Zethu Matebeni is an activist, writer, documentary film maker and senior researcher at the Institute for Humanities in Africa (HUMA) at UCT. She has been a visiting Assistant Researcher at Yale University and has received a number of research fellowships including those from Ford Foundation, the Fogarty International Centre and the National Research Foundation.
Early life and education
Matebeni was born on May 1, 1978 at Livingstone Hospital in Port Elizabeth to parents Samson Mbuzo Matebeni and Dorothy Sindiswa Matebeni (born Marambana). During her primary school years she lived in a very popular township called New Brighton in Port Elizabeth. During her younger years she attended Charles Duna Primary School, New Brighton; Greenbushes Intermediate Farm School; and Sivuyiseni Higher Primary School and Marymount High School, Uitenhage.
Later on she became the convener of the Queer in Africa series at the University of Cape Town, activist and lecturer. She studied Sociology at the University of Port Elizabeth (now Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University) and completed her Master of Arts in Sociology. and has an interdisciplinary Phd that was begun at Yale University and completed at the Witwatersrand Institute for Social and Economic Research (WISER) her doctorate is entitled Black Lesbian Sexualities and Identity in South Africa.
Her activism begun during university and is also a documentary film-maker who has curated a number of works including Jo'burg TRACKS: Sexuality in the City, and a book project Reclaiming Afrikan: queer perspectives on sexual and gender identities. Her first co-production Breaking Out of the Box: Stories of black lesbians (2011) has been shown both within South Africa and abroad. Her work with documentary films also includes writing the short film Rise.
Academic work and publications
She has published on queer issues, sexuality, gender, race, HIV and AIDS, African film, cinema and photography. She is an active member of the Black Academic Caucus through which she published a few thought pieces, some of which are listed below.
Curated Reclaiming Afrikan: queer perspectives on sexual and gender identities. Cape Town: Modjaji books. ISBN 9781920590499 (2014)Black lesbian sexualities and identity in South Africa: an ethnography of black lesbian urban life. Germany: LAP LAMBERT Academic Publishing (ISBN 978-3-659-20294-0) (2012)Zethu Matebeni. 2015. Sexual Minoritties in South Africa. In: James D. Wright (editor-in chief), International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences, 2nd edition, Vol 21. Oxford: Elsevier, pp 744–749.Zethu Matebeni. 2015. Well-Suited. In Raél Jero Salley (ed). PROMISE. Cape Town: ACTSA Publishing, 14-19.Zethu Matebeni. 2014. My best participants' informed consent. In Deborah Posel and Fiona Ross (eds.), Ethical quandaries in social research. Pretoria: HSRC Press, 111-124.Zethu Matebeni. 2014. Death and the modern black lesbian. In Devan Pillay, Gilbert M Khadiagala, Prishani Naidoo, Roger Southall (eds) New South African Review 4: A Fragile Democracy – Twenty Years On . Wits University Press .pp 183–193Zethu Matebeni. 2014. How not to write about queer South Africa. In Zethu Matebeni (curator), Reclaiming Afrikan: queer perspectives on sexual and gender identities. Cape Town: Modjaji books, 61-63.Zethu Matebeni. 2013. Deconstructing violence towards black lesbians in South Africa. In Sokari Ekine and Hakima Abbas (eds), Queer African Reader. Fahamu Books, 343-354.Zethu Matebeni. 2012. Feminizing Lesbians, Degendering Transgender Men: A Model for Building Lesbian Feminist Thinkers and Leaders in Africa? In Shaka McGlotten and Dana-Ain Davis (eds). Black Genders and Sexualities. Palgrave Macmillan, pp 187–193.Matebeni, Zethu. 2011. TRACKS: Researching Sexualities Walking AbOUT the city of Johannesburg. In Tamale, Sylvia (ed). African Sexuality Reader. Oxford: Fahamu Books, 50-56.Zethu Matebeni. 2009. "Sexing women: young black lesbians' reflections on sex and responses to safe(r) sex. In Vasu Reddy, Theo Sandfort and Laetitia Rispel (eds). From Social Silence to Social Science: Same-sex sexuality, HIV&AIDS and gender in South Africa. Cape Town: HSRC Press, pp 100-116.Zethu Matebeni. 2008. "Blissful Complexities: black lesbians reflect on same-sex marriage and the Civil Union Act" In TO HAVE AND TO HOLD, the making of same-sex marriage in South Africa edited by Judge (M.), Manion (A.) & de Waal (S.) Fanele: Johannesburg, pp. 249–257.Journal articles
