Discourse and politics in the production of homosexual subjectivities in South Africa: a queer theory analysis of selected English non-fiction texts (1992-2008)

Ph.D. University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Humanities, 2012In this thesis I argue that the current contradiction between the constitutional rights of gay and lesbian people in South Africa and the daily, continual experiences of homophobic violence and discrimination necessitates an alternative analysis of the contradictory nature of gay and lesbian rights in South Africa. In order to do this, I draw on Queer Theory to analyse the link between discourse and politics in the production of homosexual subjectivities in six South African English non-fiction books between1992 and 2008that have never before been the focus of a dedicated research investigation.I cover this period because it encompasses various epochs in which the shift in the priorities and issues on the gay and lesbian rights agenda can be identified and in which the evolving image of the public face of homosexuality can be mapped. The unique South African political and historical contexts in which each book was written is central to understanding the specificity of gay and lesbian identity construction. I draw on Queer Theory (Foucault, Butler, Rubin) as a critical hermeneutic which has as its aim to provide insight into the complexity of identity and difference from a poststructuralist point of view in order to analyse the link between discourse and the production of subjectivity. In my analysis of the six non-fiction texts I demonstrate how representations of gay and lesbian identities vary depending on the political imperatives of the gay and lesbian movement and the level of homophobia that existed at the time of the production of each text under investigation. I make evident those instances where Queer Theory is useful as an analytical tool for examining identity and difference, and where it is not in the South African context. I point out the limitations of an identity politics approach to understanding and resisting discrimination against gay, lesbian and queer people. Finally, I argue that from a Queer Theory perspective, rights based and identity politics approaches to political change have the potential for the assimilation of difference into a normative paradigm

Book Review: Laura Erickson-Schroth (ed.) (2014), Trans bodies, Trans selves: A Resource for the Transgender Community. Oxford and New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Since the mid 1990s there has been a proliferation of books by academics and practitioners about transgender lives (see, for example, Bornstein, 1994; Stryker & Whittle, 2006; Teich, 2012). Trans Bodies, Trans selves breaks new ground, however, by offering an accessible, comprehensive and also practical resource guide for trans people themselves. The book is modeled on the feminist health manual, ‘Our Bodies, Ourselves’, first published by the Boston Women’s Health Collective in the 1970s. This book was written by and for women and aimed to counter malestream knowledge about women’s health and empower women by sharing information and experience

Characteristics and outcome of long-stay patients in a paediatric intensive care unit in Cape Town, South Africa

Objectives: To describe a rational basis for the definition of a long-stay patient (LSP) in a South African paediatric intensive care unit (PICU); to review the characteristics and outcomes of the patients who comply with the LSP definition; to assess the proportion of resources allocated to the LSP cohort; and to determine if the results of this study could be used as a predictive tool for future admissions. Methods: A retrospective descriptive study of routine data collected over one calendar year (2009) from a 20-bedded multidisciplinary PICU was conducted. The definition of a LSP in this setting was established using various models. The characteristics and outcomes of the long- and short- stay groups were compared using nonparametric Mann-Whitney U and Chi2 tests, with significant results entered into a stepwise multiple regression model. The proportion of ICU days consumed by LSP was calculated. Human Research Ethics Committee approval was obtained (Ref/Rec 105/2011)

The Development and Establishment of a Pre-School Music Therapy Program

The purpose of this study was to gain insight into how a music therapist can develop and establish a music therapy program in the school setting. An experienced Licensed Creative Arts Therapist and Board Certified-Music Therapist, who began a music therapy program, was the sole participant in this study. The participant was interviewed a total of three times. The researcher asked open-ended questions regarding the history of how the participant developed and maintains her current music therapy program. The literature regarding the topic is scant, suggesting the need for studies to be conducted regarding this topic. The researcher extricated themes that were found relevant in the participant’s recount of how the music therapy program was developed and established. These themes include advocacy, personality traits, funding, and roadblocks. Passion, advocacy, and articulation are themes that the researcher found to be most important when developing and establishing a music therapy program in the school setting

