design by Serena Israel on a yellow surface against a blue-green background. The mass-produced identical figures visualise the local Chichis as plump, shapely, buxom women with large protruding buttocks. Appearing faceless with glistening onyx skin, the brightly coloured paint that simulates skin-tight clothing enhances the most striking aspect of the visual: the body. The revealing articles of clothing painted on the female sculptures feature arrays of references to local flora, fauna, and nature. Two of them are accessorised with rollers or curlers on their hairless heads. All their bodies are statically positioned with open arms, inviting the viewer to look at their voluptuous, decorated breasts. The sedentary posture creates a V-shape, with crossed legs leading the eyes from their hips and thighs to the point where their feet meet—precisely between the two groin areas in front of the location of the genitals. The sole statuette in a standing position has on a camisole that, in a similar fashion, reveals the lower abdomen, while a bright yellow belt buckle against her jet-black body beckons the eye to the same spot. The black triangle appears as an arrow pointing to the space in the centre of her bosom. In both instances, the resulting composition has the effect of highlighting the sexual anatomy. A diminutive Chichi wearing orange with butterfly wings, dangling sideways in the air in the upper right corner, forms a conspicuous anomaly in the image. <img width="1891" height="2560" width_o="1891" height_o="2560" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/8ca045f228321e652233307301565fda9527b60d78b576a1b9309386bc4845c1/Quotation-size-samples-2-scaled.jpg" data-mid="214137538" border="0" data-scale="83" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/8ca045f228321e652233307301565fda9527b60d78b576a1b9309386bc4845c1/Quotation-size-samples-2-scaled.jpg" /> Fig. 1: Serena Israel.&nbsp;[Photo of Chichi statuettes]&nbsp;Chichi Curaçao, n.d.https://chichi-Curaçao.com/files/2022/05/Quotation-size-samples-2-scaled.jpg Below the surface, underneath the skinThe above description of visual elements traces the initial contours for the symbolic analysis. At this point, I will gradually shift from concrete observations to symbolic interpretations without further digression. Chichi will be used as a figuration to explore the relationship between the statuettes and the people they ostensibly represent. The signifier, in this case the statuettes, simultaneously denotes and connotes the commodified object as well as key members in many local households, namely the eldest sisters. Therefore, both levels must be addressed in tandem to tease out the complex social identities and narratives attached to its interlocking signs. By visualising Chichi, its creator has deployed a universal, totalising figuration of the sign. I will, therefore, from here on refer to the statuettes in the singular to recall this effect. <img width="1392" height="714" width_o="1392" height_o="714" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/15fe8ea053001b65713a49b598ac046074d0865fba7889020992a45b7fa7d985/why-does-chichi.png" data-mid="214137843" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/15fe8ea053001b65713a49b598ac046074d0865fba7889020992a45b7fa7d985/why-does-chichi.png" />Fig. 2: Serena Israel. [Screenshot of FAQ page on website], accessed on 18-5-24https://chichi-Curaçao.com/faq/According to the website, the Chichi statuette is mass-produced from one mould with efficiency and the company’s bottom line in mind. Ironically, the choice of words in their answer to a question on their FAQ page conjures up vivid imagery that illustrates the unscrupulous symbolic violence of this enterprise (see Figure 2). The last sentence stands out in this text: “Chichi® represents the culture of the older, loving and caring sister, she is not a real human being”. This statement is a contradiction in terms because it attempts to separate the concrete and the symbolic level — an impossibility. Furthermore, it effectively ‘fixes’ the multiple possible meanings of Chichi by anchoring it to the words used in the text, serving vested economic interests.6 In this way, written language and images work in conjunction to produce a singular, privileged meaning of the Chichi statuette and the women it represents. The connection between written and visual representation is crucial because “we construct the meaning of things