Validity ―refers to the extent to which an empirical measure adequately reflects the real meanings of the concept under consideration‖ (Babbie and Mutton 2001:122). In order to attain validity in this study, I ensured that questions raised during data production related to the study‘s objectives. I also captured the discussions and interpreted them as closely as possible with the meanings attached to them by the study participants. After the data was transcribed, I identified themes from the transcribed data and organised findings according to the identified themes.
data was produced using focus group discussions, in-depth individual interviews and observation methods. A summary and chapter outline sum up this chapter as a way of charting the general terrain of the study.
The second chapter reviews literature on how gay identities and sexualities are constructed in the Zambian Christian and cultural context. I show how the concept of masculinity has frequently been used in masculinity studies and how such a framework poses limitations in exploring other forms of identities and sexualities exhibited by gay men. Therefore, I question the masculine/feminine binary. As a background to studies of sexualities, I show that the history of sexualities is based on experience, has evolved due to HIV and AIDS, and has given rise to queer studies. In this chapter, I discuss the merger of ‗Pentecostal nationalism‘ in Zambian Christianity and public politics which emphasizes the maintenance of gender roles. The literature review shows that the Bible and biblical hermeneutics take centre-stage in constructing discourses on homosexuality. It has shown that homosexuality is viewed in terms of the practice of same-sex activities and homosexual identity. I also discuss how culture constructs gay identities and sexualities, showing gender categorization is non- existent in some global cultures, the public display of gay identities and sexualities is frowned upon, and being gay is regarded as a caricature and youthful play. The chapter also highlights how the male initiation rites of passages are sometimes liminal spaces that facilitate the formulation of same-sex sexualities and identities. Additionally, in some cultures, gay identities and sexualities are allowed on account that they serve spiritual purposes for the benefit of the community. Bringing together the discussion in this chapter, I present an interface of religion and culture as construction sites in which gay identities and sexualities are forged.
In chapter three, I discuss the theoretical perspectives that informed this study, namely, social constructionism, self-verification, feminist and queer theories. Social constructionism and self-verification theories propose that identities and sexualities are formed in social contexts that verify views people hold about themselves. Discourse is the conduit through which identities are formed. Feminist and queer theories enabled me to understand and explain issues of gender and sexual identities among my study participants. In this chapter, I also discuss how religion and culture have models of what it means to be a male, and assign gender and sexual roles.
Chapter four gives a detailed account of the research design and methodology employed in this study. In this chapter, I discuss the qualitative and critical research paradigm in which this study lies. I present focus group discussions, in-depth individual interviews and observation methods as modes of data production for this study. These three research methods were helpful for triangulation purposes. The sample for this study is discussed, showing that although the intended study participants were gay Christians only, two transgender men, one transgender woman and one lesbian joined the study. In this chapter, I reflexively engage with how my personal position informed this study and possibly the interaction with study participants and data production.
Chapter five discusses how study participants formulate their identities and sexualities and the role of the Zambian Christian context in this process. This chapter is informed by research findings among gay Christians in urban Lusaka, Zambia, which used focus group discussions, in-depth individual interviews and observation as modes of data production. The chapter shows how gay Christians self-understand their identities in ambiguous contexts of regarding the Bible as infallible while viewing biblical hermeneutics as fallible and belonging and not belonging in some churches in Zambia. The chapter also briefly discusses incipient theologies of crucifixion and creation. It presents how study participants self-understand through parlance on self-identity, social identity and Christian identity, thereby, negotiating these three identities. Study participants‘ identities and sexualities were exhibited through performance like dressing, mannerism, position identities, sexual roles and gender roles.
In chapter six, I discuss the concept of borderland gender and sexualities as the analytical framework employed in data analysis and presentation in chapter seven. Using African feminist cultural hermeneutics as a framework, I argue that the concept of borderland gender and sexualities facilitates the (re)creation and (re)formulation of identities and sexualities outside the normative binary. I use the concept of borderland metaphorically to interrogate ambiguities, dual and hybrid identities and sexualities exhibited by my study participants. I also show how borderlands are sites of power, structure and surveillance, as well as resistance and agency.
Chapter seven thematically presents and analyses fieldwork research findings on how gay Christians ―self-construct‖ their identities and sexualities and the role of culture in this construction using the concept of borderland gender and sexualities. I discuss how some cultures associate gay identities and sexualities with being ―possessed‖ by ancestral spirits,
although study participants opted to aligning their identities and sexualities with the Christian understanding of humans being created in the image of God. The chapter also shows that within some families, gay identities and sexualities are hardly verbalized. Furthermore, within the Zambian cultural context, adages, songs, dance, male and female initiation rites of passages are avenues through which study participants construct who they are. Additionally. I discuss how sexual and gender roles are enacted in the daily lives of study participants which sometimes leads to intimate partner violence.
Chapter eight offers a general conclusion, the study‘s contributions, questions for future research and recommendations. The chapter brings together ideas and arguments from preceding chapters. Salient in this chapter is that gay Christians are subjects involved in the formulation of their identities and themselves as sexual beings. The chapter shows that within the Zambian context, Christianity and culture are essential construction sites for the formulation of gay Christian identities and sexualities.
Chapter Two: Conceptualization of Gay Men within Christianity and Culture