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Corrective Rape © COPYRIGHT by Sarah Boeshart 2014 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED MISOGYNY AND VIOLENCE AGAINST BLACK LESBIANS: DISCURSIVE CONSTRUCTIONS OF “CORRECTIVE RAPE IN SOUTH AFRICA BY Sarah Boeshart ABSTRACT “Corrective rape,” an act characterized as a man raping a lesbian in an effort to turn her straight, is a growing problem in South Africa. Despite being hailed as the rainbow nation, South Africa has neglected to address incidents of discrimination and hate crimes perpetrated against lesbians. In this thesis, I use an intersectional frame to examine accounts of “corrective rape” in 95 articles published between 2009 and 2013 in 13 different South African newspapers. I begin by tracing the production and construction of “corrective rape,” in particular how the media discourse constructs the attacks and how it marginalizes the women who survive these attacks. Then, drawing from poststructural discourse analysis, I demonstrate how South African- ness is constituted around discourses of lesbianism and “corrective rape,” in particular how the media discourse constructs how views on lesbians and “corrective rape” are either antithetical to being truly South African or are key in establishing oneself a part of democratic South African culture. Finally, I offer some thoughts on the implications these findings have for the global discourse on lesbians. ii PREFACE I want to begin with several caveats regarding the usage of certain terms within this thesis. The first is the use of the word lesbian. I use lesbian frequently, and I often use it in place of the common acronym for the queer community (LGBTQ) as I am making a point. Too often in the discourse of queer individuals there is a focus on gayness as representing the entire community, and while “gay” does often serve as an umbrella term, it has understood properties of masculinity and of maleness. Similar to the universal discourse of “mankind” or the generic pronoun use being male (he, his, him), the androcentric use of the word “gay” to represent the entire community needs to be fragmented and disaggregated. While I do mention gay men and the gay community at large, my analysis is not concerned with these populations; this thesis is primarily concerned with South African lesbians and public discourses about them. The use of “lesbian” is, I will admit, problematic as well. As many women who have sex with women (or would like to have sex with women or who are attracted to women) may not identify as lesbian, the use of this word to represent them has the possibility of erasing their identities or of asserting an identity they may not claim.1 However, without being able to talk to these women directly to get at how they identify, this problem could manifest itself in any term I use. While queer may be a more inclusive term to use, I purposely use “lesbian” both because it is the discourse in my sample and because I want to draw attention to the homophobia and heterosexism present in the global discourse of women with same sex desires. Also present in this discussion is the word “lesbianism,” which I freely admit makes me slightly uncomfortable and is awkward at times. Lesbianism is often used by the Right to refer to the erotic relationships that women have with other women. In other words, lesbianism often 1 I offer these options to give room for the recognition that sexual behavior, sexual desire, and sexual orientation may not align or mean the same thing for everyone. iii refers to the act of being a lesbian—the act of having sex with other women. And while the usage of lesbianism can and has been reclaimed in certain discourses, it remains an awkward phrase that relates to the act of being a lesbian, which can be dangerous in its use and application.2 However, in this thesis, I use lesbianism to refer to the state of being a lesbian not necessarily acting on being a lesbian. I do this to give, as much as I can in this textual analysis, the power of identification back to the subjects of the discourse. The second caveat regards my use of “South African.” I use “South Africa” throughout this thesis to refer to the country, but it should be noted that I understand that South Africa is a vast country that has very different cultures and attitudes that constitute it, not unlike the United States. My data and many of my resources speak about South Africa as a whole, but these materials primarily come from the Western Cape or from Gauteng provinces. Cape Town and Johannesburg are the two major metropolitan areas that are often under discussion here and the townships mentioned are outside of one of these two cities. While “corrective rape” is not limited to these provinces, many of the newspapers and academic articles focus on the Western Cape despite there being reports of attacks all across the nation. 2 For example, if you are not actively sleeping with women, can you be a lesbian? Lesbianism refers to an act instead of a label that refers to an identity. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I want to thank everyone at American University for helping me develop into a scholar and in shaping my academic philosophy; I also want to thank the sociology faculty for helping me become the passionate and unorthodox sociologist that I am. This thesis would not have been possible without the invaluable assistance of my committee. My chair, Dr. Celine-Marie Pascale, provided much needed guidance throughout the entire process and helped me not only conceptualize this project but also helped me see the larger picture; she matched my hard work, challenged my thinking about discourse and theory, and helped me learn how to do qualitative research. Dr. Bette J. Dickerson helped me reconnect with my research in South Africa and provided much needed insight into South African culture; she also provided wondrous encouragement and challenged me to think critically about Western Studies of Global South. Finally, I want to thank my cohort for helping me shape my research questions and helping me through all the little struggles that come in writing a thesis. For their helpful feedback and critical comments I want to particularly thank Abra Burkett, Tamarra Anthony, and Liala Syler. v TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................... ii PREFACE ...................................................................................................................................... iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .............................................................................................................. v CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................... 1 Cultural Context ...................................................................................................... 4 CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................ 8 Rape in South Africa ............................................................................................... 9 Vulnerabilities of Lesbian Identities ..................................................................... 12 The Struggles of “Corrective Rape” ..................................................................... 16 CHAPTER 3 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK .............................................................. 20 Intersectionality..................................................................................................... 20 The Margin................................................................................................ 25 Poststructural Theory ............................................................................................ 27 CHAPTER 4 ..................................................................................................................... 39 METHODOLOGY ........................................................................................................... 39 Epistemology ........................................................................................................ 39 Analytic Induction ................................................................................................ 40 Credibility ............................................................................................................. 42 Self-reflexivity ...................................................................................................... 43 CHAPTER 5 METHOD .................................................................................................. 50 CHAPTER 6 CONSTRUCTION OF NATIONHOOD THROUGH .............................. 53 LESBIAN BODIES .......................................................................................................... 53 South African-ness and Lesbianism...................................................................... 53 Blackness and “Corrective Rape” ............................................................. 62 vi Gendered Dimensions of “Corrective Rape” ............................................ 67 Summary of Theme............................................................................................... 70 Variations on the Construction of South ............................................................... 73 African-ness and Lesbianism ................................................................................ 73 Summary of Variations in Relation ...................................................................... 78 to the Theme ........................................................................................................
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