through representing them”, i.e., these representations mediate how we perceive and experience the material world.7 For example, the depiction of references to local flora, fauna, and nature on the body of the Chichi statuette can be seen as echoing the aesthetic tendency to equate Black people with Nature. In Enlightenment ontology, Black people were often symbolised as ‘the primitive’ Nature in contrast with ‘the civilised’ culture of Europeans.8 This convention is evident in racist European imagery depicting Africans. This FAQ section also foregrounds an economic element when discussing the production of the Chichi statuette, attributing the main aesthetic choices—such as its shape and lack of distinguishing details—to economic reasons. Mainly its shape and lack of distinguishing details are affected by this decision. It is stated that this rationale is why “Chichi has no eyes and hands” nor a face. Racial capitalist interests explicitly prioritise economic gain over the accurate representation of a diverse group of women.&nbsp;These class interests unavoidably intersect with gender and race.&nbsp;The women represented by the Chichi statuette are reduced to anonymous bodies frozen in a servile position, evoking images of Sarah Baartman, the Hottentot Venus.&nbsp;Sarah Baartman was exhibited alive in different parts of Europe, exploiting fascination with her physical features, and after her death, her body was dissected against her wishes for the study of her genitals. A plaster cast of her body continued to be displayed for 160 years in a museum for visitors’ viewing pleasure.9 This fact also highlights how visual elements are produced, distributed, exchanged, and consumed within the cultural context of Curaçao. While the symbolic violence of Sarah Baartman is overt, the aesthetic conventions of Chichi superficially mystify and mask its deeper implications. The trademark symbol (®) indicates that Chichi is trademarked and protected by intellectual property rights. Chichi and the terms under which its representations are established and deployed have been monopolised as a function of cultural hegemony. Who benefits in the struggle over meaning, value, and power within these (visual) economies? What are the broader consequences of these exploitative market economies, and who suffers as collateral damage? These questions are particularly relevant in places like Curaçao, where meanings are conveyed and projected globally through objects imbued with cultural significance, whether through online images or the influx of tourists eager to take home a piece of local culture. Especially given the asymmetrical relationship of interdependence between tourists and locals, where the latter have little choice but to participate in a deleterious and extractive tourism economy for survival. Far too often, these trickle-down economics relegate locals to a position where they must perform their culture to meet visiting tourists’ paradisiacal fantasies of the tropics and satisfy a nostalgic return to the colonial aesthetic order—of how things ought to be.Black flesh: the spectacle of Chichi The questions posed in the latter part of the previous paragraph point to the compounding effects of the Chichi statuette. In this section, I will describe its social effects, or “what is at stake”, by examining some salient elements of the social structures of visuality at play in this case. Background on the historical and social context of Curaçao is important for understanding social practices of looking. Visuality points to how “the capacity to look, to be seen, to see, and to participate in the practices of visual culture involves social contestation”.10 I will explore social practices of looking by analysing the Chichi statuette in a public arena. The Chichi statuette is not only placed as a decorative piece in the domiciles of hundreds of tourists but also displayed as a large sculpture in popular tourist spots on the island. In these locations, Chichi becomes a public spectacle, serving as visual entertainment.