Thanks to my wife, Larissa Donald, for introducing me to queerness many years ago. Thank you to my supervisor, Professor Charlene Van der Walt, you have continued to gently encourage me and create meaningful learning engagements.
Introduction
Study Rationale and Motivation
Their power, operating through various institutions and in the form of oppression of femininity, is an important part of the gender structure (Connell, 2002). This limits its applicability to the publishing process of QPoC, as most of the literature on the topic starts from a white-dominant framework (Boe, Maxey, & Bermudez, 2018; Grov, Bimbi, Nanin, & Parsons, 2006).
Background of the study
- The dichotomy between state and community
- What and who is queer
- Queer confrontation
- Systemic and societal stigma
- Being queer and of colour
- The process of coming out
- The complex relationship of queer identity and religion
According to Francis and Reygan, "the notion of gender and sexual identity has a universal cultural meaning and that such identities ... may not always be foregrounded." Woodcock writes that “[t]he process of disclosure exemplifies Foucault's understanding of Western society as demanding gender.
Research Design
- Sampling
- Data Collection
- Research Questions
- Research Objectives
- Theoretical Framework
This proposed sampling frame is purposive sampling to help select appropriate participants for the study (Babbie and Mouton, 2001). Two primary theories will be used: queer theory and sociology of religion theory.
Structure of the Study
Using the Theory of the Sociology of Religion, we will begin to understand how religion and religious experiences have an impact on the lives of QPoC. Sociology of Religion theory understands how religion affects society, culture and personality (Yinger, 1957).
Conclusion
Chapter three outlines the theory and methodology used to engage the study, focusing on how Queer Theory and Theory of the Sociology of Religion inform the study through focus group discussions and analysis of data to explore the lived experiences of QPoC in a socio-religious population. . This chapter outlines the motivation for the study, provides a background to the context in which the study takes place, and provides an overview of the research design and purpose.
Introduction
The third research concerns the guaranteed rights in progressive rights-based law and jurisprudence in post-apartheid South Africa, which remain virtually inaccessible to QPoC. I show how the right to freedom of religion, guaranteed in the Constitution, serves as legal cover for the homophobia that keeps the rights enshrined in the Equality Clause largely inaccessible to QPoC.
Contextually queer
Valentine and Waite (2012) highlight how homosexuality is presented as unnatural and is seen as a violation of the religious duty to procreate. Similarly, some interpretations of the Koran command the execution of queer-identifying people, and there is a belief that homosexuality is a disease of the West that only contaminates the weak (Hammoud-Becket, 2007).
Beating us into shape
By branding queer-identifying people as socially deviant and religiously demonic, both African politicians and churches tend to fuel homophobia (West et al., 2016). It is believed that queer-identifying people cannot procreate and that their relationships are therefore contrary to G-d's original plan of creation (West et al., 2016).
Life in the discomfort zone
If power over women is not consistently demonstrated, then men risk losing credibility and being read as gay and/or not conforming to the standards of their gender (Hale and Ojeda, 2018). Thus, gay men's desire for straight-acting men and the need to be perceived as a straight-acting man aligns with the pressures of hegemonic masculinity.
Seeing the true colour of queerness
Matabeni (2021) also argues that queer-identifying bodies of color are reflected in borrowed terms and Western languages, erasing us from our own history. According to Ryan and Futterman (1998) as cited in Fankhanel (2010), identity is a complex integration of the cognitive.
The remnants of Apartheid
Similarly, Winder (2015) suggests that due to the dual systems of oppression that work to stigmatize homosexuality and perpetuate the racism that queer-identifying PoC are exposed to, Han (2007) contributes that the multiplicative effects of these identifications minorities, those who became outcasts. Queer-identifying PoC in both the black community and the majority white gay community. Asakura (2017) found that queer-identifying youth examined and assessed their physical, social, psychological, and financial safety in each context and made deliberate choices to disclose.
