Meanings of homosexuality, same sex sexuality, and Africanness in two South African townships: an evidence-based approach for rethinking same-sex prejudice
SOURCE: African Studies Review
PUBLICATION YEAR: 2013
TITLE AUTHOR(S): V.Sigamoney, M.Epprecht
KEYWORDS: HOMOSEXUALITY, SAME-SEX FAMILIES, TOWNSHIP
DEPARTMENT: Developmental, Capable and Ethical State (DCES)
Print: HSRC Library: shelf number 9950
HANDLE: 20.500.11910/11222
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11910/11222
PUBLICATION YEAR: 2013
TITLE AUTHOR(S): V.Sigamoney, M.Epprecht
KEYWORDS: HOMOSEXUALITY, SAME-SEX FAMILIES, TOWNSHIP
DEPARTMENT: Developmental, Capable and Ethical State (DCES)
Print: HSRC Library: shelf number 9950
HANDLE: 20.500.11910/11222
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11910/11222
If you would like to obtain a copy of this Research Output, please contact Hanlie Baudin at researchoutputs@hsrc.ac.za.
Abstract
The assertion 'homosexuality is un-African' is widely viewed as an expression of homophobia. However, without knowledge of what homosexuality and 'Africanness' mean in a given context, any understanding of how to shift the prejudices associated with this assertion remains limited. Research conducted in 2010 with police, high school learners (students), and a sample of more than one thousand residents from two urban townships in South Africa contributes to this understanding. This article draws on data from the research to explore the significance of cultural translation when considering what constitutes same-sex prejudice and how it may relate to notions of authenticity or 'real Africanness.' While the research provides evidence of same-sex prejudice, there is also evidence of qualified acceptance of same-sex sexuality and of efforts to combat prejudice. Opportunities for change are discussed with reference to the data.-
Related Research Outputs:
- Sexual violence and HIV risk among black men who have sex with men in South African townships
- "Sometimes it's painful": painful anal intercourse and sexual decision making among black men who have sex with men in South African townships
- Alcohol and the social scripting of unsafe sex among black men who have sex with men in South African townships
- Taverns, bars and shebeens: sexual risk and HIV within homosocial spaces among black men who have sex with men in South African townships
- Familiar claims: representations of same-gendered families in South African mainstream news media
- HIV and sexual risk in MSM in Tshwane townships: findings from the quantitative phase
- HIV testing practices of South African township MSM in the era of expanded access to ART
- "This will not enter me": painful anal intercourse among black men who have sex with men in South African townships
- 'They think that gays have money': gender identity and transactional sex among black men who have sex with men in four South African townships
- Using CHAMP to prevent youth HIV risk in South African townships
- Perceived social context of AIDS in a black township in Cape Town
- HIV testing attitudes, AIDS stigma, and voluntary HIV counselling and testing in a black township in Cape Town, South Africa
- Code-mixing and influence of English as a language of learning and teaching in Cape Town township primary schools
- Hitting the wall in crossroads: events around housing paralysis and community conflict in an older Cape Town township
- Listening to matric teachers: township realities and learner achievement levels
- A census report of orphaned and vulnerable children in two South African communities
- Psychosocial issues affecting orphans and vulnerable children in two South African communities
- Masculine bodies, feminine symbols: challenging gendered identities or compulsory femininity?
- The imagined future for gays and lesbians in South Africa: is this it?
- Decriminalisation of homosexuality in post-apartheid South Africa: a brief legal case history review from sodomy to marriage