&nbsp;Simultaneously, the body of Chichi itself becomes a site of discourse by extension.11 This ‘spectacle of the “Other”’ brings into sharp relief the poetics (artistic expression) and politics (power dynamics) of representation.12 <img width="1200" height="799" width_o="1200" height_o="799" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/35bb1ba51980fe87f88ac7ace236cfef733d160bc6f44f8c2f5fd4c39af40dd5/Fn_MzIyX0AIawyc.jpg" data-mid="214138709" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/35bb1ba51980fe87f88ac7ace236cfef733d160bc6f44f8c2f5fd4c39af40dd5/Fn_MzIyX0AIawyc.jpg" />Fig. 3: Royal House (@koninklijkhuis). “The Royal Couple and the Princess of Orange visit the Punda district. The King strikes a coin marking 25 years of Willemstad as a UNESCO World Heritage city. They also view a Chichi.”, X (formerly known as Twitter), 02-02-2023, 09:10 PM,https://x.com/koninklijkhuis/status/1621239742175092736 Exhibiting Chichi in this manner perpetuates ‘myths’ about gender, race, and class drawn from a dominant representational paradigm. This paradigm commonly reduces Black people to and fetishises essential signifiers marking their difference, such as their skin, genitals and physiognomy. At the same time, it “licenses an unregulated voyeurism” by inviting spectators to look, approach and touch the faceless, ever-consenting body of Chichi as they please. After all, “she is not a real human being”, but merely a sculpture of flesh. Hortense Spillers makes a crucial distinction between “body” and “flesh”. She argues that "flesh" refers to the raw, vulnerable state of the African body subjected to the violence and dehumanisation of slavery. This contrasts with the “body,” which is a more stable and socially recognised form of human identity.13 Spillers discusses the specific ways in which Black women’s bodies were subjected to racial and sexual violence, and how this history continues to shape contemporary representations. The mammy stereotype is clearly fleshed out in the case of Chichi: “prototypical house-servants, usually big, fast, bossy and cantankerous, with their good-for-nothing husbands sleeping it off at home, their utter devotion to the white household and their unquestioned subservience in their workplaces”.14 Once again, we see a flattening of the richness of Afro-Curaçaoan women’s identities, reminiscent of the case of Sarah Baartman. The promotional story accompanying the Chichi statuette is also a somewhat romanticised cultural representation of the role of Chichi in the household, aestheticising the stereotype as something sentimental, ideal, and beautiful.15 First and foremost, I find it important to acknowledge and honour the crucial role Afro-Curaçaoan women have played in passing on (spiritual) traditions and customs through “everyday practices of domesticity, love, and survival.”16 While the title and role of Chichi are dutifully assumed, being the eldest sister often means assuming burdensome domestic responsibilities from a young age and prioritising the needs of the people around you above your own. When left unproblematised, this myth erases the experiences of local women, endering their identities invisible and subsuming them under a singular narrative.17 Chichi is thus ultimately entangled in similar discursive formations as Sarah Baartman and subject to comparable symbolic violence that threatens the agency of real-life Chichi’s behind the statuette. Positioned at the nexus of intersecting social forces, the Chichi statuette serves as a contemporary cultural artifact echoing historical dehumanization and objectification.Chichi’s infinite possibilities I have only touched upon a fraction of everything that can be said on this topic and therefore implore readers to explore further into aspects discussed or not mentioned in this text. For example, consider the alternative ways of making Chichi statuettes. The owner of the Chichi enterprise offers workshops where you can paint and customise your own Chichi. This activity adds a tactile dimension, placing the Chichi literally in the hands of participants. At this juncture, a space of opportunity presents itself for Chichi to take on new meanings beyond the pre-destined, singular one that invariably emerges from the kiln. However, the danger of this single story still looms.The Chichi statuette is not just a neutral artistic and cultural object produced, marketed, and sold to mostly tourist visitors on the island of Curaçao. It embodies discourses on race, gender, and class that shape social and aesthetic conventions and codes. The meanings it is charged with have contemporary relevance for a postcolonial Curaçao because these visual representations acutely affect social practices of looking and societal attitudes. The signs discussed throughout this text are constructed, enacted, and