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“Let me live” - Exploring a Group of Bisexual SA University Students' Experiences in their Various Communities
Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2022.
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | en_ZA |
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Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
2022
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| _version_ | 1867613751914528768 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Slabbert, Philip Neethling |
| author2 | Van Wyk, Sherine Bronvin |
| author_browse | Slabbert, Philip Neethling Van Wyk, Sherine Bronvin |
| author_facet | Van Wyk, Sherine Bronvin Slabbert, Philip Neethling |
| author_sort | Slabbert, Philip Neethling |
| collection | Thesis |
| dc_rights_str_mv | Stellenbosch University |
| description | Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2022. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/124994 |
| institution | Stellenbosch University (South Africa) |
| language | en_ZA |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:41:07.950Z |
| license_str | Other — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| publishDate | 2022 |
| publishDateRange | 2022 |
| publishDateSort | 2022 |
| publisher | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| publisherStr | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| spelling | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/124994 “Let me live” - Exploring a Group of Bisexual SA University Students' Experiences in their Various Communities Slabbert, Philip Neethling Van Wyk, Sherine Bronvin Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Psychology. Biphobia Bisexual people -- South Africa College students -- South Africa UCTD Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2022. ENGLISH SUMMARY: An expanding body of international literature has identified dual-sourced binegativity from straight and gay/lesbian individuals as a risk factor for the mental health disparities among bisexual individuals, compared to straight and gay/lesbian individuals’ experiences. Existing studies frequently attribute these disparities to bisexual specific minority stressors, including erasure, as well as invisibility and invalidation due to bisexual incomprehensibility. In South Africa, there is a lack of research into bisexual individuals’ experiences because data about bisexual individuals have frequently not been differentiated from gay men or lesbian women. My qualitative study aimed to address the knowledge gap by exploring self-identified bisexual university students’ lived experiences of their bisexuality, including experiences of binegativity and support within their family and community environments, among their university peers, and within the queer community. A group of 12 self-identified bi-individuals registered at a South African university, diverse in terms of their sex, race, religious background, and age, participated in this study. After receiving institutional permission and ethical clearance from the university’s Research Ethics Committee, I conducted virtual, in-depth, semi-structured interviews with each participant. I managed the data using Atlas.ti and applied reflexive thematic analysis and an inductive approach to the qualitative data. I used a queer epistemological framework to conceptualise and understand the participants’ experiences, and a queered social constructionist paradigm informed my methodological approach. From the data, I generated five key themes: (1) isolation on the margins of normativity; (2) erasure through gendering; (3) playing with the closet; (4) barriers to bisexual identity development; and (5) unlearning binegativity. These themes evidenced how regimes of power/knowledge rooted in dominant norms and confirmed the prevalence of dualbinegativity that keep these participants in their proper straight or gay/lesbian place. This influences participants to internalise these norms and engage in self-policing. Consequently, revealing one’s sexual orientation becomes a complex interplay of strategic outness and concealment according to contextual variables, as opposed to a one-time event. Furthermore, continual exposure to dual-sourced binegativity is evidently internalised. Internalised binegativity affected participants’ interaction with their environment and their perception of their sexual orientation. They reported how subscribing to dominant norms increased feelings of shame and self-hate, and led to them constantly self-monitoring, regulating their behaviour and devaluing their own experiences. Cumulatively, external and internalised binegativity seemingly has an injurious effect on the participants’ psychological well-being and sets in motion a ripple effect of marginalisation, loneliness, self-isolation and bisexual identity uncertainty. Through reflection and introspection, participants understood the ignorance at the foundation of societies’ sexualities knowledge, power/privilege dynamics of their various contexts, and the importance of grounding their truth in personal experience. Social support and selfeducation restored epistemic justice, establishing the base that makes this possible. This allowed the participants to start developing a bisexual affirming identity, enabling them to further queer and trouble dominant norms and establish a reverse discourse. Based on the findings of this study, the need for more research with bisexual individuals as a group, as well as the need for more interventions to decrease internalised binegativity while increasing resilience are evident. AFRIKAANS