Beyond equality: The post-apartheid counternarrative of trans and intersex movements in South Africa

Abstract

In the decade after apartheid, South Africa became well-known for the unprecedented rights and recognition it afforded to lesbian, gay, and bisexual persons. This article explores the legal and social battles fought by South Africa's trans and intersex activists in the aftermath of the democratic transition, and the ways in which they are meaningfully distinct from the conventional narrative of the post-apartheid LGB movement. In particular, I highlight three areas of divergence - an emphasis on regional advocacy, a focus on micropolitics, and a facility with multiple discourses - that have been central to trans and intersex advocacy. These features of trans and intersex struggles caution against any generalizations about sexuality and law in South Africa. As the twentieth anniversary of the democratic transition approaches, the counternarrative of trans and intersex advocacy merits closer attention as a model for organizing, agitating, and building a movement in contemporary South African politics. © The Author 2013. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Royal African Society. All rights reserved.