ASSESSING THE INTEGRATION OF GAYS AND LESBIANS INTO THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIONAL DEFENCE FORCE

During the apartheid era, the South African military maintained a dual policy on<br />homosexuality – prohibited among members of the permanent force, homosexuality<br />was officially tolerated among conscripts. When the regime fell, the new<br />government committed itself to human rights considerations, and after the South<br />African Constitution adopted a provision of non-discrimination on the basis of<br />sexual orientation in 1996, the South African military followed suit. In 1998, the<br />South African National Defence Force (SANDF) implemented the Policy on Equal<br />Opportunity and Affirmative Action that declared that there would no longer be<br />discrimination against gays and lesbians. This article draws together military and<br />government documents, secondary research, press coverage and interviews with<br />individuals with knowledge on this topic to assess the effects of this policy change.<br />The evidence suggests that the integration of gay and lesbian personnel has not had a<br />negative impact on recruitment and retention, morale, unit cohesion or operational<br />effectiveness in the SANDF

Sexual citizenship in a comparative perspective

The chapter outlines the development of the concept of sexual citizenship and its various meanings. Particular attention is paid to the ways in which conceptions of citizenship identity and entitlements both presuppose, and help to reproduce, the sexual. It analyzes debates regarding the need to extend citizenship rights and entitlements to previously excluded and marginalized minorities, including LGBTIQ citizens in an international and comparative perspective. It also examines critiques of the concept of sexual citizenship, including arguments that the concept privileges state entitlements, that it can privilege particular types of relationships, and that it is Western-centric. The latter critique is addressed via a detailed analysis of the relevance of conceptions of sexual citizenship when applied to various countries in the Asia-Pacific region. The authors conclude that, despite its limitations, a flexible and reflective conception of sexual citizenship that allows for the specificity of local states and societies can still provide useful insights, both for academic analysis and for identifying key social justice issues.Carol Johnson and Vera Macki