There is a clear need to deepen the understanding of gender and sexuality within schools, said Prof Dennis Francis, sociology professor at Stellenbosch University.
This was at the launch of Francis’ book, Queer activism in South African education: Disrupting cis(hetero)normativity in schools, on 31 August.
The book Queer activism in South African education: Disrupting cis(hetero)normativity in schools by Prof Dennis Francis was launched at the Centre for the Study of the Afterlife of Violence and the Reparative Quest (AVReQ) in Stellenbosch University’s GG Cillie building on 31 August. PHOTO: Connor Cogill
From society to the schoolyard
“A school with a cis-heteronormative culture is one where curriculum, educational policies, school routines, rituals, social relations and all forms of thinking that exist normalise and privilege cisgender and heterosexuality,” explained Francis.
The purpose of the book is not to expose teachers and school managers as homophobes, but to emphasise how schools are marked by “social and cultural practices” which produce these power relations, they said.
“Throughout my book, I seek to disrupt the effects of such normative discourse and practices about gender and sexuality,” said Francis.
Stellenbosch University recently hosted a book launch for Queer activism in South African education: Disrupting cis(hetero)normativity in schools by Prof Dennis Francis. The book seeks to answer questions such as, “What do we know about gender and sexuality diversity in schools? How is this changing? And how and under what conditions can schools become more inclusive spaces with regard to gender and sexuality diversity?”, according to Francis. PHOTO: Connor Cogill
The long road
The book shows that there is “a long way to go” in terms of progress, said Prof Zethu Matebeni, research chair in sexualities, genders and queer studies at the University of Fort Hare.
“We [South Africans] talk so openly and freely and excitedly about the situation in our country and how progressive our constitution is but, in reality, the first moment of socialisation is the most unprogressive,” said Matebeni.
Schools are inherently heteronormative, according to Megan Collings, a psychology student who founded a pride club at Herschel Girls School in 2018.
“I think everyone is automatically assumed to be straight in school, and that’s the length to which they’re taught,” she said.
“In a nutshell, cis-heteronormativity is a socio-cultural regulatory device that authorises homophobia and transphobia,” explained Prof Dennis Francis, sociology professor at Stellenbosch University. PHOTO: Connor Cogill
A future of agency
It is important that the book focuses on schools, said Dr Lwando Scott, Next Generation Scholar at the University of the Western Cape (UWC). The Next Generation Scholars are “a cohort of scholars and artists in South Africa on a path to becoming experts within their fields of study”, according to the Centre for Humanities Research website.
“We can’t take for granted what is being taught to the youth,” said Scott.
It is important that young people are given agency, stated Trevor McArthur, sociology lecturer at UWC.
“Recognising the agency and knowledge and experience that young people bring to the classroom – if we are able to do that, I think the future looks much better and more joyful than it currently is,” said McArthur.