Masculinities at War: The South African Border War and the Textual Representation of the “Moffie”

Abstract

This article takes as its point of departure the discursive representation of the moffie (or “faggot”) in border literature (or grensliteratuur) that was produced after the fall of apartheid in South Africa. By investigating the textual representation of sexuality and gender during South Africa’s Border War, this article shows how autobiographical and non-fiction texts that are produced by former army conscripts still conform to ideals surrounding white, cisgender heterosexuality. Understanding war as a physical and discursive practice, this article is interested in how, in a contemporary South African context, the phenomenon of the Border War is drawn upon in certain literary works as a means to reconcile the author with a changing political system. However, as this article demonstrates, this process of textual retribution is still skewed towards sexual and gendered biases and, as a result, a narrative emerges in these works that centres on the experiences of the white, cisgender, heterosexual man, with his sexual and gendered “other”, the moffie, presented as menacing, treacherous and disgraceful. In this manner, works of non-fiction that were produced after the fall of apartheid and that offers a retrospective viewpoint on the Border War are often marked by the violent inscription of homosexual and transgender subjects as both inferior and weak, as well as deceitful and dangerous.

Opsomming

Die vertrekpunt van hierdie artikel is die diskursiewe voorstelling van die “moffie” in grensliteratuur wat na die val van apartheid in Suid-Afrika geproduseer is. Deur die tekstuele uitbeelding van geslag en seksualiteit tydens die Suid-Afrikaanse Grens-oorlog as basis te neem, demonstreer hierdie artikel hoe outobiografiese en nie-fiksie tekste wat geproduseer is deur voormalige militêre dienspligtiges steeds idees rondom wit, cisgender heteroseksualiteit ondersteun. Deur oorlog as beide ’n fisiese en ’n diskursiewe praktyk te beskou, beoog hierdie artikel om, binne die kontemporêre Suid-Afrikaanse konteks, die fenomeen van die Grensoorlog te ondersoek soos dit nagespoor kan word in persoonlike narratiewe. Hierdie narratiewe bied outeurs die geleentheid om kwessies rondom versoening en vergelding aan te spreek – hierdie proses is egter, soos die artikel demonstreer, steeds verwring deur seksuele en geslagtelike vooroordele. Hierdie vooroordele manifesteer in ’n verskeidenheid tekste waarin die ondervindinge van die wit, cisgender, heteroseksuele man as hoeksteen dien waarteen sy seksuele- en geslagtelike “ander” gemeet kan word, en waarteen hy homself oënskynlik kan beskerm en verdedig. Op hierdie wyse word sekere nie-fiksie tekste (wat na die val van apartheid geproduseer is en wat op ’n retrospektiewe wyse met die Grensoorlog omgaan) gekenmerk deur ’n gewelddadige inskripsie van homoseksuele en transgender persone as beide minderwaardig en swak, sowel as bedrieglik en gevaarlik.