Black South african lesbians

• Published in: Journal of lesbian studies 2003, Vol.7 (3), p.135-151
• Main Author: Potgieter, Cheryl-Ann
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1089-4160
• DOI: 10.1300/J155v07n03_10

ABSTRACT In South Africa there is virtually no research that documents the lives of Black lesbians. The research reported here is part of a larger study which, to date, is the first and only in-depth study that focuses on the lives of Black South African lesbians. The study was located within a feminist social constructionist paradigm. The aim of the research was to explore the positions from which Black lesbians speak, as well as to explore how their discourse(s) replicate, challenge and contradict the dominant societal discourses on what it means to be Black and lesbian within South African society. The data was collected by means of nine (9) individual interviews and ten (10) focus groups. The total number of women in the study was sixty-three. The data was analysed using discourse analysis. A range of discourses emerged which illustrates how they both replicate and challenge traditional roles and discourses. The discourses explored in this article relate to their views on motherhood and women's roles. Although certain of their "choices" may be interpreted as not falling within a feminist paradigm in terms of western feminism(s), this could be viewed as feminist and strategic given the current reality in which they live.