“He mustn’t be too much”: Exploring notions of internalised homophobia in Date My Family

abstract

Internalised homophobia is central to this article which aims to fully grasp the representation of black gay men on reality television and how it reinforces or reconfigures gender heteronormativity on dating norms within the television medium. Our case study is Date My Family, a popular South African reality dating show, which is explored through the lens of three black gay male participants who took part in the show. Through a discourse analysis, we explore the conversations of three gay men in three separate episodes to interrogate the following. Firstly, how does Date My Family contribute to the conversation on gay identities and dating norms. Secondly, we unpack and identify associations between homophobic comments made on the show and the concept of internalised homophobia which prevails through the comments and mannerisms of the characters. Set against masculinity theories, we explore how black gay masculinities, which are non-normative, function and how the intersectional links that participants on the show embody, being black, gay and aspiring to same-sex partnership, operate to construct their identity and influence the enactment of internalised homophobia. Through this, we are able to illuminate how television can further perpetuate homophobia in the public sphere. Our findings suggest that the comments of the characters on the show allow us to identify how internalised homophobia functions at various levels in the characters’ realities, specifically when relating to who they aspire to date.

keywords:

• internalised homophobia
• reality television
• black gay masculinities
• Date My Family
• identity

ORCID

Melusi Mntungwa http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7924-1290

Notes

1 See: http://livemag.co.za/featured/angry-black-and-gay-an-opinion/ (accessed 6 March 2018).

2 See: https://mg.co.za/article/2017-04-18-racist-stereotyping-threatens-sa/ (accessed 4 January 2018).

3 @Echo_Lebelo has consented to the reproduction of the Tweet.

4 @neriahlakotsa has consented to reproduction of the Tweet.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Melusi Mntungwa

MELUSI MNTUNGWA is a junior academic with the department of Communication Science at the University of South Africa where he teaches and supervises at early post-graduate level. He is in the process of completing his Masters in Media and Cultural Studies specialising in Health Communication. His areas of interest include Health Communication, same-sexuality and health, and LGBTI identity formation. He is particularly interested in how marginalised groups are represented in the media. As a volunteer in various LGBTI projects, he is involved in advocating for the increased representation of members of the LGBTI community in the media and for the representation and prioritisation of local gay men in health campaigns. Email: [email protected]

Luthando Ngema

LUTHANDO NGEMA is an emerging scholar at the School of Arts, Media and Cultural Studies at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. Her multidisciplinary interests include understanding urban cultures; representation of gender issues in the media; political communication; communication for development. Ngema teaches and supervises at post-graduate level. She is currently in the process of completing her Doctoral studies. Email: [email protected]