Black Female Resistance and the Womanist Temper in Trevor Noah’s <i>Born a Crime</i>

Resistance to apartheid and its legacies in South Africa has been predominantly figured as androcentric and political. This perception overlooks other modes of resistance, such as non-violent resistance within the quotidian space. Many South African writers have utilised the autobiographical genre to narrativise their experience of apartheid and its post-period and Trevor Noah’s Born a Crime is a veritable example. Most critical studies on Noah’s Born a Crime have overlooked Patricia’s, Trevor Noah’s mother’s, narrative that underlies Trevor Noah’s transformation and growth. This necessitates the analytical exploration of Patricia’s narrative from the perspective of black female resistance to the apartheid system and its residues and her womanist temper to oppressive patriarchal traditions. This paper deployed postcolonialism and womanism to examine Patricia’s subtle resistance and contradictory refusals. This study concludes that Patricia’s resistance and womanist temper can empower fellow females in parallel restrictive geographies and promote a conciliatory approach to gender relations.