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The Significance of South Africa’s First Prominent Lesbian TV Character

The recent introduction of South Africa’s first prominent lesbian TV character is more than just a milestone for lesbian visibility on TV in South Africa – it’s a step towards stemming the rising tide of violence against lesbians in South Africa.

Rhythm City, a popular daily drama (or “soapie”) that premiered on e.tv in 2007, is set in Johannesburg and focuses on the romantic entanglements and interpersonal power struggles of those who work in the South African music industry. Storylines revolve around record companies, promoters, producers, DJs and the stars, as well as wannabe stars, has-beens and everyone’s families and lovers.

Openly gay Wandi (Mbali Ntuli) is the new host of a local morning TV show. While she is just one of several characters on the show, and not without her flaws, Wandi is an identifiable, multi-dimensional, and sympathetic character. In other words: she’s not just another lesbian villain.

Wandi and Lu (KB Motsilanyane) – who became friends after Wandi interviewed Lu for her show – had been planning to move in together (as friends) after Wandi convinced Lu to leave her boyfriend Miles. But a rift developed between them last week when Lu asked Wandi, “have you lived with women before” and Wandi answered “Lu, did you not know I was a lesbian?” (Apparently, Lu did not.)

Lu grappled with her anti-gay prejudice and decided to overcome it, but made it clear to Wandi, “we are not in a relationship.” When Wandi replied, “but we are,” the two were at a stalemate.

This causes a strain in their relationship for awhile, but spoilers say the two will eventually make up (go here for future episode summaries), and there are even hints that their friendship may even take a romantic turn – although I think that’s unlikely, given current attitudes towards homosexuality in South Africa, and the fact that Wandi is one of the first lesbians on South African television.

Ntuli talked about her character to South Africa’s Tonight in April, when she made her debut on Rhythm City:

I like the fact that [Wandi] is this independent woman who knows exactly what she wants. And it is a move away from the vulnerable characters I portrayed in my earlier roles. Wandi is smart and sophisticated. She has her own talk show. In terms of her sexual orientation, I was told she goes both ways, which can be interesting.

(Ntuli’s statement in April that she was told her character “goes both ways” conflicts with Wandi’s on-screen statement in July that she’s a lesbian, but there are several possible explanations for this: that Ntuli knew Wandi was gay but was told to tell reporters Wandi was bisexual to minimize any potential backlash – a tactic employed during the early stages of lesbian visibility in other countries – or that the writers always planned to make Wandi a lesbian but didn’t want to scare Ntuli off when she was first hired, or simply that the writers decided to change the character to a lesbian after Ntuli was hired.)

Ntuli was also quick to add, “I want it on record that I am very straight and, yes, I love men.” Although it’s disappointing that she felt compelled to make that statement, it’s not surprising given the conflicting messages about homosexuality in South Africa.

A country of roughly 48 million people – approximately 80% of whom are black – and 11 official languages, South Africa is comprised of an extremely heterogeneous population with diverse backgrounds and beliefs.

In 2006, South Africa became the fifth country (and the first in Africa) to legalize same-sex marriage. Adoption by same-sex couples has been legal in South Africa since 2002, and the age of consent was made the same for homosexual and heterosexual relationships in 2008. This makes South Africa more advanced than many other countries in the world – including the U.S. – when it comes to legal rights for its gay and lesbian citizens.

But at the same time, homophobia and sexism pervade South African culture(s), which has led to a recent rise in the “corrective” rape of lesbians in South Africa. This tactic by straight men to “convert” lesbians came to international attention last year when national soccer player Eudy Simelane was brutally gang-raped and murdered because she was gay. Reports by humanitarian groups show sexual assault against lesbians (or simply those who advocate for women’s rights) continues to be a major problem.

The South African government has been criticized for not doing anything about the problem. A statement released by South Africa’s national prosecuting authority at the time of Simelane’s murder said: “While hate crimes – especially of a sexual nature – are rife, it is not something that the South African government has prioritized as a specific project.”

In this environment, many South African lesbian and bisexual women understandably don’t want to come out, at least not publicly. So it’s not surprising that there are very few high-profile openly gay or bisexual women in South Africa.

The very short list includes the famous late lesbian/bisexual Queen of African Pop Brenda Fassie, who died in 2004 from a drug overdose; singer Melanie Lowe, who first became popular in 2002 on the American Idol-type show Idols and came out last month as a lesbian; and writer Marianne Thamm, who writes for one of South Africa’s largest women’s magazines, Fair Lady.

Anti-gay attitudes are unlikely to change, however, as long as most LGBT South Africans stay closeted, since studies have shown a clear correlation between knowing someone who is gay, and acceptance of homosexuality. Fortunately, queer television characters (and television personalities) can serve as surrogate gay “friends,” and help pave the way for more social acceptance of homosexuality, as we have seen happen in the U.S. over the last 20 years.

But there has been almost no representation of lesbian/bi women on South African television until now.

There was a recurring lesbian character on the 2006 South African series Known Gods named Octavia Jolley (played by Nicole Holm), but she had a small role. Octavia was also white, which makes Wandi not only the first prominent gay or bisexual TV female character on South African TV, but the first black lesbian or bisexual TV character – not an insignificant fact in a country that is 80% black. (One of the main characters on a 2007 mini-series called Her Story: Society was a black lesbian, but it was only a four-episode series.)

Rhythm City currently averages around 2 million viewers – more than most of the other soapies. Exposing that many viewers to positive depictions of lesbians through a character like Wandi on a daily or weekly basis for months means there may be 2 million more South Africans less likely to engage in or look the other way at homophobia or “corrective rape” in the future.

And now that Rhythm City has broken the social taboo around portraying lesbian characters on South African TV, other South African TV shows are likely to follow suit over time. That will lead to more positive visibility, which – when combined with efforts by the government, judicial system, human rights organizations, and ordinary and high-profile LGBT South Africans – will lead to improved attitudes towards LGBT South Africans, and less violence.

All of which underscores the fact that, although visibility matters everywhere, perhaps it matters even more in South Africa right now.

Thanks to AE reader I Promise I’ll Be Good for her invaluable help with research and background information.

Check out the show’s official website and the Rhythm City Facebook group. For more on “corrective rape,” read our recent forum thread about it, and visit actionaid.org.uk.

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