Towards the identification of a contextually-relevant school hearing screening protocol in the Western Cape

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 196-214).This research study stemmed from my experience as a community-based Audiologist in the Mitchell's Plain sub-district in Cape Town, South Africa. During this time, I worked closely with the local school nurses and witnessed first-hand the many challenges that these health workers are faced with. Through my collaborative work with the Mitchell's Plain school health nurses I identified the urgent need for a contextually relevant hearing screening protocol to assist the school nurses in improving the current state of the school-based hearing screening service. I therefore embarked on this research process taking on the role of a 'clinician-researcher' who had prior relationships with the primary research participants i.e. the local school nurses

Female to male transsexuality: a study of (re)embodiment and identity transformation

This thesis is a qualitative study based in in-depth semi-structured interviews with fourteen female to male transsexuals, concerned with the social and discursive processes through which female to male transsexuals construct their new 'male' gendered social identities and the ways in which their bodies may be seen to impact upon these processes across a variety of personal and social relationships. Chapter One provides an overview and critique of key and competing perspectives concerning the relationships between transsexual subjectivity and embodiment, and the hegemonic discourses/discursive practices of heterosexuality, sex and gender, and medicine. Chapter Two establishes the epistemological and innovative methodological framework of the thesis, moving from the analysis of representations of transsexuality to a sociologically informed analysis. Dealing with issues of experience, voice, power, agency and representation through contemporary work in feminism and the sociology of health and illness, the Chapter adapts the multidisciplinary methodologies and methods of 'narrative analysis' to the study of female to male transsexual identity in social interaction. Chapter Three engages with existing perspectives on written transsexual autobiography within feminist, literary, cultural and transgender theory and, through rigorous and detailed narrative analysis addresses the significance and specificity of 'oral autobiography' where constraints and opportunities for the construction of an 'authentic' transsexual selfhood are produced in a dynamic, interactional context. In Chapter Four personal narratives are examined to extend the issue of transsexual 'authenticity' into the broader area of relationships with parents, siblings, partners, children, friends and work colleagues. It deals with the ways in which past and present knowledge of the interviewees as particularly embodied and gendered individuals by these 'knowing' others impacted upon their recognition and acceptance of them as men. The thesis concludes that taking this analytic approach which moves 'beyond the text' into social and interactional contexts reveals complex negotiations of 'traditional' stories, the significance of others' past knowledge and investments in sexed/gendered embodiment and the interviewees' own active management of their embodied gendered selves which earlier work has overlooked or not fully addressed. Finally it identifies fruitful areas for further research suggested through this study

Evaluation of the Aphidius colemani-Rhopalosiphum padi banker plant system in greenhouse biological control

Banker plants are mobile habitats that provide alternate hosts or food for commercially available natural enemies. As a biological control strategy, banker plants offer a novel non-chemical approach to managing commonly encountered pests in the greenhouse. Most banker plants that target aphids consist of a graminaceous plant, a nonpest cereal grain aphid, and a parasitoid that attacks both the non-pest and pest aphids occurring on crop plants. Use of banker plants may provide more effective, long-term pest control than pesticide applications, but both can be combined. Banker plant systems have been used commercially in areas of the United States, Canada, Europe, and Asia. One of my goals was to ascertain if banker plants are a viable aphid pest management technique in the southwestern United States. The following study is an overview of the history of biological control in enclosed environments, the Aphidius colemani-Rhopalosiphum padi banker plant system in Oklahoma, pesticides compatible with A. colemani natural enemies, the costs and benefits of the Aphidius colemani-Rhopalosiphum padi system to manage aphid pests, and alternative species of grasses for potential use as banker plants

Women\u27s Rights Litigation in the 1980s: More of the Same?

In the September 1983 issue of Judicature,Karen O\u27Connor and Lee Epstein published the results of their examination of the fate of gender-based cases in the U.S. Supreme Court during the 1970s. Overall, they found that the justices were quite receptive to such claims, supporting the women\u27s rights position in about 58 percent of the 63 disputes resolved between the 1969 and 1980 terms