Young lesbian and bisexual women resisting discrimination and negotiating safety: A photovoice study

Abstract

With the increasing focus on the problem of ‘corrective rape’ in South Africa, representations of black
lesbian women have largely become about victimhood. The increasing media focus on ‘corrective
rape’ has also resulted in the ‘hyper-visibility’ of black lesbian bodies. These representations of
victimhood can be problematic, as they erase the agency, political activism, pleasure and multidimensionality
of black lesbian lives. Furthermore, although there has been increased attention on the
lives of black lesbian women, the experiences of black lesbian youth remain marginal. In this paper
we present findings from a participatory, photovoice project with young, black lesbian women in the
Western Cape. The project involved the development of photo stories and the collection of interview
and focus group data from 14 young women between the ages of 13 and 17 years who identify as
lesbian or bisexual. We discuss the young women’s experiences of violence and discrimination at
school, and how they resist that discrimination. We also discuss how the young women construct
and negotiate safety in their community, zoning in on the young women’s agency in their resistance
and negotiation of safety, and their defiance of dominant narratives of victimhood. We further discuss
how the photovoice methodology can be used as an empowering method to research issues around
violence and safety with young people and those who may be stigmatised or marginalised.