The stigma surrounding men's sexuality in Early Childhood Education (ECE) is complex and part of a sexuality hierarchy within which homophobic, emasculating and disparaging undertones are often used to label male teachers in ECE as gay. In this paper the authors demonstrate the complex and gendered ways in which this stigma unfolds in a South…

The teaching of young children (aged between 5 and 9) or Foundation Phase (FP) as it is known in South Africa, is highly gendered and is labeled a 'woman's' job. Globally there have been calls to lessen the gender disparity within the profession by increasing the participation of men. However, apprehensions about men teaching young children can…

The paper seeks to demonstrate how societal constructions and gender policing inform male teachers' identities in the schooling context of Foundation phase teaching in South Africa. This is a phase that has been historically dominated by women and is often regarded as a 'women only' space. The study was conducted using a case study methodology and…

Framed using queer theory and intersectionality theory, this paper unpacks the various ways in which Black South African male teachers who engage in same-sex relations negotiate and manage their identities in a context deeply riddled by the history of apartheid. Eight male teachers were interviewed using a life history methodology. Consistent with…

A research design was devised that allowed for the employment of a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods in the collection of data on a group of homosexual men's lay perceptions of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), and those social processes at work in coping with the threat of this terminal disease. The research was…