1. Research Methods
5.1 Introduction
5.2.2 The lack of awareness about sexually non-conforming identities and how it
78 Tyra: Oh miss, isn’t their father was a man and then he changed now to be a woman, yes miss his name …was … I’m not too sure but Miss he’s a woman now and has like long hair and breasts even. Miss, they have a lot of money, I think this is how he got to look so beautiful. I saw it in a Peoples magazine that my granny brought home from the hospital. My granny’s a nurse Miss. Miss, he has some surgery to get the titties and remove some other stuff and also has to have medicines to help him become more like a woman.
Drawing on her observations in media, Tyra was the only participant who displayed knowledge about transgender. She said that transgender people are people who want to change their bodies either from a boy to a girl or a girl to a boy. She further explained that they would need to go to a special doctor who would assist them to get medicines that would help them achieve this. She went on to say that when taking these pills they would shrink the breasts and start to grow a beard. She linked hormonal treatment and Caitlyn Jenner. Tyra was also the only participant who knew that the stepfather of the Kardashians (Bruce) was now a woman after undergoing a sex change. It can be deduced that through media Tyra was able to construct knowledge about transgender.
5.2.2 The lack of awareness about sexually non-conforming identities and how it impacts
79 Cassandra: Lesbian, gay and bi’s the T, I’m not sure.
Tabani: Lesbian, gay, and biosexual. I don’t know what is the rest.
Most participants knew that LGB meant lesbian, gay and bisexual but were confused about the TQI and looked around at each other realising that they did not know the meaning of the full acronym. They giggled again because they had no idea what the TQI stood for. Here it was evident that the participants were well aware of the terms lesbians, gays and bisexual but they did not know about transgender identities.
I then probed using the photo elicitation method. I wanted to see if the participants knew what being transgender was about. I showed the participants a picture of 12-year-old Poppy (Appendix 1.2) as an example as she is around their age group. Poppy was once a little boy, but had transitioned to be a girl. Here, the participants expressed interest and were eager to get a better look at the picture. It was at this point that Tyra pointed out that this photo and Poppy’s story were similar to Wandile, a character in Generations, a popular South African soap opera. Subsequently, Tyra provided the group with an overview of Wandile, the youngest son of Zola Radebe, an elite businessman and how he had transitioned into a female. After looking at the picture and Wandile, participants were a little more aware of what the term transgender was. The lack of awareness of transgender identities impacts on interpersonal relations as some people do not know of the existence of such an identity. This lack of awareness translates into miscommunication including the misuse of pronouns and the lack of respect for transgender identities (Schilt & Westbrook, 2009). I proceeded to ask:
Researcher: Have you seen the different ways in which people react to transgender identities or the LGBTQ community? Think about this and tell me what the people may say about individuals who are from this community? You may include a picture if you would like to.
80 Figure 10: Drawings done by participants depicting a distinct contrast to hetero- normative roles enforced by the normative gender binary
The above illustrations are a reflection of some of the participants’ perceptions on transgender identities and their experiences. Some participants included very bold titles that emphasised their individuality. The poster entitled “I am who I am!” sends out a message that being who you are is a personal choice and no-one has a right to dictate who you should be. The illustration entitled “I am who I am and I won’t change” implies that
81 the youth will no longer conform to normative gender roles. These illustrations also portray a very bold and confident demure indicating that non-conforming identities are displayed in their sexuality openly. The youth of today are un-inhibited from being who they want to be. The messages conveyed above, reveal that society needs to embrace the transformation as many individuals are still in the closet.
Luyanda: Miss, some may say that they are annoying and narring (slang for irritating). Because he’s acting like an isitabane (gay) and miss they use words like moffie.
Tyra: Some start backbiting and excluding them from their groups and chat groups. I don’t know how to explain it but you can just see miss, the way they are treated. They will use nasty words to make the child have a low self-esteem. Miss they will call them girls to boys, double adapter and he/shes. Some may accept them too miss.
Chuku: Haibo miss, some will beat up the child because they will be a disgrace to the family. My granny in Nigeria has a child who is transgender. This girl used to put like a plastic tightly around her chest to make it very flat. The police found out about what she was doing and she went to jail. She wanted to change and become a boy.
Sindy: They will hit that child. They will see that child as a disgrace in the community and think that they will bring a bad influence to all the others.
Snethemba: They may get raped miss, if it’s a she, the Lord will not accept that she likes girls instead of boys so the men will show her how nice boys are. They will show her that she was meant to be with a boy and not with other girls.
Many participants revealed that individuals identifying as transgender or any other non- conforming identity were exposed to harsh conditions. They were victims of all types of abuse. Some were teased, mocked, physically beaten up, embarrassed, humiliated and even raped. Society thrives on hetero-normative behaviour and anyone transgressing traditional masculine norms is immediately judged and condemned due to their sexual orientation (Stryker, 2008; DePalma & Jennett, 2012, Bhana, 2012; Judge, 2015; Bokting
82 et al., 2016; Buchanan & McDougall, 2016; Khan-Orthy, 2018; Spencer, 2019). Although Tyra revealed that some transgender identities are accepted, the majority of the participants were of the opinion that being transgender was unacceptable in their communities. The participants revealed how being transgender impacted negatively on their lives as they were largely subordinated. In addition, Simon shared how the community reacted violently to transgender identities as a means to regulate and maintain traditional heteronormative ideologies. This is highlighted in the next section.