Every member of the LGBTQ+ community has faced unique challenges when exploring their sexual identity, but for those in Southern African states, finding acceptance is often extremely difficult. Of the 61 United Nations member states that criminalize same-sex relations, more than half are African states. Influenced by different notions of culture, tradition and/or religion, the continued discrimination faced by the community has created an absence of research on Southern African narratives, until now.
Unveiling Identities bridges the gap between academic discourse and the lived experiences of the LGBTQ+ community, carefully researched and presented by scholars from across disciplines. The result is a startlingly honest account of the obstacles LGBTQ+ individuals must navigate in this specific geographic and cultural context. With chapters ranging from the legal landscape, the intersection of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and the continued impact of activism and advocacy, editors Patsika, Naidoo, and Mutekwe curate a vivid exploration of the reasoning behind views of homosexuality amongst the African populous, driven by rigorous research.
This collective narrative is much needed in reducing the difference in focus on Southern Africa and the Global South more broadly in this space. The chapters offer a fresh perspective on the subject, but also a positive message of potential for the future. For those interested in African sexuality studies, Unveiling Identities is a title fuelled by enduring hope.
Chapter
1. Unveiling Identities: Illuminating LGBTQ+ Realities in
Southern Africa; Paddington Mutekwe and Tinovimba Patsika
Part
1. Challenging Norms: Post-Colonial, Pan-African, and Queer Narratives
Chapter
2. Queering Pan-Africanist Leadership: Confronting Queerphobia and
Ableism in African Public Discourse; Kudzaiishe Peter Vanyoro
Chapter
3. Fighting Colonial Identities: Zimbabwean Independence and the
Ongoing Advocacy Against Colonial Impositions of Gender and Sexuality; Calvin
Kunaka
Chapter
4. The Lesbian Touch: Counter Narratives of Lesbian Erotic
World-Making; Susan Holland-Muter (Deceased) and Letitia Smuts
Chapter
5. Intersectional Dynamics of Culture, Religion, Politics and Sexual
Diversity within the Namibian Inclusive Educational Context; Rauna Keshemunhu
Haitembu
Chapter
6. Coming to Terms with the Conundrum of Intersectionality in Gender
and Sexuality as Pathways of Addressing Student Intersecting Identities in
Higher Education Institutions: A Sociological Perspective; Edmore Mutekwe
Part
2. Societal Attitudes and Experiences of the LGBTQ+ Community
Chapter
7. Black Queer Lockdown: An Analysis of Johannesburg Black Queer Joy,
Home, and Isolation Narratives During the COVID-19 Pandemic; Kudzaiishe Peter
Vanyoro
Chapter
8. Navigating Diversity: Societal Attitudes Towards LGBTQ+
Individuals in Southern African CountriesA Systematic Review of Challenges
and Implications for Policy; Turnwait Otu Michael
Chapter
9. Navigating the Intersections: Culture, Work Life, Sexual
Orientation, and Gender Identity in South Africa, Namibia, Mauritius, and
Malawi; Rauna Keshemunhu Haitembu and Anthony Brown
Chapter
10. Perceptions of Homosexuality Amongst Young Zimbabweans: A Social
Network Analysis; Tinovimba Patsika, Kammila Naidoo, and Tina Uys
Part
3. Confronting Institutional Constraints: Moving Towards Inclusive
Societies
Chapter
11. Microaggressions Against Transgender and Gender-Diverse People in
Health Care in South Africa: Inductive Findings from an Online Interview
Study; Michelle Kneisel and Prevan Moodley
Chapter
12. Anti Homosexuality Laws: A Contemporary Socio-Legal Assessment
of HIV Vulnerability, Standards of Detention and LGBTQ+ Navigation of African
Prison Systems; Marie Claire Van Hout and Lannah Kent
Chapter
13. Language of Care: Adopting Language that Humanises, Acknowledges,
Inclusive, and Visibilises Transgender People; Kgothatso Martin Mokgele and
Simangele Shakwane
Chapter
14. Motivations for Dating App Use Amongst Gay, Bisexual, and Other
Men Who Have Sex with Men in South Africa; Lungile Xaba and Prevan Moodley
Chapter
15. Final Words: Unveiling in a Time of Backlash; Kammila Naidoo
Tinovimba Patsika is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Psychology at the University of Johannesburg in South Africa.
Kammila Naidoo is a Professor of Sociology publishing in the areas of gender relations, family, violence against women, poverty, and inequality. She is also the Executive Dean of the Faculty of Humanities, University of Johannesburg.
Paddington Mutekwe is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Sociology at the University of Johannesburg in South Africa.
