Visual representation, editorial power, and the dual ‘othering’ of black men in the South African gay press: The case of<i>Gay Pages</i>

Sonnekus, Theo; Eeden, Jeanne Van

doi:10.1080/02500160902906661

Cited by 18 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…In other words, the threatening 'difference' that bona fide homosexual men present, which confirms the 'sameness' and normativity of heterosexually identified MSM in an antonymic fashion, extends to the places, media and commodities that are typically conceived of as defining one's gayness (Sonnekus & Van Eeden 2009;Sonnekus 2007;Du Plessis 2006: 30). Spaces such as Kaalgat 24, however, facilitate gay sex devoid of any cultural affiliations, and ultimately compromises for Afrikaner MSMs evasion of clearly defined 'gay' arenas.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 85%

“…Gaydar, for example, is a major sponsor of the Johannesburg Pride's most extravagant after-party, The Fireman's Ball. The fact that the website is available in English and Afrikaans also significantly sets it apart from most gay media that follow a 'Westernised' trend (Sonnekus & Van Eeden 2009). This is especially significant, since the manner in which hegemonic Afrikaner masculinity finds expression on Kaalgat 24 is of central concern to this investigation.…”

Section: The Problem With 'Being' Straight and 'Acting' Gay: Skoonheimentioning

confidence: 96%

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‘We’re not faggots!’: Masculinity, Homosexuality and the Representation of Afrikaner Men Who have Sex with Men in the FilmSkoonheidand Online

Sonnekus

2013

South African Review of Sociology

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This article employs the film Skoonheid (Beauty) to explore the manner in which normative, white Afrikaner masculinity still operates to expel gayness from its self-definition. What is particularly vexing to this investigation, however, is the occurrence of behavioural homosexuality among white Afrikaner men who possess a compartmentalised identity constructed from notions of nationalism, puritanism, patriarchy and homophobia. Oliver Hermanus's Skoonheid casts its main character, Francois van Heerden, as the archetypal disenfranchised white Afrikaner man, whose repressed homosexuality amplifies the anxiety and disempowerment he experiences in a post-apartheid world. His masculine identity is constantly under threat from racial and sexual 'Others', who highlight the hypocrisy and constructedness of the outmoded model of patriarchy that he reveres. The goal of this critique is ultimately to position such representations of 'ideal' Afrikaner masculinity (and its problematic relationship with homosexuality) in popular visual culture as indicative of related sociological issues that permeate the South African landscape. The article, for example, also briefly considers virtual or 'online' communities such as Kaalgat 24 (Buck Naked 24) that exist on the peripheries of mainstream culture and serve to facilitate connections among white, 'heterosexual' Afrikaner men who have sex with men (MSM). Ultimately, the author sets out to illustrate that for men like Francois homosexual behaviour is categorically disconnected from gayness, whether in terms of a commercial 'lifestyle' or sexual orientation: The act of having sex with men, in no way suggests belonging to the gay community or buying into any particular lifestyle. Homosexuality (or stereotypical, imagined ideas surrounding it) is still treated contemptuously in certain contexts, resulting in acts of expulsion and violence that re-inscribe the stigmas associated with 'faggots' in traditional Afrikaner, heteronormative rhetoric.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 85%

Section: The Problem With 'Being' Straight and 'Acting' Gay: Skoonheimentioning

confidence: 96%

‘We’re not faggots!’: Masculinity, Homosexuality and the Representation of Afrikaner Men Who have Sex with Men in the FilmSkoonheidand Online

Sonnekus

2013

South African Review of Sociology

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“…Quite obviously, in South(ern) Africa the largest majority of its population is not white. Of course, the downplaying of black people is not unique to this website, but has been found in other South African media outlets targeting gay and lesbian audiences (see in particular Sonnekus and Van Eeden 2009). Beyond the lack of representation for the full racial diversity of South Africa, it is also worth noting that no interracial couples are shown in the galleries: only a white/Asian couple is represented in the 'Testimonials' section.…”

Section: Image Galleriesmentioning

confidence: 95%

Queer skin, straight masks: same-sex weddings and the discursive construction of identities and affects on a South African website

Milani

Wolff

2015

Critical Arts

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This article showcases an exploratory study of the website of a Cape Town-based company specialising in arranging same-sex weddings. Informed by queer theory, the article deconstructs the discursive strategies -both linguistic and visual -through which samesex weddings, and the affects attached to them, are represented on the website. Essentially the argument is that the identitarian and affective constructions on this website are not so radically anti-normative, but are a 'homo' version of a well-established heterosexual normality. Same-sex couples who make the choice to get married are portrayed as the epitome of a responsible lifestyle, whereas those who do not are constructed by implication/omission as immoral and irresponsible. Moreover, the queer skin under the otherwise straight masks remains predominantly white. On a more theoretical level, the article argues for an affective turn in the study of consumerism, culture and media in South Africa in order to appreciate how some emotions (but not others) are attached to social class, race, gender and sexuality for marketing purposes.

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“…The poor representation of queers of colour is even more visible on magazine covers: White males account for 88.4% of representations, while Blacks account for 5.9%, Hispanics for 3%, and Asians for 1.7%. Sonnekus and van Eeden (2009), following their similar analysis of Gay Pages , a South African gay magazine, refer to a ‘spiral of silence’: the accumulation of representations of whiteness in gay magazines reinforces the association between gayness and whiteness , and thus silences other images.…”

Section: Representations In/by Discoursesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The colour of gayness: Representations of queers of colour in Québec’s gay media

Roy

2012

Sexualities

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Various stereotypes of racialized sexuality seem to be prevalent among White gay men, effectively objectifying other men and thus building frontiers. Drawing from a critical discourse analysis of three main gay magazines (Fugues, RG, and Être), this article will discuss how differences are constructed and performed in the symbolic representation of male homosexuality in the French-speaking gay media in Québec. This analysis, informed by both an intersectional feminist theorization and the poststructuralist thought of Judith Butler, is based on a discursive analysis of these three magazines' articles since 2000, as well as the visual representations on their front covers.

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Visual representation, editorial power, and the dual ‘othering’ of black men in the South African gay press: The case ofGay Pages

Cited by 18 publications

References 35 publications

‘We’re not faggots!’: Masculinity, Homosexuality and the Representation of Afrikaner Men Who have Sex with Men in the FilmSkoonheidand Online

‘We’re not faggots!’: Masculinity, Homosexuality and the Representation of Afrikaner Men Who have Sex with Men in the FilmSkoonheidand Online

Queer skin, straight masks: same-sex weddings and the discursive construction of identities and affects on a South African website

The colour of gayness: Representations of queers of colour in Québec’s gay media

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