Abstract
This thesis provides a political and sociological understanding of how conventional knowledge of sexuality negates the identity formation of black gay men in contemporary South Africa, specifically in political institutions. It further focuses on the experiences of six black gay men to reveal the disjuncture between being black and being a gay man in South Africa. The theoretical formation of disjuncture is pursued through examining several sociological, historical, psychoanalytical, and feminist approaches to identity, sexuality, and society, featuring specifically the theories of George Herbert Mead, Michel Foucault, and Judith Butler. The prescribed literature on homosexuality is thus reviewed in conjunction with the South African gay and lesbian struggle to spawn themes and perspectives for conducting life story interviews. The use of the life story interview favours the participants‟ own view of the studied phenomenon yet aims to depict the structural influence on homosexual identification with particular reference to political institutions. Keywords: Homosexuality, Structural Influence, Marginalised, Masculinities and Political Institutions.
M.A. (Politics and International Relations)