“Lesbians against nation-building”
The case of Lulama Xingwana, the Minister of Arts and Culture, who walked out of a DAC-funded exhibition because it featured photographs of nude lesbian couples that she found “immoral” and “against nation-building”, has received considerable attention this week (see 1 2 3 4). While the likelihood of nude lesbians impeding “nation-building” is slim, this raises some interesting points.
Artists express themselves in a number of ways and should have the freedom to do so. The Minister is also within her rights to express herself. But in her professional capacity, should she walk out of an exhibition that she finds offensive? And as the Minister of Arts and Culture, surely she should be sufficiently well-versed in the interpretation of art and understand that artists use a variety of mechanisms to convey a message, shock or simply express themselves? Why then, a certain Facebook Group might ask, is a former Minister of Agriculture now the Minister of Arts and Culture?
Firstly, Im not a chauvanist of some sort as you know as a South African I’ve been exposed to all sorts of discrimination. Frankly, I don’t condone any behaviour and acts of chauvanism based on race, culture, religion, or sex orientation.
However, I completely dispute the tendency of treating gay and lisbain community as a community that can only be defined based on sex, as if everything that the lisbian or gay is about sex. Maybe I might be short sighted in this regard. Is there nothing that can serve the purpose without sexuality? I was also partly disappointed when I heard that the minister walked out of the exhibition. I was keen to see the art work of Lesbian community as a heritage practitioner, I thought of the creativity that they can showcase as I know some of them as being creative but sexuality to me is not creativity.
I still wait with enthusium to see the creativity of this community. Come on guyz, where is your visionary creativity?
If I offended anyone in this piece of paper, I’ll apologise in advance.
Vusi