OPSOMMING: n Toenemende versameling van internasionale literatuur het dubbele bron-binegatiwiteit vanaf heteroseksuele en gay/lesbiese individue as 'n risikofaktor geïdentifiseer vir die geestesgesondheidsverskille wat biseksuele individue, in vergelyking met heteroseksuele en gay/lesbiese individue, ervaar. Bestaande studies skryf hierdie ongelykhede dikwels toe aan biseksueel spesifieke minderheidsstressors as gevolg van biseksuele onverstaanbaarheid. Dit sluit uitwissing, onsigbaarheid en ongeldigmaking in. In Suid-Afrika is daar 'n gebrek aan navorsing oor biseksuele individue se ervarings. Die rede is omdat daar nie ‘n onderskeiding tussen die data van biseksuele individue en gay mans of lesbiese vroue is nie. Hierdie kwalitatiewe studie het beoog om diè kennisgaping aan te spreek deur self-geïdentifiseerde biseksuele universiteitstudente se geleefde ervarings van hul biseksualiteit te ondersoek, insluitend hul ervaringe van binegatiwiteit en ondersteuning, binne hul familie- en gemeenskapsomgewings, tussen hul universiteitsmaats en binne die queer-gemeenskap. 'n Groep van 12 self-geïdentifiseerde biseksuele individue wat by 'n Suid-Afrikaanse universiteit geregistreer is, uiteenlopend in terme van hul geslag, ras, godsdienstige agtergrond en ouderdom, het aan hierdie studie deelgeneem. Nadat ek institusionele toestemming en etiese klaring van die universiteit se Navorsingsetiekkomitee ontvang het, het ek virtuele, in-diepte, semi-gestruktureerde onderhoude met elke deelnemer gevoer. Ek het die data met Atlas.ti bestuur en refleksiewe tematiese analise en 'n induktiewe benadering tot die kwalitatiewe data toegepas. Ek het 'n queer teoretiese raamwerk gebruik om die deelnemers se ervarings te konseptualiseer en te verstaan, en in my metodologie het ek 'n queer sosiaal-konstruksionistiese paradigma gebruik. Vanuit die data het ek vyf sleuteltemas gegenereer: (1) isolasie op die grense van normatiwiteit; (2) uitwissing deur geslagsvorming; (3) speel met die kas; (4) hindernisse tot biseksuele identiteitsontwikkeling; en (5) afleer van binegatiwiteit. Hierdie temas verklaar hoe regimes van mag/kennis, wat in dominante norme gegrond is, die voorkoms van dubbelebinegatiwiteit bevestig en deelneemers op hul gepaste heteroseksuele of gay/lesbiese plek hou. Dit beïnvloed die deelnemers om hierdie norme te internaliseer en deel te neem aan selfpolisiëring. Gevolglik word uitkom, as biseksueel, 'n komplekse wisselwerking van strategiese blootstelling en kamoeflering volgens kontekstuele veranderlikes, in teenstelling met 'n eenmalige gebeurtenis. Verder word voortdurende blootstelling aan dubbele-binegatiwiteit klaarblyklik geïnternaliseer. Geïnternaliseerde binegatiwiteit beïnvloed deelnemers se interaksie met hul omgewing en hul persepsie van hul seksuele oriëntasie. Hulle het gerapporteer dat hul waarneming van dominante norme, gevoelens van skaamte en selfhaat verhoog het en daartoe gelei het dat hulle konstant hul gedrag reguleer het, 'n waardevermindering van hul eie ervarings ervaar het en self-monitering toegepas het. Eksterne en geïnternaliseerde binegatiwiteit het 'n kumulatiewe nadelige uitwerking op deelnemers se sielkundige welstand, en lei tot 'n rimpeleffek van marginalisering, eensaamheid, selfisolasie en biseksuele identiteit onsekerheid. Deur refleksie en introspeksie het deelnemers die onkunde in bestaande seksualiteitskennis, die mag/bevoorregte-dinamika van hul verskeie kontekste en die belangrikheid daarvan om hul waarheid in persoonlike ervaring te grond, verstaan. Sosiale ondersteuning en selfopvoeding het epistemiese geregtigheid herstel. Deelnemers is hierdeur bemagtig om 'n bibevestigende identiteit te begin ontwikkel wat hulle in staat stel om dominante norme te ondermyn en 'n omgekeerde diskoers te vestig. Gebaseer op die bevindinge van hierdie studie, is duidelik dat daar ‘n behoefte aan meer navorsing met biseksuele individue as 'n groep, sowel as ingrypings om geïnternaliseerde binegatiwiteit te verminder, en terselfdertyd veerkragtigheid te verhoog, is. Masters 2022-03-11T15:31:34Z 2022-04-29T09:45:27Z 2022-03-11T15:31:34Z 2022-04-29T09:45:27Z 2022-04 Thesis http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/124994 en_ZA Stellenbosch University xv, 185 pages application/pdf Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| spellingShingle | Biphobia Bisexual people -- South Africa College students -- South Africa UCTD Slabbert, Philip Neethling “Let me live” - Exploring a Group of Bisexual SA University Students' Experiences in their Various Communities |
| title | “Let me live” - Exploring a Group of Bisexual SA University Students' Experiences in their Various Communities |
| title_full | “Let me live” - Exploring a Group of Bisexual SA University Students' Experiences in their Various Communities |
| title_fullStr | “Let me live” - Exploring a Group of Bisexual SA University Students' Experiences in their Various Communities |
| title_full_unstemmed | “Let me live” - Exploring a Group of Bisexual SA University Students' Experiences in their Various Communities |
| title_short | “Let me live” - Exploring a Group of Bisexual SA University Students' Experiences in their Various Communities |
| title_sort | let me live exploring a group of bisexual sa university students experiences in their various communities |
| topic | Biphobia Bisexual people -- South Africa College students -- South Africa UCTD |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/124994 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT slabbertphilipneethling letmeliveexploringagroupofbisexualsauniversitystudentsexperiencesintheirvariouscommunities |