The numerous ways of religion
Therefore, normalization of queerness and expression of a queer identity is always in the context of social stigma (Lewis et al., 2006). In the study by Crockett et al. 2018), which looks at the influence of religious upbringing on identity development and same-sex attraction, found that some participants view rejection from religious communities as rejection from G-d.
Preaching the good news
2018) acknowledges, however, that the process of coming out is complex and can lead to conflicting attitudes and feelings because. Shurts et al., (2020) describe the process of coming out as part of the larger internal and external process of discovering sexual identity.
Blessing or Curse?
The MCSA argued that same-sex marriage contradicts a central tenet of the church that defines marriage as exclusively between a man and a woman (De Freitas, 2016; Phejane, 2020, Van der Walt, 2019). The violence experienced by queer-identifying people is not only physical, but as Garnets and Kimmel's (2003) study found, it can result in rejection, rejection, or expulsion from the family home.
Defined by desire
As a result, some queer-identifying people choose to postpone, sometimes indefinitely, telling their family about their sexuality (Garnets and Kimmel, 2003). Queer identifying people who do not conform to the form of heteropatriarchy are alienated and feel dehumanized and worthless (Phejane, 2020).
Amazing Grace
They may not want to subscribe to the dominant narrative of coming out to avoid marginalization (Boe et al., 2018). According to Moore (2012a), the process of coming out and naming our perceived non-normative alternative identity reinforces heterosexism.
Adding Black and Brown to the Rainbow
Inviting shifts our power of choice to invite individuals we choose to enter our lives rather than having to publicly leave the closet. While religious dogmas can be used to promote homophobia, aspects of religious teachings can be used structurally and substantively to aid queer identification of people facing adversity (Winder, 2015).
The need for redemptive religious spaces
Alonzo and Buttitta challenge us to come out as a process of coming to life, with an emphasis on learning about norms. Hans (2017) writes that coming out is central to developing a positive queer identity and claiming one's queer identity.
Conclusion
The literature provides a comprehensive framework that can be used to understand queer identity, but there is an opportunity to expand knowledge about how class as a consequence of race in South Africa affects the lived experiences of QPoC. Furthermore, there is an opportunity to consider whether there is an element of resistance to religion under the influence of patriarchal heteronormativity.
Introduction
In this chapter I explore the theoretical frameworks that the study will use to conduct the research and analyze the findings. The theoretical framework of this research will enable us to interrogate the "closet" as an opportunity for liberation and suffering, reflecting on the systemic sources of oppression that act upon us, that we influence, and how they are internalized.
Theoretical Framework: How to look and see lived experiences
Intersectionality Theory
According to Nash (2008), intersectionality is a multidisciplinary analysis approach often used to understand race and gender and how they interact to shape the multiple dimensions of people's experiences. These within-group differences contribute to the tension between groups (Crenshaw, 1991) as race and gender-related experiences, though intersections, often define and limit intersections.
The Sociology of Religion
Therefore, the Sociology of Religion is used as a secondary theory to frame and make sense of religion, in the context of everyday life. Davies (2017) argues that religion is the central framework that explains what happens, why it happens and what the consequences are.
Methodology
- Research Paradigm
- Research Goals and Objectives
- Methodology and Data Collection
- Sampling Method
- Data Collection Method
- Instrument: FGD and WhatsApp Diary Reflections
- Validity and Reliability
- Data Analysis
- Ethical Consideration and Risk
At the end of the FGD, each participant shared what they thought was the most important theme for them. Qualitative research takes a naturalistic approach; therefore, the purpose of the study was to understand and interpret.
Conclusion
I then explained how theory was used to determine the appropriate data collection method to answer the research questions posed in this study. I emphasized the ethical aspects of the study and the measures taken to ensure the validity and reliability of the research.
Introduction
Profile of FGD participants
Group 1 consisted of four participants who all identified as gay men.21 One of the participants was a black Xhosa gay man born in the Eastern Cape who currently lives in Cape Town. The second was a gay man of color born and raised in the Western Cape who is currently a practicing Anglican priest under the pseudonym Nathan.
