‘I'm used to it now’: experiences of homophobia among queer youth in South African township schools

This paper explores how sexually marginalised black high-school students from conservative schooling contexts in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, experience schooling. It draws on queer theories through life narratives in presenting findings from a small-scale interventionist project designed by the author. The project involved 14 participants comprising teachers, school learners and pre-service teachers. The study found that queer youth have negative experiences of schooling which range from punitive actions expressed through derogatory language to vicious reactionary hate, often expressed through violence and often perpetrated by teachers. This paper also found resist-stances from queer learners in portraying a positive self-image for themselves as a mechanism for coping with homophobia. As a way of looking forward, it locates teachers at the centre of bringing about change for the queer learners and argues for a re-education of teachers in order to tackle homophobia in schools. Keywords: heteronormativityhomophobiaqueer theorydifference and diversitysexualities and educationnarratives Acknowledgements I am grateful to Mr Crispin Hemson for his invaluable, consistent and constructive feedback and support in the drafting of this paper. I thank Prof. Pat Sikes for her support and useful feedback which helped in shaping this paper. I also thank the reviewers of this paper for their constructive comments which strengthened the arguments of the paper. Notes Refers to people who are curious or are still unsure about their sexual or gender identification. In essence, these are people who are still 'questioning' themselves. This involves getting teachers to understand the manifestations of homophobia in schools and thereafter take action against it as a result of the understanding gained. I would like to thank a dear friend and mentor here, Crispin Hemson, for bringing this point to my attention. Family members who have passed on (ancestors) are regarded as having profound powers in influencing the lives of those who live on, according to African traditional beliefs. It is believed that ancestors should not be angered as angering them will bring bad luck.