Exploring experiences of heterosexism and coping strategies among lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender persons in Swaziland

ABSTRACT

Social, cultural, and institutional processes which see heterosexuality as natural and universal discriminate against individuals who differ from this norm. This article draws on interviews with lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Swaziland to provide an enhanced understanding of the ways in which heterosexism operates in practice and impacts the sexual rights of LGBT communities in Swaziland, where same-sex practices are criminalised. These narratives show the importance of solidarity and activism in coping strategies to challenge social exclusion, improve lives, and advocate for social changes. These strategies include reframing, navigating interpersonal relationships, and advocacy. We consider key lessons that emerge from our research for policy, programmes, and activism in Swaziland, as well as other low- and middle-income contexts.

Les processus sociaux, culturels et institutionnels qui considèrent l’hétérosexualité comme une chose naturelle et universelle pratiquent une discrimination contre les personnes qui ne souscrivent pas à cette norme. Cet article se base sur des entretiens menés avec des personnes lesbiennes, gays, bisexuelles et transgenres (LGBT) au Swaziland pour permettre de mieux comprendre les manières dont l’hétérosexisme opère dans la pratique et l’impact qu’il a sur les droits sexuels des communautés LGBT au Swaziland, pays dans lequel les pratiques homosexuelles sont criminalisées. Ces fils narratifs illustrent l’importance de la solidarité et de l'activisme dans les stratégies d’adaptation visant à mettre en question l'exclusion sociale, à améliorer les vies et à préconiser des changements sociaux. Parmi ces stratégies figurent la reformulation, la gestion des rapports interpersonnels et le plaidoyer. Nous nous penchons sur les enseignements clés qui se dégagent de nos recherches pour les politiques, les programmes et l’activisme au Swaziland, ainsi que dans d'autres contextes de pays à revenu faible et intermédiaire.

Los procesos sociales, culturales e institucionales que consideran la heterosexualidad como algo natural y universal discriminan a las personas cuyas preferencias sexuales difieren de esta norma. El presente artículo se basa en entrevistas realizadas a personas lesbianas, gais, bisexuales y transgéneras (lgbt) de Suazilandia, con el fin de profundizar la comprensión en torno a las maneras en que el heterosexismo opera en la práctica, determinando los derechos sexuales de las comunidades lgbt de Suazilandia. Allí, las relaciones íntimas entre personas del mismo sexo son criminalizadas. Las narrativas de los participantes dan cuenta de la importancia que reviste incorporar la solidaridad y el activismo a las estrategias de afrontamiento encaminadas a cuestionar la exclusión social, mejorar las vidas de dichas personas y abogar por la producción de cambios sociales. Tales estrategias implican considerar la posibilidad de realizar replanteamientos, sortear las relaciones interpersonales y ejercer la incidencia. Los autores analizan la aplicación de los principales aprendizajes surgidos de sus investigaciones sobre políticas públicas, programas y activismo en Suazilandia, además de su pertinencia para ser aplicadas en contextos de ingresos bajos o medios.

KEYWORDS:

• Heterosexism
• heteronormativity
• LGBT
• activism
• social movements
• Swaziland

Acknowledgements

This paper is dedicated to the memory of our dear friend and colleague, Xolile Sane ‘Malume’ Mabuza, the founder of Rock of Hope and study co-investigator. Xolile was a ground-breaking LGBT advocate who inspired this research project and was critical to its implementation and success. In addition, we acknowledge the Rock of Hope staff, Southern African Nazarene University, Ministry of Health Scientific and Ethics Committee in Swaziland, and all of the research participants. We acknowledge funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation, the US National Institutes of Mental Health and Office of AIDS Research of the US National Institutes of Health, and the Canada Research Chair Program. This article is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the US National Institutes of Health.

Notes on contributors

Carmen H. Logie is Assistant Professor at the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada, and an Adjunct Scientist at Women’s College Research Institute, Women’s College Hospital, Toronto, Canada. Postal address: Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, 246 Bloor Street West, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5S 1V4. Email: [email protected]

Amaya Perez-Brumer is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Sociomedical Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, USA.

Emma Woolley is a graduate student at the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.

Veli Madau is an Outreach Worker at Rock of Hope, Manzini, Swaziland.

Winnie Nhlengethwa is a Professor and Vice Chancellor at Southern African Nazarene University, Manzini, Swaziland.

Peter A. Newman is a Professor at the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.

Stefan D. Baral is an Associate Professor at the Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.

Notes

1 For more information on the Rock of Hope, see http://therockofhopesd.com (last checked 19 December 2017).

2 Institutional review boards at the University of Toronto and the Ministry of Health Scientific and Ethics Committee in Swaziland approved the study protocol.

3 We used NVivo software.

4 Inductive questions aim to explore what findings and new ideas emerge from data that can build new theory. Deductive questions aim to gather information to test a hypothesis or theory.

5 A hymen is a thin membrane at the entrance of the vagina, that varies between individuals in size and shape, and may also be entirely absent. The presence of a hymen is traditionally associated with not having yet had penetrative heterosexual sex, and hence is normatively seen as proof of virginity.

6 ‘Corrective’ rape refers to the idea that a person’s LGB sexual orientation can be ‘cured’/changed by being raped by someone of the opposite sex.