UNIVERSITY OF DURBAN-WESTVILLE

When she reflects on being a female in academia she says, "I have never been
bothered about my gender. As a kid, being a girl was not a liability. I could do whatever
I wanted to do with boys. As I grew older I suddenly encountered situations where I
found prejudice just because of my sex. But it is not my problem. It is other peoples'
problems. I was able to do whatever I liked within my abilities. I grew up in an
environment that allowed me that." Botlhale is aware that some people in the
professional field consider her image threatening. We discussed this. "A man of my
equivalent position who behaves the way I do would not be seen as threatening. The
image would be in keeping with who they are - as someone who is well educated, who
is in a good position jobwise. You are expected to be a serious thinking person. My
colleagues who are male are exactly like me in respect of how they conduct themselves.
They would not be frivolous in a work situation. Outside the work situation it is
different. So why is the image threatening? It is threatening because it is not the
expected image. It is not the image a woman has to have. I don't know what image I
should have; maybe a frivolous and humble image? Similarly you can take that analogy
and apply it to a Black person. If a Black person speaks intelligently, it disturbs the
conception they have of that person. You are constantly confronting peoples'
preconceptions about you and their equilibrium is disturbed and you have to restore it
for them, either by saying that that was not you or they learn to live with who you are - a
thinking Black person."
Home life: creating parametersfor me
We spoke about family and home life agam. Dawn is now an assistant hotel
manager and Thabiso is still finding his way. Botlhale spends her spare time gardening,
reading and with the family. Friday evenings and Saturday mornings are spent
recuperating.
Religion is becoming important to Botlhale again. "I have taken a lot on my own. I
know my limits and try to live within those limits. Having an idea of a God gives me
comfort. It gives me the support system that it will all turn out OK. I have come to the
conclusion that I need to be a spiritual person - not religious in the dogmatic sense - in
order to create parameters for myself. I think I have the kind of personality that can go
overboard. I sometimes feel that I can do anything and think that I am invincible. I also
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