These resources may help you understand a variety of things! Take a look below!
- 2021, (How to) Touch me Properly: “Sex can confuse us, please us and allow us to explore. It can cage us, drive us or be something to fear. There are the moving body parts, the uncertainties of whether to stroke or flick and the, unfortunate, inability to read your partner(s) mind. But there are also the times when you are on your A-game and you feel like you can give your partner(s) a world of pleasure. No matter where you are at, this free e-book is here to help. From date ideas to pronouns to understanding your sexuality! Sex & relationshipping is often tricky for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual & LGBTQIA+ community, not just because of the act itself, but because it can be a cornucopia of ideas and feelings.” Access the full and free e-book.
- 2021, TOUCH: Sex, Sexuality and Sensuality: “What comes to mind when you think about sex? The expression of love? Past shame and hurt? Current pleasure? Touch is a striking anthology that focuses on sex as a vast, yet intertwined experience between people. The collection draws on the experiences of sex from people across genders, sexualities – even borders. Touch delves into the many ways in which sex features in our lives. Sex can be fun, tricky, heart-breaking, and sometimes non-existent and this book covers all this and much more.” With contributions by Nakhane, Siya Khumalo, Mia Arderne, Jamil F Khan, Katlego K Kolanyane-Kesupile and more. Get your copy.
- 2020, Manual: Health workers attending to counter normative sexual orientations and gender identities. This training manual is directed towards enabling health workers to become sensitive in relation to LGBTI issues and to control what they can in providing for a more LGBTI friendly environment. Health services are orientated towards a heteronormative society and have been blind towards the needs of people who have sexual identities which fit into the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex (LGBTI) continuum. As such, many LGBTI persons have not felt able to access health services and many of the health issues that health workers should be providing for are overlooked. This manual complements existing materials which address training on sexualities, sexual orientations and gender.
- 2020, Beyond the Mountain: Queer Life in Africa’s Gay Capital: This book depicts the lives of LGBTQI community and the immovable, negative perceptions the general public holds of them. It seeks to expose their world and the kinds of violence and abuse they are subjected to, as well as unveil the racial discrimination within these communities. Get your copy.
- 2019, They called me queer: A collection written by Africans who self-identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex and asexual (LGBTQIA+). Across the continent, and throughout the world, South Africa has become known for its tolerance towards us, the LGBTQIA+ community. However, even if being who we are is legal, we live in a devastatingly segregated and unequal society, where the combination of race, class, gender and sexual identities still heavily impacts every part of our lives. This collection of stories is a testimony to who we are. It is an assertion of our struggles, but also our triumphs, our joys. These are our stories of acceptance and rejection, of young love and old lovers, of the agonising thrills of coming out and coming into ourselves, of our sex lives, of our families and communities. Writing by Haji Mohamed Dawjee, Lwando Scott, Ling Sheperd, Maneo Mohale, Chase Rhys, Wanelisa Xaba, Jamil F Khan, Khanya Kemami, Janine Adams, Craig Lucas and others. Get your copy.
- 2018, You’ve got to be gay to know God: The contents of this book is as provocative as its title. It is in part a biography of sorts which sees Siya Khumalo describing personal accounts of what life was like as a young boy trying to figure out his sexuality at a same-sex school. Additionally, the book provides commentary on a number of important topics including religion, politics, sexuality and patriarchy. Speaking in an interview, Khumalo says the book was supposed to be a “nice, polite book for Christians about the Bible” and spoke about queer people finding meaning in the same organised religion that often condemned them. It is an honest and unapologetic work that has been praised by some and criticised by others because of the uncomfortable conversations it confronts directly and unflinchingly. Get your copy.
- 2016, Always Anastacia: A Transgender Life in South Africa: Anastacia has fought hard for her right to live, held back for decades by a body that didn’t fit, and an identity that never belonged to her. At first, it had seemed impossible – like transition was some romantic, impractical ideal that was incompatible with reality. But now, after five months of hormone therapy, countless sessions of painful laser hair removal, multiple appointments with doctors and psychologists, it is very much a reality. Get your copy.
- 2013, Queer Africa: New and Collected Fiction, an anthology by MaThoko Books: a South African collection of 18 queer stories by writers from all over the African continent which was published by MaThoko Books, an imprint of the Gay and Lesbian Memory in Action (GALA), a center for LGBT culture and education in South Africa. This evocative collection of stories which portray queerness in varied settings has been described as a celebration of the “diversity and fluidity of queer and African identities, offering a sometimes radical re-imagining of life on the continent.” Back in 2014, it was awarded the Lambda Literary Award in the “Best Anthology” category and has become influential in the teaching of queer theory at a number of universities in South Africa.