Henriette Gunkel, Zethu Matebeni, and Catherine Raissiguier (guest editors). 2015. In Movement: Women in Africa and the African Diaspora. JENdA: A Journal of Culture and African Women Studies, 26: 1-18.Zethu Matebeni and Thabo Msibi. 2015. Vocabularies of the 'non-normative'. Introduction to "'Non-normative sexual and gender diversities in Africa". Agenda, 29(1): 3-9.Henriette Gunkel and Zethu Matebeni. 2015. Resilience through new media: a conversation with Iranti-org's Executive Director, Jabu C. Pereira. JENdA: A Journal of Culture and African Women Studies, 26: 128-134.Theo Sandfort, M Somien Frazer, Zethu Matebeni, Vasu Reddy, Ian Southey-Swartz and the Southern African Lesbian and Bisexual Women Research Team. 2015. Histories of forced sex and health outcomes among Southern African lesbian and bisexual women: a cross-sectional study. BMC Women's Health, 15: 22Zethu Matebeni. 2013. Intimacy, queerness and race. Cultural Studies, 27:3: 404-417Zethu Matebeni, Vasu Reddy, Theo Sandfort and Ian Southey-Swartz. 2013. "I thought we are safe": Southern African lesbian women's experiences of living with HIV Culture, Health & SexualitySandfort TGM, Baumann LRM, Matebeni Z, Reddy V, Southey-Swartz I. 2013. Forced Sexual Experiences as Risk Factor for Self-Reported HIV Infection among Southern African Lesbian and Bisexual Women. PLoS ONE 8(1): e53552.doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0053552Zethu Matebeni. 2012. Queer(ing) porn - A conversation, Agenda: Empowering women for gender equity, 26(3): 61-69Bagnol Brigitte, Matebeni Zethu, Simon Anne, Blaser Thomas M., Manuel, Sandra, and Moutinho Laura. 2010. Transforming Youth Identities: Interactions Across "Races/Colors/Ethnicities," Gender, Class, and Sexualities in Johannesburg, South Africa. Sexuality Research and Social Policy, 7(4): 283-297.Blaser Thomas M, Bagnol Brigitte, Matebeni Zethu, Simon Anne, and Manuel, Sandra. 2010. "Race", Resentment and Racism: Transformation in South Africa. Cadernos Pagu [online], 35: 111-137.Zethu Matebeni; Thais Medina Coeli Rochel de Camargo (tradução); Kenneth Rochel de Camargo Jr (revisão técnica); Laércio Fidelis Dias (revisão técnica). 2009. All Sexed Up: a resposta de mulheres lésbicas negras jovens ao sexo (mais) seguro em Johannesburg, África do Sul. PHYSIS: Revista de Saúde Coletiva, Rio de Janeiro, 19(2):333-348Zethu Matebeni. 2009. Feminizing Lesbians, Degendering Transgender Men: A Model for Building Lesbian Feminist Thinkers and Leaders in Africa? SOULS: A Critical Journal of Black Politics, Culture, and Society, 11(3): 347-354Zethu Matebeni. 2008. Vela Bambhentsele: Intimacies and Complexities in Researching within Black Lesbian Groups in Johannesburg. Feminist Africa, 11:89-96Kari A Hartwig, Debbie Humphries, Zethu Matebeni. 2008. Building capacity for AIDS NGOs in southern Africa: evaluation of a pilot initiative. Health Promotion International, Apr 10; 18407925 (P,S,G,E,B,D)Naidoo, Kamila, Matebeni, Zethu and Pietersen-Snyman, Marian. 2004. 'Complexities and challenges: men's responses to HIV and AIDS In Winterveld, South Africa. Commonwealth youth and DevelopmentZethu Matebeni. 2016. "Why Fees Must Fall". Sparkling Women. January, Vol 28.Zethu Matebeni. 2015. "The more things change, the more they stay the same. The curious case of black women and queer life at UCT". Thoughtleader.Zethu Matebeni. 2013. Rape? Looks more like genocide. Mail&Guardian, 6 September.Zethu Matebeni. 2012. Gone @ 20 – the lucky ones are not yet born, a review of Zanele Muholi's exhibition Mo(u)rning. Black looks, 28 September.Zethu Matebeni. 2010. Dismantling gender boxes: Right to complex sexual identities. South African Labour Bulletin, 34(1): 33-34.Zethu Matebeni. 2009. Review of "Black Bull, Ancestors and Me: my life as a lesbian sangoma" by Nkunzi Zandile Nkabinde. Mail&Guardian, 22 June.In 2010, Matebeni became the first African to be awarded the Kenneth W. Payne Prize for Outstanding Anthropological Scholarship on LGBT Issues The award is presented each year by the Association for Queer Anthropology (AQA) to a graduate or undergraduate student in acknowledgement of outstanding anthropological work on a lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender topic. She won it for her work entitled "It's all about 50/50: Sex, intimacy and pleasure in black lesbian relationships in Johannesburg."
