Queer kinship: South African perspectives on the sexual politics of family-making and belonging Edited by (original) (raw)
Related papers
Queer Kinship on the Edge full
Routledge, 2022
Queer Kinship on the Edge explores ways in which queer families from Central and Easter Europe complicate the mainstream picture of queer kinship and families researched in the Anglo-American contexts. The book presents findings from under-represented localities as a starting point to query some of the expectations about queer kinship and to provide insights on the scale and nature of queer kinship in diverse geo-political locations and the complexities of lived experiences of queer families. Drawing on on rich qualitative multi-method study to address the gap in queer kinship studies which tend to exclude Polish or wider Central and Eastern perspectives, it offers a multi-dimensional picture of ‘families of choice’ improving sensitivity towards differences in queer kinship studies. Through case studies and interviews with diverse members of queer families (i.e. queer parents, their children) and their families of origin (parents and siblings) the book looks at queer domesticity, practices of care, defining and displaying families, queer parenthood familial homophobia, and interpersonal relationships through the life-course. This study is suitable for those interested in LGBT Studies, Sexuality Studies, Kinship and Eastern European Studies.
Trends in Contemporary Queer Kinship and Family Research
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There have been great advances in socio-legal queer rights in recent years and many of these have clustered around partnership and parenthood. Whilst these rights are seemingly progressive and welcome, they have not come without a cost. Cultural studies and queer theorising have critically engaged with, and effectively critiqued, these advances. However, in many ways empirical research on “same-sex parenthood” has largely glossed over the problematic of contemporary equality rights and focussed instead on the opportunities presented. Research in this vein typically instantiates heteronormative gender and sexuality through insufficient attention to everyday experiences and the ways in which these queer kinship. Geopolitical and socio-cultural contexts are used as scene-setting rather than being operationalised to prise apart the intersections of public/private intimacies. A genealogy imperative is defining families, with queer practices of conception invoked to separate one family fr...
Same-sex sexual desire and the re-imagining of the South African family
Many individuals who form same sex intimate relationships argue that the social and legal protection associated with heterosexual marriage should be extended to their relationships. This is understandable because marriage in South Africa remains the focal point for the protection and regulation of the interests of individuals who engage in intimate relationships of any kind. However, merely extending marriage rights to same sex couples whose relationships mirror the idealised heterosexual norm will be problematic. Because of homophobia and prejudice many individuals in same sex intimate relationships will not be able to freely ‘choose’ to get married. Others will form intimate relationships that will not be recognised because they will be insufficiently similar to the traditional heterosexual notion of marriage. Those who do not marry will therefore once again be marginalised and the law will once again fail to protect the weaker and more vulnerable partners in such relationships. The early case law of the Constitutional Court recognised that the right to substantive equality entails a right to equal concern and respect across difference and thus hinted that not only marriage like intimate same sex relationships, but also non traditional forms of suchrelationships should be constitutionally protected and respected. However, later judgments seem to suggest that intimate relationships that stray too far from the model of traditional heterosexual marriage, are less worthy of respect and protection. This narrow conception of what constitutes worthy intimate relationships is deeply problematic, not only for individuals in non traditional same sex relationships but also for the millions of individuals in different sex relationships who are not married, because it marginalises them and fails to extend legal protection to some of the most vulnerable members of society. The legal regulation of intimate relationships should therefore completely move away from the marriage model and should instead be based on a functional model which takes account of the unequal power relations in intimate relationships.
Southern African Public Law, 2023
Customs that enforce heteronormativity, generally also safeguard the interests of society's vulnerable, for instance orphans and widows, to name two examples. The recognition that non-heterosexual people is a minority group with legitimate concerns is important, as they could contribute to family support while maintaining their identity and mental well-being. Non-heterosexual individuals' interests are protected in the current Constitution; however, their protection must transform social support structures beyond written laws. Social structures tend to accept change at a slower pace than progressive laws. In South Africa the gender-normative and heteronormative are generally being overridden by a 'don't ask, don't tell' code, where sexual minorities are gradually gaining acceptance in a dominantly heteronormative society. In this article, the authors argue against the customs of spousal inheritance and ukuthwala, which, among others, are being imposed on non-heterosexual people, because they suggest a person's sexuality belongs to a clan. These cultural practices may serve a purpose in society but could be interpreted to support constitutional values. For instance, traditional healers as custodians of culture have documented instances of being gender-fluid, when a female could be possessed by a male spirit, thus requiring a female sexual partner. Indigenous culture as it is known, has been tainted by capitalism, patriarchy, foreign religion, and the absolute opinions of a few elders. Which begs the question whether heteronormativity truly is a South African construct.
Journal of Social Issues, 2011
In 1996 South Africa was the first country in the world to safeguard sexual orientation as a human right in its Constitution. Homonegativity is pervasive in Africa, including South Africa, with claims that, "homosexuality is unAfrican." In interviews with 20 self-identified lesbian, gay, bisexual, intersex, and queer people living in South Africa, the participants spoke about how their identities were shaped by history, place, race, gender, and culture. Though they all recognized marriage as a powerful instrument in asserting their rights, it did not take the place of subjective commitment. Four out of 11 couples were married, whereas the rest were in various stages of either contemplating or rejecting marriage. I used the concept of "belonging" to analyze the underlying social values attached to marriage that position couples differently as citizens. A key issue concerned the tensions between values of "Whiteness," Ubuntu, and the role of kinship in belonging in post-apartheid South Africa.
PhD Thesis, 2022
Through a comparative reading of several literary works, while also evoking other art forms, namely photography, this thesis will address matters of queer kinship, inheritance and legacy in contemporary representations of families in the context of the United States of America, namely in two novels Middlesex (2002) by Jeffrey Eugenides (1960-) and The Great Believers (2018) by Rebecca Makkai (1978-), a play, The Inheritance (2018) by Matthew Lopez (1977-) and a memoir, The Argonauts (2015) by Maggie Nelson (1973-). This comparative reading is established through a dialogue between a set of metaphors that permeate the case studies (ghosts, family trees) while also exploring how the discourses about queer bodies and families have been reshaped and challenged over the last twenty years. Looking at families, in the context of queer theories and kinship studies, is perceived as a way of analysing how heteronormative norms shape both the home and the social, as well as how queer individuals have been producing both alternative but also assimilationist kinship structures that guarantee structures for safety and care. Ultimately, this thesis intends to open up a discussion about how queer families have been represented in literature and other art forms, how these representations reinforce or challenge notions of nuclear families and how these are shaped by social and gender norms, and how one generation of artists can contribute, not only to the representation of their times but also to a transgenerational legacy of cultural references.
Are Same-Sex Marriages UnAfrican? Same-Sex Relationships and Belonging in Post-Apartheid South
In 1996 South Africa was the first country in the world to safeguard sexual orientation as a human right in its Constitution. Hom.onegativity is pervasive in Africa, including South Africa, with claims that, '"homosexuality is unAfrican." In interviews with 20 self-identified lesbian, gay, bisexual, intersex, and queer people living in South Africa, the participants spoke about how their identities were shaped by history, place, race, gender, and culture. Though they all recognized marriage as a powerful instrument in asserting their rights, it did not talw the place of subjective commitment. Four out of 1I couples were nurried, whereas the rest were in vaious steges of either contemplating or rejecting maniage. I used the concept of "belonging" to analyze the underlying social values attached to marringe that position couples d.ffirently as citizens. A key issue concerned the tensions between values of "Whiteness," Ubuntu, and the role of kinship in belonging in post-apartheid South Africa. .