Year: 2007
Type: dissertation
Abstract: Same-sex sexuality research in the field of psychology has adopted various different perspectives during recent history.Often these perspectives have been limiting in how sexuality is understood, and in answering why different forms of expression manifest.The normative research approach is to comprehend sex and sexuality as a set of physical behaviours that ideally should be regulated through models of rational decision making.Also, much of same-sex research has placed an almost exclusive focus on the behaviours of white, middle-class men.International same-sex sexuality research places heavy emphasis on matters of sexual health, notably that of HIV.Furthermore, the research is strongly influenced by quantitative methods of capturing information.Limited studies have been conducted on African same-sex interactions.The work that has been done is clustered mainly around the field of historical, sociological and anthropological investigations.In South Africa, it is remarked that we have not yet begun to debate the complexities of differing 'sexual orientations', both in terms of how it relates to HIV, as well as how sexual orientation is understood amongst the many cultural and ethnic groups in the country.Also, sexuality in all its forms has historically been understood as a private matter, and was also highly regulated by the state apparatus, resulting in the extreme limitation of any kind of public sexual dialogue.Still, even in post-apartheid South Africa, sexuality remains contested.This study attempted to address some of the many issues relating to sexuality research in South Africa and elsewhere.It was decided to collect information on same-sex sexuality by focusing on coloured 1 men from a rural district in the Western Cape.This target group was selected due to the immense lack of knowledge in the field of South African psychology regarding the constructions of sexuality of both same-sex practices and coloured men.The objective of the study was to gain an understanding of how sexuality is constructed and experienced in this specific community.This goal was reached by collecting qualitative data from in-depth, unstructured interviews.The qualitative results indicate a highly complex interplay between understandings of gender identity and sexuality.The respondents all identified as 'gay' men, connecting this with being feminine and "like a woman."A strong focus on a specific type of bodily representation was also noted.The sex act was read by me as an act of submission, with respondents placing great emphasis on behaviour, with little or no weight given to the 1 I am mindful of the controversial use of this term, and view it as a social construction.Laubscher (2003) states that the use of the term is misleading, given that coloured ethno-history is arranged around hybridity and creolisation, rather than its uni-dimensional application during apartheid.In its crudest form coloured can be understood as denoting a group of people who are neither white nor 'Native Africans', and denotes people of mixed parentage, European settlers, Khoi-San women, slaves and 'free black people' (Zegeye, 2001).I use the term, as it still holds great cultural meaning (Laubscher, 2003), and is used to a great degree by a group of people to denote a certain political history, and unique identity.iii emotional loading of the event.Sex just "happens", with participants constructing experiences that strongly suggest the importance of them being passive.This in turn lead to me interpreting narratives as suggesting continued exposure to sexual coercion.Meanings around oral and anal sex were also explored.The grounded theory method was used to analyse the qualitative data.The core category identified the need to be like a woman and to demonstrate extreme forms of femininity.I showed that specific communities of practice produce and hold the idea of equating gay with having to be feminine.Further, I argued that the idea of a passive female subjectivity strongly informs the participants' sexual decision making.I conclude by suggesting that a different way of being feminine is needed in order for these participants' to expand their sexuality.iv OPSOMMING Navorsing oor selfde-seks seksualiteit in die sielkundeveld het in die onlangse geskiedenis verskeie verskillende perspektiewe geneem.Hierdie perspektiewe was dikwels beperkend ten opsigte van hoe seksualiteit begryp word en ook ten opsigte van die vermoë om 'n antwoord te verskaf oor