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AEGIS European Conference on African Studies
11 - 14 July 2007
African Studies Centre, Leiden, The Netherlands
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Sexual histories of whiteness in South Africa, 1960-1969: A critical African psychological inquiry
| Panel |
31. Sexuality and Politics in Africa
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| Paper ID | 685 |
| Author(s) |
Ratele, Kopano
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| Paper |
No paper submitted
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| Abstract | Some time in 1965 in South Africa, newspapers reported, Mr D.F., a man whose whiteness isn’t in dispute, fell in love with a woman would become Mrs D.F., a woman whose whiteness is. Why was Mrs D.F’s whiteness in question? Because, in the eyes of the State, she was coloured. Newspapers reported that the falsity, or truthfulness, of her life was revealed when she applied for an identity card and learned that she in fact wasn’t white. On this news, the couple decided to relocate to Britain, to avoid being at the wrong end of the Immorality Act, where they would be able to marry. Two children were born of the union. Since the climate in Britain didn’t agree with Mrs D.F., the family decided to return to South Africa, where she lodged an application with the Race Classification Board to be changed to white. The application was unsuccessful and it thus became unlawful for the wife to live with her husband. Consequently, the couple were arrested, charged under the Act, and found guilty. They appealed and the conviction was set aside on the grounds that the woman was, first, obviously white in appearance and, second, generally accepted by others as white and therefore was white. The man and the woman could therefore continue to live together. The sting in the tail of the ruling of the Appellate Court was that the children were, however, not to be regarded as white. In the circumstances, the family left South Africa for Britain for the second time.
This case is one of 206 whites and 74 coloureds convicted under the Immorality legislation in the year 1964-1965, out of 412 prosecutions against whites and 145 against coloureds. As the study concerns itself with whiteness, with males and females regarded or who regarded themselves as white, other races will be largely left out, only brought in where they illuminate the story of whiteness. What the study examines is how and why the notion of im/morality came to play a crucial role in the constitution of a white self and society. The definition of immorality used here is that implied in the Immorality Act and amendments. The Acts considered are from 1927 onwards, but the focus is on cases arising out of the 1960s. Over the years, the study shows, the idea of im/morality distended the conception of a white self and group itself, reshaping the development of personal and social relations of whites. What though are the systems, institutions and processes that render the idea of ‘the immoral’ to become part of personal or group identity? Three amongst several key systems or institutions in rendering im/morality crucial to white self-making and social identity are considered. These are (a) the law, including courts and the police, (b) the media and (3) government. The study therefore traces how the idea of im/morality constitutes whiteness as well legal, social and governmental disciplinary practices surrounding im/morality and whiteness.
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