Sexual Minorities in South Africa (original) (raw)

International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences, 2015

Abstract

Since the demise of apartheid, gay and lesbian people in South Africa have enjoyed equal rights and access to legal reform on many levels. Same-sex partnerships, adoption rights, immigration rights, and other social benefits for same-sex partners have become a norm in South Africa. Though the postapartheid South African constitution grants rights to sexual minorities, the extent of racial and class inequalities within gay politics indicates the need for a revamped movement or politics that will challenge structural injustices and lack of redistribution. Looking at South Africa through the commonly used gay lens is not only limited but also problematic. This lens follows the same forms of exclusion that gay history has revealed. Gender, class, and racial tensions within postapartheid gay politics, as in South Africa as a whole, are easily overlooked when the focus is primarily on freedom and equality.

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