Violent anxiety: The erasure of queer blackwomxn in post-apartheid South Africa

Abstract

The research problem is aimed at identifying the various ways in which queer blackwomxn are erased in Post-Apartheid South Africa. The three levels of erasure identified are: epistemic, material and symbolic. The manifestation of these different forms of erasure overlaps and facilitates as unique experience of oppression for queer blackwomxn in Post-Apartheid South Africa. Thus, I explore the unique positioning of queer blackwomxn in Post-Apartheid South Africa by interrogating how race, gender, economic standing and sexual orientation affect the way these bodies experience citizenship and belonging. I use an intersectional approach in answering the questions of how erasure manifests epistemically, materially and symbolically. This approach challenges the singular analysis which ignores how the various identities intersect and create a unique experience of oppression for blackwomxn. Therefore, this approach acknowledges that the different systems of oppression such as racism, patriarchy and heterosexism intersect to create a specific experience for queer blackwomxn.