The Uneasy Boundary Work of Black Diamonds and Coconuts: Middle-Class Labelling in Post-Apartheid South Africa

Managing a middle-class status involves a great amount of ‘boundary work’, part of which takes place in discussions and narratives over labels. In this paper, I show how an analysis of the narratives around labels such as ‘black diamond’ and ‘coconut’ are vital to understanding the complexities of middle-class boundary work in post-apartheid South Africa. I juxtapose young, urban professionals’ reactions to the concept of black diamonds in the first decade of the 21st century with fragments from a discussion on the term ‘coconut’ in 2015. This reveals that a shift is taking place in post-apartheid that is making intra-group differences more visible, calling into question the racial loyalties of those apparently upwardly mobile. In all, analysing labelling politics helps understand middle-class boundary work.