This article provides a theoretical contemplation on how reciprocation of an assimilationist, liberationist and/or transgressive approach by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer and/or questioning (LGBTIQ+) individuals on university campuses may encourage transformation initiatives in South African universities. The author ascribes…

Studies of the representation of sexualities in textbooks have tended to focus on inclusion and coverage of diverse content through thematic analysis. This analysis of a sample of LO textbooks is framed by the systematic linguistic framework of critical discourse analysis (CDA), specifically Fairclough's (2001) theory of discourse as ideological…

Using the interlocking concepts of power, knowledge and discourse, this article focuses on how counter normative sexualities are discursively constructed in the sexuality education classroom and with what effects. Drawing on in-depth interviews with teachers and classroom observation, the evidence highlights the presence of specific discourses…

Post-apartheid, there has been an increase in research on issues of gender and sexuality diversity in South African schools. To build upon and advance gender and sexuality diversity studies, I conducted a review of the literature that addresses how lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth experience schooling and how schools, if at…

Low educational attainment, often a lack of a high school diploma or matriculation degree, has been linked to negative health outcomes and lower quality of life for sexual and gender minorities globally. However, optimism and resiliency have been demonstrated to provide buffering effects on school dropout. We conducted a study in a South African…

We explored types and qualities of microaggressions or subtle forms of discrimination towards lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people among teachers in South Africa. For data collection, we used in-depth interviews. Twenty-five Life Orientation teachers, nine men and 16 women, from both rural and urban schools throughout the Free…

The school system in South Africa has only in recent years begun to more deeply grapple with issues of power and privilege along a number of axes of oppression including race, gender, class and recently, sexual and gender diversity. As a result, learners who embody sexual and gender diversity experiences spaces of belonging and exclusion in school…

Incarcerated women at Westville Female Correctional Centre in Durban, South Africa have been using popular participatory theatre (PPT) to create a space to generate debate about aspects of prison life for over 10 years. This article explores how these women engaged the issue of lesbianism in the Correctional Centre and how the process and form was…

Against the backdrop of South Africa's policies that guarantee equality on the basis of sexual orientation, this article documents the ways in which school managers negotiate and contest the rights of gays and lesbians at school, analysing the implications. It draws on a queer approach which recognizes relations of heterosexual domination and…

South African schools have been found to be homophobic. Teachers can play an important role in offering a critique of homophobia grounded in South Africa's legal claim to equality on the basis of sexual orientation. Currently there is a dearth of educational research about how teachers understand and address homophobia. By drawing upon focus-group…

Thirty-eight countries in Africa regard homosexuality as punishable by law with South Africa remaining a standout country advancing constitutional equality on the basis of sexual orientation. In the context of homophobic violence, however, concerns have been raised about schools' potential to improve the educational, moral and social outcomes for…

Forum Theatre (FT), a participatory improvised theatre form, raises consciousness, enables debate and critical reflection, and encourages a democratic form of knowledge production that engages the audience in their own learning and unlearning. I used FT as a platform to understand how 15- to 18-year-old learners, in a co-educational school in the…

Heterosexism and heteronormativity are pervasive in the South African society, but to what degree are they present in Life Orientation (LO) textbooks? This question, explored through a content analysis of widely used Grade 10 LO textbooks, was framed by queer theory. The paper quantitatively examines the coverage of sexualities, and qualitatively…

Transformation in higher education has tended to focus on race and sex, at the expense of other forms of discrimination. This article addresses the silencing of "queer" issues in higher education. Using queer theory as a framework, and drawing on current literature, popular media reports, two personal critical incidents and a project…

Over the past two decades, sexual citizenship has emerged as a new form of citizenship coupled with increased interest in the challenges to citizenship and social justice faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people and, in particular, by sexual minority youth within education systems. In South Africa, the rights of…