Desire Work ― Ex-gay and Pentecostal Masculinity in South Africa

In post-apartheid Cape Town—Africa's gay capital—many Pentecostal men turned to ex-gay ministries in hopes of “curing” their homosexuality in order to conform to conservative Christian values and African social norms. In Desire Work Melissa Hackman traces the experience of predominantly white "ex-gay" men as they attempted to forge a heterosexual masculinity and enter into heterosexual marriage through emotional, bodily, and religious work. These men subjected themselves to daily self-surveillance and followed prescribed behaviors such as changing how they talked and walked. Ex-gay men also saw themselves participating in the redemption of the nation, as South African society was seen as suffering from a crisis of masculinity in which the country lacked enough moral heterosexual men. By tying the experience of ex-gay men to the convergence of social movements and public debates surrounding race, violence, religion, and masculinity in South Africa, Hackman offers insights into the construction of personal identities in the context of sexuality and spirituality.

Melissa Hackman is a Visiting Lecturer of Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Georgia State University.