Abstract
Negotiating non-conforming bodies in South Africa is challenging as there are questions regarding who deserves social and political rights enshrined in the South African Constitution. Non-conforming bodies such as members of the LGBTIQA+ are faced with unique challenges influenced and affected by the intersections of race, gender, class, and geography within a heteronormative social environment. Black African queer women experience an added layer to their perceived vulnerability as the official sexual underclass. This thesis locates and frames the Black queer identities within a violent historical legacy where an added layer of non-conformity disadvantages this group within traditional, cultural, and linguistic spaces where primary socialisation occurs. Within this political context, non-conforming identities were suppressed, silenced, and discriminated against. Working within queer theory, African feminism, and the decolonial intersectional theoretical framework, the study explores the lived experiences of negotiating queer identities within a heteronormative space. Although there are inherent discriminatory behaviours and attitudes within society, the theoretical framework recognises these non-normative and deviant identities within privileged subject positions where layers of vulnerability are considered opportunities for the empowerment of societies. The study adopted a qualitative methodological approach through semi-structured interviews to make in-depth explorations of constructing and performing queer identities. Purposive and snowball sampling methods were used to sample 30 Black queer women between the ages of 25-55. The data was collected between May 2022 and February 2023 using virtual meeting platforms and face-to-face means to conduct in-depth interviews. Virtual meeting platforms were used subject to the COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown regulations, while the interviews conducted on a face-to-face basis occurred after the easing of lockdown regulations in 2022. The empirical findings revealed that the negotiations and performances of identities are central to deviance from regular programming, including primary socialisation. Although the queer women participants feel protected and recognised within existing legal frameworks like the progressive Constitution of South Africa that recognises sexual and gender diversity, there are inherent and visibly problematic framings that compromise non-conforming bodies. Additionally, patriarchal power and hegemonies subject queer women to public surveillance which influences their experiences of manoeuvring the closet, coming out and being re-closeted. The denial of queer identities, therefore, perpetuates the lack of cultural capital for Black queer people- which involves how queer communities and their allies challenge and navigate boundaries created by repressive and patriarchally influenced hetero-norms. This cultural capital must be informed from an insider point of view to create inclusive societies where queer bodies and their intimacies are recognised as centres of knowledge to enable gradual shifts towards the assimilation of marginal identities into society. The empirical findings align with Beetar (2016) and Pennell (2016) that a queer cultural capital is envisaged to serve as a test for the success of constitutional democracy, which is emblematic of a human right-based social order. As part of a decolonial Afro-feminist framework, inclusive societies should consider queer identities as equal to heterosexual identities across all spaces to reflect a true cultural identity of South Africa through conceptions of Ubuntu.