The management of paediatric hermaphroditism

The management, between 1963 and 1973, of 33 cases of hermaphroditism in infants and children at the Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital, Cape Town, is presented. The authors favour a simple classification. There were 8 cases of female pseudohermaphroditism, 6 cases of testicular feminising syndrome and 19 cases of hermaphroditism. Of the latter, 13 were true hermaphrodites, 3 mixed gonadal dysgenesis and 3 male pseudohermaphrodites. Tables presenting the external and internal morphology, gonadal identity and illustrations of these, are presented. Results of leucocyte and tissue chromosome cultures are shown.S. Afr. Med. J., 48, 2088 (1974)

Making the invisible visible: a systematic review of sexual minority women’s health in Southern Africa

Background: Over the past two decades research on sexual and gender minority (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender; LGBT) health has highlighted substantial health disparities based on sexual orientation and gender identity in many parts of the world. We systematically reviewed the literature on sexual minority women’s (SMW) health in Southern Africa, with the objective of identifying existing evidence and pointing out knowledge gaps around the health of this vulnerable group in this region. Methods: A systematic review of publications in English, French, Portuguese or German, indexed in PubMed or MEDLINE between the years 2000 and 2015, following PRISMA guidelines. Additional studies were identified by searching bibliographies of identified studies. Search terms included (Lesbian OR bisexual OR “women who have sex with women”), (HIV OR depression OR “substance use” OR “substance abuse” OR “mental health” OR suicide OR anxiety OR cancer), and geographical specification. All empirical studies that used quantitative or qualitative methods, which contributed to evidence for SMW’s health in one, a few or all of the countries, were included. Theoretical and review articles were excluded. Data were extracted independently by 2 researchers using predefined data fields, which included a risk of bias/quality assessment. Results: Of 315 hits, 9 articles were selected for review and a further 6 were identified through bibliography searches. Most studies were conducted with small sample sizes in South Africa and focused on sexual health. SMW included in the studies were racially and socio-economically heterogeneous. Studies focused predominately on young populations, and highlighted substance use and violence as key health issues for SMW in Southern Africa. Conclusions: Although there are large gaps in the literature, the review highlighted substantial sexual-orientationrelated health disparities among women in Southern Africa. The findings have important implications for public health policy and research, highlighting the lack of population-level evidence on the one hand, and the impact of criminalizing laws around homosexuality on the other hand

Relationships, intimacy and desire in the lives of lesbian, gay and bisexual youth in South Africa

This article answers the following questions: how do nine lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) young people in South Africa understand and talk about relationships, intimacy, and desire; what does this understanding and talk tell us about gender and sexuality in South Africa; and how useful is the metaphor of the ‘closet’ to understand how LGB youth talk about relationships, intimacy and desire? At the time of the study, they were between 16 and 19 years old and attending school in grades 10 to 12. We used in-depth interviews, which were more like conversations, where primarily open-ended questions focused on these young people’s experiences, and found that relationships of love and care, the desire for love and intimacy, and the ability to exist alongside and for others pervade these young people’s lives. In this regard, employing postcolonial and Southern theory we argue that the youth use the concept of the closet, but that they understand it differently. We also argue that the concept of the closet may not accurately capture the particular positions that youth occupy in society because the concept of the closet suggests separation rather than engagement. The notion of being separate from the surrounding community is anathema to and contradicts these nine young people’s worldviews and those of the communities in which they live

“I decided to teach… despite the anger”: using forum theatre to connect queer activists, teachers and school leaders to address heterosexism in schools

While South Africa’s transition to democracy was filled with promises of transformation in education and access to all South Africans, these promises are met by the reality of lasting and entrenched inequality. Schools remain defined by racism, sexism, and heterosexism. Regarding heterosexism, while there are many challenges; opportunities for dialogue and social change are emerging. This chapter explores the way school administrators, teachers, and queer activists connect to address heterosexism. Specifically, it addresses a critical question—what happens when queer activists, teachers, and school managers are brought together using the democratic dialogic process of Freire together with Augusto Boal’s Forum Theatre to address heterosexism in schools? The chapter argues that art-based methods not only offer a structure for dealing with complex and challenging conversation that may arise but is a constructive platform to create sketches that show what anti-heterosexist and inclusive schools for LGBTI learners might look like