Abstract
Abstract:Over the past twenty years, South African civil society has engaged in an extended debate over the appropriate role of “custom” in public life, focusing on issues of gender and sexuality. The history of virginity testing in the Eastern Cape region shows that the nostalgia for custom points to the loss of sexual autonomy that accompanied colonialism. While the rhetoric that justified virginity testing in the precolonial and early colonial era was deeply patriarchal, the practice itself protected female sexual autonomy and provided protections that were undermined by the colonial legal regime and have yet to be effectively replaced.
Published Version
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
