Exploring black lesbian sexualities and identities in Johannesburg
Date
2011-07-07
Authors
Matebeni, Zethu
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
Exploring
black
lesbian
sexualities
and
identities
is
a
multifaceted
in-‐depth
ethnographic
study
of
black
urban
lesbian
life
in
contemporary
South
Africa.
This
study,
which
focuses
on
lesbian
women
aged
between
17
and
40
years,
reads
the
term
lesbian
as
both
a
political
and
a
theoretical
project.
It
speaks
to
current
concerns,
which
raise
questions
related
to
the
politics
of
inclusion/exclusion,
love,
sexuality,
identity
politics,
violence,
style
and
urban
space
while
sensitively
giving
agency
to
women’s
narratives.
In
many
ways,
it
enriches
and
challenges
conventional
gay
and
lesbian
studies
and
studies
on
sexuality
in
Africa
by
bringing
meaning
to
the
complex
interplay
between
space,
style,
erotic
practice
and
sexuality.
It
further
illustrates
the
flexible
practices
and
variable
notions
of
sex,
sexuality
and
gender
categories.
At
the
same
time
it
tackles
the
precarious
and
painful
position
of
black
lesbian
women
whose
lives
are
an
ongoing
maneuvering
and
negotiation
between
a
potentially
hostile
or
violent
environment
and
a
country
with
constitutional
protections.
The
political
and
theoretical
imperative
of
the
study
is
evident
in
the
representations
of
black
lesbians
as
occupying
subject
positions
in
which
they
determine
the
structures
and
meanings
of
their
lives.
Their
narratives
show
that
they
inhabit
the
world
actively,
not
only
as
victims
or
in
relation
to
others,
but
also
as
conscious
subjects
that
make
meanings
of
their
lives:
subjects
who
are
actively
and
critically
engaging
with
the
world
we
inhabit.
Description
PhD, Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, 2011
Keywords
lesbian, sexuality, ethnography, space, identity, style, erotic practice, queer, violence, sexual pleasure