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Queer life in Africa's gay capital

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Beyond the mountain: Queer life in Africa’s gay capital takes you to the streets, to the sea and, perhaps surprisingly, to church. Queer bodies do not sell the city; they shape it, as they always have, intersecting it with relations of power and refusal, transactional existence, (in)visibility, creative subcultural modes of survival, overtly antagonistic to the continued spatial sanitisation of the city as a cisgender white gay tourist destination, and they invite you, dear reader, to come along for the ride.

Edited by B Camminga (they/them) and z Matebeni, the book contributes to the body of knowledge on the lived experiences of lesbian gay bisexual trans-sexual, queer and inter-sex (LGBTQI) communities in Cape Town. The book provides insight into the plight of the LGBTQI community, which has entrenched itself unashamedly in the city, and challenges the stereotypes and prejudices suffered by these communities.

Beyond the mountain: Queer life in Africa’s gay capital is a collection consisting of narratives of lived experiences and academic discussions presented by both novice and experienced scholars. The imagery of beyond the mountain is a depiction of the lives of the LGBTQI community and the immovable, negative perceptions the general public holds of them. It seeks to expose their world and the kinds of violence and abuse they are subjected to, as well as unveil the racial discrimination within these communities. The book revolves around four themes, namely, education, emancipation, protection, acceptance and integration of LGBTQI people in society.

Lesbians from different walks of life will talk to you about safety, take you into their homes, their relationships, and, crucially, you will be reminded of the fundamental historical role of their organising spaces. You will be asked to queue under an overpass with the city’s transgender asylum seekers while considering how Cape Town’s transgender and gender non-conforming people engage with the "Pink Capital’s" institutions, its toilets, its corners, and, critically, each other.

Title: Beyond the mountain: Queer life in Africa’s gay capital

Editors: B Camminga and z Matebeni

E-mail: unisa-press@unisa.ac.za

Website: www.unisa.ac.za/press

* By Dimakatso Malema, Marketing Officer, Unisa Press

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Publish date: 2020-09-30 00:00:00.0

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