The role of self-reflexivity on the part of gay male academics on South African university campuses

Abstract

he article reports on the findings of a qualitative sociological study conducted between June and December 2012 with 17 self-identified gay male academics on their experiences in South African tertiary education. Adopting a queer theoretical critique of the process of self-reflexivity, the research focused on how the participants experience homophobia and its influence on their choice to remain in the closet or to disclose their homosexuality. Based on the views of the 15 in-depth interviews and two self-administered questionnaires, three themes associated with gay male academic reflexivity emerged: assimilation, segregation and dualistic transgression. Assimilation assumes the subordination of homosexuality in relation to heterosexuality, segregation the distinction between hetero- and homosexuality, whereas dualistic transgression underlines the reciprocal interplay between the first two themes.