Am I That Name? Middle-class lesbian motherhood in post-apartheid South Africa
Both homophobic groups and those concerned to argue for the validity of gay and lesbian families invest in conceptual frameworks which rely on sameness and difference to make sense. Lesbian mothers are seen as fundamentally different to other kinds of mothers (for good or ill), or their similarity i...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Open Library of Humanities
2011-01-01
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| Series: | Studies in the Maternal |
| Online Access: | https://www.mamsie.bbk.ac.uk/article/id/4105/ |
| Summary: | Both homophobic groups and those concerned to argue for the validity of gay and lesbian families invest in conceptual frameworks which rely on sameness and difference to make sense. Lesbian mothers are seen as fundamentally different to other kinds of mothers (for good or ill), or their similarity is stressed in order to ensure that their families are socially and legally recognized. This article explores the experience of navigating the contradictions of sameness and difference that cohere to being a ‘lesbian mother’. It locates its analysis in the context of post-apartheid South Africa. It explores the possibilities of inclusion and exclusion into the definition of the human enabled by the South African Constitution and the language of rights on which that document depends. |
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| ISSN: | 1759-0434 |