Gender and Sexuality in Sustaining the Mining Economy of 20th-Century South Africa
Name: Simoné Vermeulen
Student Number: 18461034
Assessment Number: 02
Date of Submission: 12 September 2025
Email Address:
, Historically South African mining dates to 1886, with the discovery of gold, which led
to the mineral revolution. Today the mining sector is about much more than geological
assets, but also about the men and women who make their living through and operate
within this industry and the role they play within the mining culture. It is important to
study and gain a better understanding of the dynamics of gender and sexuality within
this industry to comprehend how the mining economy is maintained.
We will further explore the role gender and sexuality play within the mining industry by
examining the case studies of Moodie et al. (1988) and Campbell (2001) through an
anthropological point of view within the outline of livelihood as addressed in Theme 4
of the study guide (APY3705, 2015).
As highlighted by anthropology, politics relating to economy plays a crucial role in
everyday life. Political systems such as capitalism hugely impacted the daily life
workers and their families. Labourers migrated from rural areas to work in South
African mines and men were then housed in same gender households that were near
to the mines that they worked in. By this practice, traditional family structures were
disturbed and it subsequently changed and reformed relationships back home as well
as gender relationships at the place of work. Livelihoods were now not only just a
matter of earning wages, but also how both genders maintained social structures amid
forced migration (APY3705, 2015). Sexuality became core guiding principles
governing how labourers were commissioned and continued. The state and mining
industry controlled male sexuality by coordinating female presence, thereby moulding
the masculine role in order to keep the economy that relies on mining thriving.
It was this migrant labour system that forced men to be separated from their wives for
months and in more cases, years, which led to the evolving intimacy behaviours within
the all-male clusters. The article by Moodie et al. (1988) provides an in depth and
critical look into the life of men in these all-men hostels.
From an anthropological point of view, the practices of these men demonstrate how
sexuality is formed by culture and dependent on context. These men were lonely,
being away from their wives and families for sometimes years, and these practices
were not always or solely about pleasure but also a way of coping with their loneliness.
It was also about exploitation in a system that supported these practices for the ends
of maintaining order. Within the mining community, these practices were tolerated as
Name: Simoné Vermeulen
Student Number: 18461034
Assessment Number: 02
Date of Submission: 12 September 2025
Email Address:
, Historically South African mining dates to 1886, with the discovery of gold, which led
to the mineral revolution. Today the mining sector is about much more than geological
assets, but also about the men and women who make their living through and operate
within this industry and the role they play within the mining culture. It is important to
study and gain a better understanding of the dynamics of gender and sexuality within
this industry to comprehend how the mining economy is maintained.
We will further explore the role gender and sexuality play within the mining industry by
examining the case studies of Moodie et al. (1988) and Campbell (2001) through an
anthropological point of view within the outline of livelihood as addressed in Theme 4
of the study guide (APY3705, 2015).
As highlighted by anthropology, politics relating to economy plays a crucial role in
everyday life. Political systems such as capitalism hugely impacted the daily life
workers and their families. Labourers migrated from rural areas to work in South
African mines and men were then housed in same gender households that were near
to the mines that they worked in. By this practice, traditional family structures were
disturbed and it subsequently changed and reformed relationships back home as well
as gender relationships at the place of work. Livelihoods were now not only just a
matter of earning wages, but also how both genders maintained social structures amid
forced migration (APY3705, 2015). Sexuality became core guiding principles
governing how labourers were commissioned and continued. The state and mining
industry controlled male sexuality by coordinating female presence, thereby moulding
the masculine role in order to keep the economy that relies on mining thriving.
It was this migrant labour system that forced men to be separated from their wives for
months and in more cases, years, which led to the evolving intimacy behaviours within
the all-male clusters. The article by Moodie et al. (1988) provides an in depth and
critical look into the life of men in these all-men hostels.
From an anthropological point of view, the practices of these men demonstrate how
sexuality is formed by culture and dependent on context. These men were lonely,
being away from their wives and families for sometimes years, and these practices
were not always or solely about pleasure but also a way of coping with their loneliness.
It was also about exploitation in a system that supported these practices for the ends
of maintaining order. Within the mining community, these practices were tolerated as