hoekom verskillende vorme van uitdrukking manifesteer.Die normatiewe navorsingsbenadering is om seks en seksualiteit as 'n stel fisieke gedrag te verstaan wat ideal gesproke deur modelle van rasionele besluitneming gereguleer behoort te word.Heelwat navorsing oor selfde-seks seksualiteit het ook bykans eksklusiewe fokus op die gedrag van wit, middelklas mans geplaas.Internasionale navorsing oor selfde-seks seksualiteit plaas groot klem op kwessies oor seksuele gesondheid, veral MIV.Verder word die navorsing sterk beinvloed deur kwantitatiewe metodes waarmee inligting vasgelê word.'n Beperkte aantal studies is al oor Afrikane gedoen ten opsigte van selfde-seks seksuele interaksies.Dit wat wel gedoen is, val hoofsaaklik in die geskiedkundige, sosiologiese en antropologiese fakgebiede.Daar word opgemerk dat die debat oor die ingewikkeldheid van verskillende 'seksuele oriëntasies' begin is nie: sowel ten opsigte van die verband met MIV, as hoe seksuele oriëntasie in die land se talle kulturele en etniese groepe verstaan word.Daarbenewens is alle vorme van seksualiteit in die verlede as 'n private aangeleentheid bestempel.Dit is ook sterk deur die staat gereguleer, wat veroorsaak het dat enige soort openbare dialoog oor seks streng beperk is.Self in die Suid-Afrika na apartheid is seksualiteit steeds omstrede.Hierdie studie het probeer om sommige van die talle kwessies ten opsigte van navorsing oor seksualiteit in Suid-Afrika en elders onder die loep te neem.Die besluit is geneem om inligting oor selfde-seks seksualiteit in te samel deur op kleurlingmans 1 van 'n plattelandse distrik in die Wes-Kaap te fokus.Hierdie teikengroep is gekies as gevolg van die onsaglike tekort aan kennis in die veld van die Suid-Afrikaanse sielkunde ten opsigte van die konstruksie van seksualiteit van sowel selfde-seks seksuele praktyke as kleurlingmans.Die doelwit van hierdie studie was om te verstaan hoe seksualiteit in hierdie spesifieke gemeenskap gekonstrueer word en ervaar word.Hierdie doelwit is bereik deur kwalitatiewe data deur middel van deurtastende, ongestruktureerde onderhoude in te samel.Die 1 Ek is bewus van die kontroversiële gebruik van hierdie term en beskou dit as 'n sosiale konstruksie.Volgens Laubscher (2003) is die gebruik van die term misleidend, omdat kleurling etno-geskiedenis volgens hibridiese karakter en kreolisering ingedeel word, eerder as die eendimensionele toepassing daarvan in apartheid.In sy grofste vorm kan die term kleurling verstaan word as die beskrywing van 'n groep mense wat nie wit of Afrika-inboorlinge is nie, en wat mense van gemengde afkoms, Europese setlaars, Khoi-San-vroue, slawe en "vry swart mense" insluit (Zegeye, 2001).Ek gebruik die term omdat dit steeds beduidende kulturele beteknis dra (Laubscher, 2003) en in groot mate deur 'n groep mense gebruik word om 'n sekere politieke geskiedenis en unieke indentiteit te beskryf.v kwalitatiewe resultate dui aan dat daar 'n hoogs ingewikkelde wisselwerking is tussen hoe gay identiteit en seksualiteit geinterpreteer word.Die respondente het hulself almal as 'gay' mans geidentifiseer en het dit in verband gebring met vroulikheid en om "soos 'n vrou" te wees.Daar is ook 'n sterk fokus op 'n spesifieke soort liggaamlike uitbeelding opgemerk.Na aanleiding van die inligting het ek die seksdaad geinterpreteer as 'n daad van onderwerping; die respondente het groot klem op gedrag geplaas met min of geen klem op die emosionele lading van die gebeurtenis nie.Seks "gebeur" maar net en die respondente het ervarings gedeel met 'n sterk sugestie van die belangrikheid daarvan dat hulle passief was.Na aanleiding hiervan het ek narratiewe geinterpreteer as "n sugestie van voordurende bloodstelling aan seksuel dwang.Die betekenis van orale en anale seks is ook ondersoek.Die gegrondeteorie-metode is gebruik om die kwalitatiewe data te analiseer.Die kernkategorie het die behoefte geidentifiseer om soos 'n vrou te wees en om ekstreme vorme van vroulikheid te laat blyk.Ek het getoon dat spesifieke "gemeenskappe-van-praktyk" die idee genereer en handhaaf dat gaywees noodwendig beteken dat die pebtrokke persoon vroulik moet wees.Verder is my argument dat die idee van 'n passiewe vroulike subjektiwiteit onderliggend is an die deelnemers se besluitneming ten opsigte van seksuele gedrag.Ek sluit af deur voor te stel dat 'n ander manier om vroulik te wees, nodig is sodat hierdie deelnemers hulle seksualiteit kan uitbrei.vi
Author: Francois Rabie
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W202299032