“I believe that being a lesbian is not a curse”: Young black lesbian women representing their identities through photovoice

The importance of engaging young people on issues of gender and sexuality in research has been widely acknowledged; however, young people of diverse sexualities have largely been excluded from research. Research that has been conducted with lesbian adolescents has mostly focused on risks that they face, for example risks of homophobic victimisation and increased vulnerability to mental health problems. Focusing solely on ‘risk’ makes invisible other dimensions of young people’s lives that may be deemed pleasurable and empowering. In this article we present preliminary findings from a participatory photovoice project with young black lesbian and bisexual women in the Western Cape. The project involved the development of photostories, and the collection of interview and focus group data with 14 young women between the ages of 13 and 17 years who identify as lesbian and bisexual. The young women’s stories and narratives illustrate their ‘speaking back’ to dominant representations of the lives of black lesbian and bisexual women in South Africa. We also discuss the implications of this research, focusing on how photovoice methodology can be used as an empowering method to engage young people who may be stigmatised or marginalised.