enforced through social structures of visuality that can be traced back to a colonial past that still holds relevance in the present. The Chichi figuration is intricately bound up in a visual economy of imperialist (cis)heteropatriarchal racial capitalism. Redressing this issue requires taking seriously the social effects of the Chichi statuette along with the people contesting its representations. If left unchecked, it can perpetuate symbolic violence and cultural hegemony for the very marginalised people it seeks to represent positively.This conclusion should not be read as condemnation. Instead, it is an invitation to reconfigure the signification of Chichi; to look at all the potentiality of meanings the term holds and move it closer again to the women who cared for and nurtured us with love from infancy to adulthood. It is a proposal to rethink our relations with the visual and delimit the boundaries of the imposed structures that govern our imaginaries. The goal then becomes to develop a new aesthetic sensibility aimed at creating new forms of the real—floating and mobile forms. It is in this liminal space, between ‘no longer’ and ‘not yet’, a place of transformation and disruption, where reconfiguration can occur. This gap or space of liminality allows for self-referral to extend beyond an essential singularity, opening up an inexhaustible range of combinations and compositions. I dedicate this work to my three Chichi’s: my wela (grandmother), my mother, and my sister. Mi stima boso. Coda: An audiovisual essay titled Ora ku mama no tei, ta Chichi tinku sigui accompanies this paper, expanding on the themes discussed from the perspectives of Chichi’s and their kin. Click here to access the video. Bibliography[1] Rianne Oosterom, ‘Het Chichi-beeld: een viering van de zwarte vrouw of een onsmakelijke karikatuur?’, Trouw, 29 januari 2023, https://www.trouw.nl/binnenland/het-chichi-beeld-een-viering-van-de-zwarte-vrouw-of-een-onsmakelijke-karikatuur~bf259acb/. [2] The ethnoracial make-up of Curaçaoan society is much more complex as an island characterised by movement and migration. My focus here on these two groups refers to the historic colour lines along which the population was divided; the black-white dichotomy that existed in colonial society and persists in the postcolony in nuanced complex ways.[3] Guno Jones, ‘Anton de Kom, Situated Knowledge and Citizenship Violence’ (Lecture, KITLV/Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies, Leiden, 26 april 2023). [4] Raymond L. Williams, Marxism and Literature, repr, Marxist Introductions (Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press, 2009). [5] Gloria Wekker, White innocence: paradoxes of colonialism and race (Durham: Duke University Press, 2016), 26.[6] Stuart Hall, Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices (London: Sage, 1997), 228.[7] Marita Sturken en Lisa Cartwright, Practices of Looking: An Introduction to Visual Culture, Third edition (New York: Oxford University Press, 2018), 19. [8] Hall, Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices. [9] Rosemarie Buikema, ‘The Arena of Imaginings: Sarah Baartman and the Ethics of Representation’, in Doing Gender in Media, Art and Culture. A Comprehensive Guide to Gender Studies, onder redactie van Rosemarie Buikema, Liedeke Plate, en Kathrin Thiele (London and New York: Routledge, 2017), 81-93.[10] Sturken en Cartwright, Practices of looking, 24. [11] Hall, Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices, 244. [12] Hall, 225.[13] Hortense Spillers, ‘Mama’s Baby, Papa’s Maybe’, An American Grammar Book, 2009. [14] Hall, Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices, 251. [15] Nicholas Mirzoeff, ‘The Right to Look’, Critical Inquiry 37, nr. 3 (2011): 476, https://doi.org/10.1086/659354. [16] Buro Stedelijk, ‘#37 Keti Koti Westerpark - Buro Stedelijk -’, Buro Stedelijk (blog), geraadpleegd 4 juli 2024, https://burostedelijk.nl:443/manifestations/37-keti-koti-westerpark/. [17] Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, ‘The danger of a single story’, TED, juli 2009, https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_ngozi_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story https://glenpherd.com/Desktop Thu, 04 Jul 2024 18:39:41 +0000 glenpherd https://glenpherd.com/Desktop <img width="1024" height="1024" width_o="1024" height_o="1024" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/3699d2b7284bb007d2ab15541ab20668a07fc39482db403c5942d6c8b7e6d7c2/pdf.png" data-mid="214133805" border="0" data-draggable