Questioning heteronormative higher dducation spaces: experiences of lesbian women at a South African university

Abstract

This article narrows the gaze on sexual orientation and focuses on a group of university-going women who self-identify as lesbian. The article works from the understanding that there is an intersectional prism through which women's experiences need to be understood. Thus, working within an intersectional paradigm and narrative analysis, the article attempts to situate the experiences and shared stories of a core sample community of a small group of university women against a human rights discourse and what is understood by the women, as their entitlement to full sexual citizenship within the institutional spaces of the university. Findings reveal that the women feel that the imperatives of university transformation hold little meaning in terms of their personal sexual orientation. Findings also show that in the perceived absence of institutional support, the women draw on nodal ties and social capital embedded in student social groups where kinship and acceptance is offered.

Unpacking pervasive heteronormativity in sub-Saharan Africa: Opportunities to embrace multiplicity of sexualities

“…Much of the work that aims to rethink queer life in the global South without “talking back” on the experiences of the global North has focused specifically on sub-Saharan Africa, a part of the world where prejudice, discrimination, and violence against queer people are perceived to be especially severe (Brown et al, 2010; Milani and Lazar, 2017; Tucker, 2020). The everyday realities of queer people are very much affected by popular homophobic discourses of heteronormativity that inform widely shared norms of masculinity and femininity, negative attitudes towards homosexuality and sometimes hostile reactions, which are often pervasive towards queer bodies (Hendriks, 2016; Naidu and Mutumbara, 2017).…”

“Into Nje – It’s Just a Thing…”: Being a Lesbian in a Rural Area

“…Although South Africa has one of the most liberal constitutions in the world, sexual orientation and gender identity are still highly misunderstood (Malatji, 2016;Ramirez, 2020). Some people still perceive same-sex relations as unnatural, unbiblical, a Western culture import and therefore un-African (Masuku, 2015;Naidu & Mutambara, 2017;Schaff, 2010). This is especially the case in conservative contexts where people are still deeply entrenched in traditional cultural and religious beliefs, and where non-conforming sexual identities are not common, such as in rural contexts (Boso, 2013;Dahl, Scott & Peace, 2015;Malatji, 2016;Masuku, 2015).…”

“…Based on the first objective, this article deliberately devotes attention to participants' "rural" experiences, which are less documented, especially in South Africa, a gap acknowledged by some scholars (Govender, Maotoana, & Nel, 2019;Mutambara, 2015;Naidu & Mutambara, 2017). Govender et al (2019:139), for example, note how lesbians experience "social exclusion and isolation as their behaviours are not in line with social and moral norms in their communities."…”