Exhibition statement for: Bogaleng - The Unspoken Right Of Passage By Neo Mahlangu

Bogaleng: The Unspoken Right of Passage by Neo Mahlangu

Bogaleng is a Sepedi word that translates to “the sharp end”. It is taken from the Sepedi Proverb that says “Mosadi oswara thipa ka bogaleng” which in a way perpetuates the stigma that women should experience pain, it’s a part of their biology.

Pain has become the unspoken right of passage into womanhood.

Sometimes pain is subtle, other times it becomes too extreme to tolerate.

From a young age, women are taught to bear being antagonised. A young girl is told that when a boy makes fun of her, he is really showing interest in her. Emotional pain in exchange for attention is groomed. This develops into a married woman learning to “go kgotlhella” (to endure any pain that they experience from the husband). Emotional pain in exchange for commitment is accepted. Beauty is  given in return for pain. Women are conditioned to meet the standards of the male gaze, which can only be achieved through pain, like when high heels are worn even though it systematically disfigures the female body. It has become a norm for women to experience pain.

In South Africa, in 2018, our digital media landscape is saturated with stories of women beaten and even killed by their male partners. And we, as an audience, have become desensitised to the domestic violence and murders that girls must endure in order to become women.

Pain has become a gender norm for women, the thing that they need to receive in exchange for womanhood. It has become the initiation ritual that women share, regardless of their cultural background. It is the right of passage into womanhood.