ABSTRACT

This chapter begins by providing empirical evidence to substantiate an argument that racism may be viewed as the product of an interaction between the internal and the social world. It illustrates how these social phenomena intrinsically affect the development of the individual self and patterns of attachment. The concept of the intersubjective field has facilitated an understanding of the complex relationship between the individual and social world. The chapter argues that each of the layers of the intersubjective field is historically based. In the dialectic relationship between mother and baby, meaning is co-created and re-created to produce the subjective experience of the infant self. The relevance of the impasse for the development of a secure attachment in the couple is demonstrated. The differences in the South African social contexts of the meaning of whiteness illustrate the existence of multiple cultural realities within one socio-cultural context.