alt="CV_2024" data-caption="CV_2024" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/3699d2b7284bb007d2ab15541ab20668a07fc39482db403c5942d6c8b7e6d7c2/pdf.png" /> <img width="1354" height="1410" width_o="1354" height_o="1410" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/c11194ce4a5163d9a0fb78591d03b1a320bda05cbc3b7cdc0aa97f32ec1b1e2b/about3.png" data-mid="214133806" border="0" data-draggable alt="About Me.txt" data-caption="About Me.txt" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/c11194ce4a5163d9a0fb78591d03b1a320bda05cbc3b7cdc0aa97f32ec1b1e2b/about3.png" /> <img width="1080" height="788" width_o="1080" height_o="788" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/0a3974ad42f34cf99ec9e5ef8c247e9d9751c2f161985243b7e39ae08ae965f4/Blous.png" data-mid="214142734" border="0" data-draggable alt="Out-of-the-blue.art" data-caption="Out-of-the-blue.art" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/0a3974ad42f34cf99ec9e5ef8c247e9d9751c2f161985243b7e39ae08ae965f4/Blous.png" /> <img width="1080" height="1080" width_o="1080" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/861747da349cc3392e877651037435f533c191bb8af5276ccf2cfc699468351b/butterfly.png" data-mid="214143470" border="0" data-draggable alt="6ISLANDS Zine_Papia ku Mi.txt" data-caption="6ISLANDS Zine_Papia ku Mi.txt" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/861747da349cc3392e877651037435f533c191bb8af5276ccf2cfc699468351b/butterfly.png" /> <img width="1080" height="1080" width_o="1080" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/45c90ee4dd0db3c76b0948a1cd29cbd0b3dc025b827a80adebe6ae4df3fff47d/Chichi-logo-2.png" data-mid="214161214" border="0" data-draggable alt="Decolonising Collective Zine - Open Access.pdf" data-caption="Decolonising Collective Zine - Open Access.pdf" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/45c90ee4dd0db3c76b0948a1cd29cbd0b3dc025b827a80adebe6ae4df3fff47d/Chichi-logo-2.png" /> <img width="192" height="192" width_o="192" height_o="192" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/8c9fd07d86f372df82315fec483b4672135b2141d5f6b609270891bc7a89a0e4/Triumph-of-Nanzi.png" data-mid="217042619" border="0" data-draggable alt="Nanzi-Caribbean_ Orature.txt" data-caption="Nanzi-Caribbean_ Orature.txt" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/192/i/8c9fd07d86f372df82315fec483b4672135b2141d5f6b609270891bc7a89a0e4/Triumph-of-Nanzi.png" /> <img width="1080" height="1080" width_o="1080" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/e3f4a7dc7a3be570266c6f0900d44395b4410fcd0271eabdc9828254b97d5abc/Chichi-logo.png" data-mid="214135103" border="0" data-draggable alt="Chichi.txt" data-caption="Chichi.txt" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/e3f4a7dc7a3be570266c6f0900d44395b4410fcd0271eabdc9828254b97d5abc/Chichi-logo.png" /> <img width="1350" height="1080" width_o="1350" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/82d9c10c943a125009b5cdf39bc35aeaa103516ac2636edbee6581edad4b64a2/Untitled-design-5.png" data-mid="225826512" border="0" data-draggable alt="☀️Aesthetics-of-Disaster🌊.txt" data-caption="☀️Aesthetics-of-Disaster🌊.txt" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/82d9c10c943a125009b5cdf39bc35aeaa103516ac2636edbee6581edad4b64a2/Untitled-design-5.png" /> <img width="800" height="800" width_o="800" height_o="800" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/46f77e55ee7113058f9749206ef2c2277207eadc921e75ae9844d50a96183903/Femicide-on-X-article-3.png" data-mid="244683216" border="0" data-draggable alt="Framing Femicide-Discourses on X" data-caption="Framing Femicide-Discourses on X" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/800/i/46f77e55ee7113058f9749206ef2c2277207eadc921e75ae9844d50a96183903/Femicide-on-X-article-3.png" /> <img width="1350" height="1080" width_o="1350" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/afed86f0715c9f8979709d3c6c59ca5ceab59244b07a3ad017ac5eaf1e5f1dba/Copy-of-Untitled-Design.png" data-mid="245913847" border="0" alt="Buro-Stedelijk.art" data-caption="Buro-Stedelijk.art" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/afed86f0715c9f8979709d3c6c59ca5ceab59244b07a3ad017ac5eaf1e5f1dba/Copy-of-Untitled-Design.png" /> https://glenpherd.com/Info Thu, 04 Jul 2024 18:39:42 +0000 glenpherd https://glenpherd.com/Info GlenpherdA.K.A Glenny Kravitz ︎ ︎