'Authentic” queer identities–Koos Prinsloo as a site of contestation

Abstract

Koos Prinsloo’s short story, “Promise you’ll tell no-one”, highlights three aspects that continue to plague Afrikaner identity. The first of these are the phallus, understood here as the symbol of patriarchal power which was the epicentre of Afrikaner identity under the apartheid regime in South Africa, governing both the home and politics. The second aspect is the vacillation between “homomasculinity” (Sonnekus 2013: 35) and heterosexuality, with Afrikaner male identity defined as oppositional to homo-masculinity/homosexuality – with the latter categories typifying the Other. Lastly, Prinsloo deals with race, albeit in a fleeting manner. His use of race in “Promise you’ll tell no-one” reveals the nature of the dogmatic racial categories of apartheid during the 1980s in South Africa.

Dealing with each of these aspects in seriatim, as a way of raising the question of an authentic “queer voice”, I highlight how Prinsloo attempts to step outside the strictures of Afrikaner identity. My analysis reveals, however, that while his attempt may be genuine, Prinsloo cannot escape the place-identity into which he was born and from which he wrote. To explicate this position, I refer to other texts such as Oliver Hermanus’s Skoonheid (2011), Mark Behr’s (1996) The Smell of Apples (Die reuk van appels) and John Trengrove’s Inxeba (2013). I conclude the article by reposing the question in the context of contemporary South African society so as to glean insights from this short story as a way of better understanding questions of justice as they relate to queerness.

Koos Prinsloo se kortverhaal, “Promise you’ll tell no-one” (“belowe dat jy niemand sal vertel nie”), beklemtoon drie aspekte wat die Afrikaner identiteit voortdurend bekommer. Die eerste van hierdie aspekte is die manlike geslagsorgaan (“phallus”), wat hier geïnterpreteer word as die simbool van patriargale mag en wat die sentrale fokus van Afrikaner identiteit was onder die apartheid regering in Suid Afrika, en wat beide families en politiek beheer het. Die tweede aspek is die ambivalensie tussen homo-manlikheid (“homosmasculinity”) (Sonnekus 2013: 35) en heteroseksualiteit waar Afrikaner manlikheid gedefinieër word as tweestrydig met homomanlikheid/ homo-seksualiteit ─ die laaste klassifikasies omskryf die Ander. Die laaste aspek waaraan hierdie artikel aandag gee, is Prinsloo se bepeinsing oor ras, al is dit net vlugtig. Sy gebruik van ras in “Promise you’ll tell no-one” vertel ons van die aard van die dogmatiese rassistiese kategorieë van apartheid gedurende die 1980s in Suid-Afrika. Terwyl ek hierdie aspekte punt vir punt behandel as ’n manier om die vraagstuk oor die outentisiteit van die moffie-stem (“queer voice”) te opper, sal ek beklemtoon hoe Prinsloo poog om te ontsnap van die bande van Afrikaner-identiteit. My ondersoek toon aan dat, alhoewel Prinsloo se poging opreg was, hy nie kan ontsnap van die identiteitsplasing waarin hy gebore is en waarvandaan hy spreek nie. Ten einde hierdie posisie te handhaaf verwys ek na ander akademiese tekste soos Oliver Hermanus se Skoonheid (2011), Mark Behr (1996) se The Smell of Apples (vertaal as Die reuk van appels) en John Trengrove’s Inxeba/The Wound (“die wond”) (2013). Ten slotte bevraagteken ek of Prinsloo se kortverhaal werklik ’n beter verstaans-raamwerk aanbied aangaande vraagstukke oor moffies (“queers”) se regte en respekvolle behandeling binne die huidige Suid-Afrikaanse konteks.