Condemned Bodies: Experiences of Homophobic Hatred and Violence in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa

The purpose of this paper is to present the thoughts, voices, and lived experiences of people who do not conform to normative socio-cultural and religious prescriptions of gender and sexuality, namely black Izitabane[1] women located in Pietermaritzburg South Africa. By sharing these experiences I hope to inspire deeper consideration and rethinking of the role and presence of Izitabane Christians in church and society. My reflections are framed by queer theology, a conviction that scholars need to prioritize the lived experiences of marginalized Izitabane women, particularly as “[women’s] experiences have been left out of theological reflection”. This form of theology is appropriate and useful for theologizing on Izitabane bodies, whose rights, experiences, perspectives, and existence are rejected as meaningless and denounced as unimportant. As a result, this methodology emphasizes a theology from the margins in which I focus on empowering the lives and experiences of black Izitabane women as resources for my theologizing. [1] [1]The term ‘Isitabane’ (Isizulu language) is used in this study to refer to black queer bodies (more generally known as lesbians) within the South African context. I am reclaiming this term that has been used to discriminate and oppress non-gender conforming bodies and I am using it to showcase that Izitabane people exist in South Africa. The term is discussed in detail in the conceptual classification section below.