BLACKWASHING HOMOPHOBIA, violence and the politics of sexuality, gender and race

158pp., paperback, London & New York, 2018

"In this remarkable book, Melanie Judge traces the contours of violence directed at queer people in post-apartheid South Africa, and its implications for the formation of subjectivities. She shows how homophobic violence constitutes race, class and sexual identities simultaneously and multiply. Violence has devastating consequences, particularly for black lesbian women, but it also produces resistances. Judge explores these through fine-grained interviews and superb analysis. This is an assured and well-researched text by an academic who is also a leading activist for queer rights." Shireen Hassim, Professor of Politics, University of the Witwatersrand

"Melanie Judge's 'Blackwashing Homophobia' is a brilliant intervention into the multivalent contradictions surrounding South Africa's Constitution as a model for LGBTQI equality and the continued societal and private violence against sexual minorities, especially Black Lesbians. Animated by interviews, as well as trenchant analysis of law, media, theory, psychology, and culture, Melanie Judge refutes simplistic explanations about race, Black culture, and African sexuality, in favour of a nuanced exploration of the many complexities of how violence operates. Judge offers a must-read sophisticated leap forward for understandings of anti-LGBTQI violence in South Africa and throughout the world, providing hope for truly radical racial, sexual, and gendered liberation." Ruthann Robson, Professor of Law and University Distinguished Professor, City University of New York

Melanie Judge is a queer and feminist activist, Adjunct Associate Professor and research associate at the Centre for Law and Society, Faculty of Law, University of Cape Town.