Taberer report
Taberer report is a report published in 1907, and composed by Henry Taberer and J. Glenn Leary.[1] Taberer's work demonstrated evidence of male same-sex relationships in gold mines near Johannesburg, South Africa.[2]
Background
Taberer was born on a mission station and was a fluent speaker of the languages used by the local population: he claimed to speak them more fluently than he did English.[3] He was able to use this talent effectively when he became manager of the South African government's Native Labour Bureau and adviser to the Native Recruiting Corporation for the Chamber of Mines at a time of increasing industrial unrest.[3] Leary was another respected official and he worked as a magistrate.[2]
A large disparity between sexes existed within Mozambican migrant worker community in the South Africa. In 1886 there were 30,000 men but only 90 women of Mozambican descent in the Johannesburg region.[2]
Before the establishment of colonial criminal labour systems homosexual relationships were not punished.[4]
Report
Taberer and Leary were tasked with researching "mine marriages" between male African miners. Local missionaries had complained about immoralities that happened in the gold mines, and these complaints resulted in the investigation.[1][2] Taberer coauthored the report with Leary. The report was based on evidence collected during a nine-day period in January 1907. Testimonies were gathered from 54 African and European witnesses. The questions and answers were remarkably explicit about sexual activity and motivations.[5]
A Chopi miner working in the mines explained to Taberer that miners who engaged in homosexual acts with young men tried to avoid contracting a venereal disease. The view is supported by evidence that there were lower rates of venereal disease among Tsonga people when compared to those Africans who visited female prostitutes.[5] The report successfully dismissed claims by Reverend Baker that the homosexual relations were violent and formed as formal marriages.[5] Relationships between miners did not only include sex, but male "wives" did also give domestic services for their partners.[6][7]
Taberer and Leary proposed several solutions for curtailing homosexual relationships between miners. However, they were rejected. For instance, they proposed that large numbers of female wives should be allowed to migrate with the men, or that large scale prostitution should be allowed. Ultimately, only screens around beds were banned throughout all industrial compounds of the South Africa.[5]
Reliability
Taberer's neutrality can be questioned, however, because the issue of homosexual relationships between men was a sensitive topic, and because he was trying to advance in his career.[5] Taberer and Leary's approach for collecting data did minimise the amount of recorded anal sex. They were also racist and clearly judgmental in their report.[1]
See also
References
- ^ a b c W. Spurlin (21 August 2006). Imperialism within the Margins: Queer Representation and the Politics of Culture in Southern Africa. Palgrave Macmillan US. pp. 42–48. ISBN 978-1-4039-8366-4.
- ^ a b c d Epprecht, Mark (2001). "'Unnatural Vice' in South Africa: The 1907 Commission of Enquiry" (PDF). The International Journal of African Historical Studies. 34 (1): 121–140. doi:10.2307/3097289.
- ^ a b "Obituaries: Mr H. M. Taberer". The Times. No. 46167. London. 23 June 1932. p. 14.
- ^ Barbara L. Voss; Eleanor Conlin Casella (31 October 2011). The Archaeology of Colonialism: Intimate Encounters and Sexual Effects. Cambridge University Press. p. 64. ISBN 978-1-139-50313-6.
- ^ a b c d e Marc Epprecht (April 2013). Hungochani, Second Edition: The History of a Dissident Sexuality in Southern Africa. McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP. pp. 65, 67, 79. ISBN 978-0-7735-8878-3.
- ^ Andrew Tucker (22 July 2011). Queer Visibilities: Space, Identity and Interaction in Cape Town. John Wiley & Sons. p. 94. ISBN 978-1-4443-9977-6.
- ^ T. Dunbar Moodie; Vivienne Ndatshe (1994). Going for Gold: Men, Mines, and Migration. University of California Press. p. 335. ISBN 978-0-520-08644-9.
Further reading
- Moodie, T. Dunbar (1988). "Migrancy and male sexuality on the South African gold mines" (PDF). Journal of Southern African Studies. 14 (2): 228–256. doi:10.1080/03057078808708172. ISSN 0305-7070.