Locating Sexuality in Post-Apartheid South
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Double Agents: Queer Citizenship(s) in Contemporary South African Visual Culture By Anna Stielau A dissertation presented for the degree of Master of Arts in Fine Art in the FACULTY OF HUMANITIES University ofat theCape Town UNIVERSITY OF CAPE TOWN SUPERVISORS: Andrew Lamprecht and Jean Brundrit 28 January 2016 1 The copyright of this thesis vests in the author. No quotation from it or information derived from it is to be published without full acknowledgement of the source. The thesis is to be used for private study or non- commercial research purposes only. Published by the University of Cape Town (UCT) in terms of the non-exclusive license granted to UCT by the author. University of Cape Town Plagiarism Declaration I, Anna Stielau, declare the following: 1. I understand what plagiarism entails and am aware of the University’s policy in this regard. 2. I declare that this assignment is my own, original work. Where someone else’s work was used (whether from a printed source, the Internet or any other source) due acknowledgement was given and reference was made according to departmental requirements. 3. I did not copy and paste any information directly from an electronic source into this document. 4. I did not make use of another student’s previous work and submit it as my own. 5. I did not allow and will not allow anyone to copy my work with the intention of presenting it as his/her own work. Signature Date: 28 January 2016 2 1 Double Agents: Queer Citizenship(s) in Contemporary South African Visual Culture Abstract South Africa claims the most progressive constitution on the African continent, extending protections to all citizens regardless of race, gender, ability or sexual orientation. Much has been published in recent years about the induction of LGBTIQ persons into this inclusive post-1994 human rights framework, often with a particular focus on the role of the state in instituting non- discrimination legislation and promoting equality. This document reflects my belief that South African sexuality scholarship too often presents incorporation into a unified nation-state as the only desirable outcome for queer citizens. By mapping the manner in which sexual difference has been uneasily imagined in national discourses, I argue here that the ideal South African citizen remains a heterosexual citizen presupposed as private, patriotic, familial and reproductive. I posit that when non-normative sexual identities and practices become visible in the public sphere, they risk assimilation into “acceptable” modes of representation produced in accordance with the expectations and responsibilities attending state-sanctioned national membership. In so doing, I assert, these cultural forms mandate a queerness that leaves structural inequalities intact. To look beyond this horizon I choose to explore dissident citizenship forms that intervene in dominant cultural narratives to expand the boundaries of belonging. Specifically, I concern myself with representations of queer subjects in visual culture and the multiple audiences these representations invite. 2 3 Acknowledgements This research would not have been possible without the generous financial assistance of the National Research Foundation (NRF) and the University of Cape Town. I am grateful to everyone who has encouraged, assisted, criticised and listened. First and foremost I am deeply indebted to my supervisors, Jean Brundrit and Andrew Lamprecht, for their support, their enthusiasm, their insight and their patience. I owe you both more than you know. Thank you also to the staff of Michaelis School of Fine Art and especially to Dr. Barbaro Martinez-Ruiz, who has taught me (and continues to teach me) the value of intellectual generosity. Thank you to my fellow Masters candidates – to Buhle, Olga, Ingrid, Zyma, Gina, Nicole, Kathy and Jan – who have been the best of allies these past two years. Thank you to all my friends, and particularly to Faith Chaza, Claudia Alberti and Liam Kruger, for paying for my drinks, listening to me complain, talking me down and calling me out. Thank you to my brother Tom, to my uncle Nick, and to my Dad. Thank you to my mother, who instilled in me the importance of telling better stories than the ones we have. Last but never least, thank you from the bottom of my heart to Renée Holleman, for whom I am grateful every single day. This is for you. 4 5 Table Of Contents Plagiarism Declaration..................................................................................................... 1 Abstract .............................................................................................................................. 3 Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................... 5 Table of Contents.............................................................................................................. 7 List of Figures .................................................................................................................... 8 Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 10 Chapter 1_Re-membering the Nation: Locating Sexuality in Post-Apartheid Citizenship Narratives .......................................................................... 14 1.1 Literature review ......................................................................................................... 16 1.1.1 Who or what is a citizen? ........................................................................................ 16 1.1.2 Then who (or what) is a queer citizen? ................................................................. 19 1.2 Before the rainbow, there were storms: Queer citizenship under Apartheid..... 21 1.3 After the rain fell: Queer citizenship in the ‘new’ South Africa ............................. 25 1.4 Over the rainbow: Sexuality and the authorising citizenship narrative............... 28 Chapter 2_Visibility and its Discontents: Assimilationism and Dissent in Post-Apartheid Queer Culture Building .................................................................... 34 2.1. Becoming visible: Post-apartheid Pride and shame ............................................. 36 2.2 The screen is a closet: Out in Africa and a queer representational economy..... 43 2.3 Seeing you, seeing me: MCQP and the consumer-citizen .................................... 50 2.4 On what remains invisible and what comes afterward .......................................... 57 Chapter 3_Precarious Living: Suffering and the Practice of Citizenship .................. 58 3.1 Beyond intractability: Belonging and the citizen-victim ........................................ 60 3.2 “Remember me when I’m gone”: Queer loss and the promise of return ........... 66 3.3 Threatening bodies: The child and the citizen-pervert .......................................... 79 Chapter 4_Passports to Elsewhere: Imaginative Citizenship and the Utopian Function .............................................................................................................. 88 4.1 Who inhabits utopia? The use-value of elsewheres and a South Africa that should be ........................................................................................................................... 89 4.2 Onward to Azania: A not-yet-here South Africa...................................................... 96 4.3 “There’s a fire coming”: A South Africa to come ..................................................... 103 4.4 Epilogue: A South Africa that will be ...................................................................... 110 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................... 113 Reference List .................................................................................................................... 115 6 7 List Of Figures Figure 1: Henning, J. 1985. “‘n Poefadder het my gepik.”........................................... 22 Figure 24: “Stupid lesbian.” 2014. Intersextions, ep08, s02. Still.................................... 63 Figure 2a: “In OUR future”, DASO campaign poster................................................... 27 Figure 25: The cover of Zanele Muhoi’s Only Half the Picture. 2006............................. 68 Figure 2b: “In OUR future” parody poster..................................................................... 27 Figure 26: Zanele Muholi. 2004. Aftermath....................................................................... 68 Figure 3: Activist Ndumie Funda and partner. DASO poster...................................... 27 Figure 27: Zanele Muholi. 2004. What don’t you see when you look at me I............... 68 Figure 4: “A rainbow for the rainbow nation”. #RainbowNation. 2014. Still............... 29 Figure 28: Zanele Muholi. 2006. Busi Sigasa..................................................................... 73 Figure 5: The smiling faces of Coca Cola’s #RainbowNation campaign.................... 30 Figure 29: Ziyanda Majozi. 2013. Busi Sigasa.................................................................... 75 Figure 6: “A better life for all”. ANC campaign poster, 1994....................................... 32 Figure 30: Pauline N’Gouala. 2013. Busi Sigasa................................................................ 75 Figure 7: The Gay Flag of South Africa..........................................................................