Current Version
| Region | South Africa |
| Issue | Censorship of LGBT issues |
| Status | State-enforced |
| Start Date | Jan 22, 1966 |
| End Date | Feb 1, 1990 |
| Description | Restrictions on LGBTIQ+ expression became policy of the apartheid regime in 1966 after a raid in Forest Town where nine men were arrested for "masquerading as women" and participating in "indecent activity". This would lead to an attempted amendment to the Immorality Act of 1957, which previously only criminalised homosexuality in public, in 1968. Repression led to the emergence of the Gayle language by underground LGBTIQ+ South Africans using secret code words to allow LGBTIQ+ people to express freely without detection in public. Although LGBTIQ+ groups were persecuted in all areas, those opposed to the apartheid regime were given extensive mistreatment even from white gay groups. |
| Sources | https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/history-lgbt-legislation https://www.gov.za/documents/immorality-amendment-act-1-jun-1967-0000 https://antiapartheidlegacy.org.uk/heritage-arts-culture/history/articles/lgbt-activists-in-the-anti-apartheid-struggle/ https://genderjusticeproject.org/race/lgbtqia-in-south-africa-the-legacy-of-colonialism-and-apartheid https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/gayle-language-apartheid-south-africas-gay-underground |
Revision History (1)
created by DaisyGeekyTrans
Helpful?
0 | Original entry | |
|---|---|
| Status | State-enforced |
| Start Date | Jan 22, 1966 |
| End Date | Feb 1, 1990 |
| Description | Restrictions on LGBTIQ+ expression became policy of the apartheid regime in 1966 after a raid in Forest Town where nine men were arrested for "masquerading as women" and participating in "indecent activity". This would lead to an attempted amendment to the Immorality Act of 1957, which previously only criminalised homosexuality in public, in 1968. Repression led to the emergence of the Gayle language by underground LGBTIQ+ South Africans using secret code words to allow LGBTIQ+ people to express freely without detection in public. Although LGBTIQ+ groups were persecuted in all areas, those opposed to the apartheid regime were given extensive mistreatment even from white gay groups. |
| Sources | https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/history-lgbt-legislation https://www.gov.za/documents/immorality-amendment-act-1-jun-1967-0000 https://antiapartheidlegacy.org.uk/heritage-arts-culture/history/articles/lgbt-activists-in-the-anti-apartheid-struggle/ https://genderjusticeproject.org/race/lgbtqia-in-south-africa-the-legacy-of-colonialism-and-apartheid https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/gayle-language-apartheid-south-africas-gay-underground |