Homomasculine performativity and the legitimisation of hegemonic Afrikaner ideals in Oliver Hermanus's Skoonheid (2011) and Etienne Kallos's Die Stropers (2019)

Abstract

Considering the lack of homosexual representation in South African cinema until 1985 (Botha, 2013), films in post-apartheid South Africa have made significant progress concerning this issue. However, despite this progress, there are few films that feature homosexual characters, especially in Afrikaans films that depict Afrikaner societies. This lack of representation can potentially downplay the urgency and importance of the social issues being addressed in these films, potentially preventing audiences from reflecting on the restrictive social conditions in Afrikaner communities and their effect on homosexual individuals in those communities. I have therefore chosen to investigate two critically acclaimed South African films: Skoonheid (2011, directed and co-written by Oliver Hermanus), and Die Stropers (2019, directed and written by Etienne Kallos). These films are noteworthy because of the representation of same-sex desire among men in conservative Afrikaner communities. My study focuses on how these two films seem to interrogate and challenge hegemonic Afrikaner ideals set forth by Afrikaner nationalist discourse, and how the theme of homomasculine performativity among Afrikaner men emerges within the two films. Both Skoonheid and Die Stropers successfully confront the challenges faced by white, Afrikaans men within contemporary South Africa in terms of navigating social norms and constructing their identity within conservative Afrikaner societies. However, these films also show how hegemonic Afrikaner masculinity is still deeply embedded in the South African consciousness. Therefore, this study explores how strict norms and morals represented in Skoonheid and Die Stropers perpetuate and legitimise hegemonic masculinist identities and how, through performative strategies, Francois and Janno seemingly reinforce these heteronormative ideals. I argue that idealised masculine ideals negate mobility and fluidity of identities and restrict the possibility of Afrikaner men to freely negotiate their gender identities, as they are restricted to a hegemonic ideal of masculinity.