Overview of proceedings
What are the social, religious, and legal anxieties related to queer identity construction and
Some participants are seen as belonging to a certain race based on physical characteristics and choose to express themselves differently to avoid being associated with said identity. Society expects an identity because of what it can see and then believes it to be true.
How do queer people negotiate their identity construction and expression in socio-religious
I am not expected to be a religious leader since I am not white and I am not heterosexual. Although their queer identities continue to evolve and may not be constant in all the spaces they inhabit, it is deliberately established; they choose how they want to be seen by the world.
How are queer people’s lived experiences impacted by their identity expression and what role
It is difficult to understand the magnitude of the repulsion felt as a result of one's SOGIESC. This erasure of a part of oneself in order to be accepted was consistent throughout all the FGDs.
Conclusion
From the FGDs, there are key themes that emerged under each sub-research question discussion. In the next chapter I will discuss the themes that emerged from the FGDs under each sub-research question in relation to the literature presented in chapter two in an attempt to answer the study research question.
Introduction
The second use of this framework is to shed light on resistance and the use of power. The third use of this framework is to unsettle the notion that religion is to blame for the suffering of QPoC and expose the users and performers of religion as the real instigators of the hurt.
Queerness is fluid
- How the binary is recreated in the queer
- The normative normalising of queer
- Claiming and using the power of queer identity
- Econo-hetero-patriarchy
- Now you see me, now you don’t
- Money is the access card
- Same but different
- Middle- and Upper-Class ticket to Freedom
- Shifting the needle
From the relative safety of the closet, we determine the appropriate expression of gender and sexuality for the context we step into. Findings from the FGDs suggest that QPoCs are collectively grappling with competing discourses.
The Religious sanctification of suffering
- Choosing the battle
- The religious fight
- Letting go of toxic theology
- Building or finding resilience
- Sanctifying sacrifice
Many of the participants in this research have lost friends and family because of their queer identity. Ultimately, the result for the majority of participants in the study was to quit the fellowship.
Conclusion
The possibility of creating space for redemptive life-affirming theology was discussed by examining the use of the Sociology of Religion, examining how some QPoC surrender or become collaborators with toxic theology, while others have found coping mechanisms that build resilience, enabling them to to offer their own resistance. manners. The relationship with religion for QPoC is complex and to achieve a free South Africa, religious resources must go beyond resilience and begin to resist life-denying theologies.
Introduction
What are the social, religious and legal concerns related to queer identity construction and expression in Cape Town South Africa. How queer people negotiate their identity construction and expression in socio-religious contexts in Cape Town South Africa.
Summary of chapters
In reviewing existing literature, I considered the complexity and nuance of the closet and the violence often associated with queer identity construction, negotiation, and expression. I drew on the Sociology of Religion to understand how queer identity is negotiated in different socio-religious contexts with varying socio-religious pressures.
Key findings
Class access to safety
Sacrifice was a recurring theme for QPoC in this study as they were forced to choose between giving up their faith or family to live queer lives, or their surrender of their authenticity to be accepted by religion. The burden of this victimization is potentially lessened by the economic benefits that QPoC provide in better class positions, limiting the vulnerability to which our queer bodies of color are exposed.
For you and for me and the entire human race
Surrender, Collaborate, be Resilient or Resist!
Recommendations
By extension, it became clear that the participants in this research had been able to find resilience and negotiate their identity expressions in ways that felt safe and comfortable. The participants in this research represented a population of QPoC who identified as queer and were therefore able to reconcile their identity – they were queer survivors.
Conclusion
I believe the findings are limited by this sample and it would be useful to explore the views of QPoC who have renounced their queerness in favor of acceptance into religious institutions–. QPoC suffer injuries not limited to hate crimes, homophobia and internalized stigma when they express their identities in heterosexist spaces influenced and sustained by religion and culture, but by sacrificing faith and family security in exchange for their queerness.
Annexure I: Participant invitation letter
Annexure II: Focus Group Discussion Protocol
Annexure III: Consent Form
Annexure IV: Referral Pathway
Annexure V: Letter of Support from Uthingo Network
