Of Masnormatuality, By Theo Sonnekus We Are Not Faggots?

rights, a wide gap exists between theory and practice. South African gay men, more specifically black men, experience great difficulty disclosing their homosexuality in a strongly homophobic and patriarchal society. So essentially, despite the legal protection offered by South Africa’s constitution, sexual orientation based discrimination is still widespread in South African communities (Wesley, 2012). This kind of discrimination is reinforced by the culture of heteronormativity. Heteronormativity refers to normalisation and enforcement of heterosexuality as the only ‘natural’ sexual orientation (Searle, 2009: 84-85). Heteronormativity has been constructed in such to have no comparative element, thus establishing it as the only prevailing and
Before South Africa’s democratic liberation, white Afrikaans men were the top social group in South Africa and privileged economically, legally and socially. The identity of this social group was defined, in most part, in accordance to its prescribed supremacy over all other social groups, racially and by gender. As a result, the growing attempts to promote gender equality and racial equality has in turn threatened the dominance, identity and masculinity of white men. In an article written by Theo Sonnekus We are Not Faggots!: Masculinity, Homosexuality and the Representation of Afrikaner Men Who Have Sex With Men in the Film Skoonheid and Online, he argues that the growth of the ascertain of equality has placed Afrikaner men under great pressure to assert and assure their masculinity. Sonnekus (2013:36) also argues that since Afrikaner men’s masculinity is greatly defined by their heterosexuality and whiteness, Afrikaans men often exhibit characteristics of racist and homophobic behaviors in order to reaffirm their identity. The Apostoliese Geloofsending (Apostolic Faith Mission ) boasts that 350 000- 400 00 Afrikaner member have extablished that their culture condemns homosexuality, and further described homosexuality as “an insult to Christians” ((Wolmarans,
Heterosexuality as a institutionalized system and way of life, by its mere ‘undisputed existence’ in many societies, regardless of culture or race, has already defined the prescribed gender and gender roles and peoples sexuality are further already defined by the system. Within gender roles, heteronormativity asserts that gender is binary and people are structured to fall into singular and corresponding gendering (referring to a man and woman)- which them should define their sexuality. Thus homosexuality in heteronormative societies is rarely without acts of homophobia and hate crime in order to maintain and assert this gender binary and normativity.
The examples provided here illustrate that the experiences of homosexuals in South Africa are largely defined and dependent on the intersection of the various people’s identities within the social realm. This paper has shown the experiences and links between homosexual men who are poor, black and live in traditional societies, and that of white, Afrikaner men living in a heteronormative