Queer theory from the South: A contribution to the critique of sexual democracy

Abstract

This essay draws on the turn to southern epistemologies in social theory as a provocation for rethinking the problems and possibilities of ‘sexual democracy.’ First, I situate ‘queer theory from the South’ in relation to ongoing queer and decolonial critiques of sexual democracy. I then turn to the case of South Africa, examining ubuntu as an alternative framework for developing a sexual politics that can negotiate between the Euro-American liberal rights frames and indigenous values. Finally, I conclude by illustrating this with the work of a Zulu lesbian sangoma, whose theory and practice offers a vision of decolonizing erotic justice.