Knowledge, Power and Young Sexualities: A Transnational Feminist Engagement

This book examines how young people have been constructed as "trouble" through critical readings of scholarship and practice addressing HIV, GBV, and other sexual and gender justice challenges in South Africa over the last three decades. It argues that efforts to challenge these issues have often reflected and reproduced orthodoxies about sexuality, gender, family, and young people, bolstering global and local racist, classist, and othering practices. The book contributes to critical reflexive work on global practices of knowledge and their complex enmeshment with power in the terrain of sexual and gender justice work aimed at young people.

Format: Hardback
Length: 174 pages
Publication date: 27 July 2022
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

This comprehensive book delves into the intricate ways in which young people have been constructed as a source of trouble through a rigorous analysis of the effects and impacts of scholarship and practice directed at South African young people's sexualities over the past three decades. Situated primarily in South Africa, the book addresses global concerns about the politics of knowledge and the transnational flows of information and practice related to gender and sexuality, while being framed by global imperatives and analyses rooted in transnational, postcolonial, and intersectional feminist frameworks.

The central argument presented in this book, which is explored in relation to various forms of research and practice, is that efforts to challenge HIV, GBV, and unequal sexual and gender practices among young people, particularly in heterosexual relationships, have tended to reflect and reproduce (re)new(ed) orthodoxies about sexuality, gender, family, and young people. These efforts have simultaneously bolstered global and local racist, classist 'othering of certain communities and nation-states, while reiterating the 'innocence and authority of those already privileged and centered.

The book makes a significant contribution to critical reflexive work on global practices of knowledge and their complex entanglement with power in the realm of sexual and gender justice work aimed at young people. By examining the effects and impacts of scholarship and practice, the book sheds light on the ways in which dominant narratives and power structures shape the experiences and outcomes of young people, perpetuating inequality and injustice. It provides valuable insights into the challenges and opportunities faced by young people in the pursuit of sexual and gender justice, and offers practical recommendations for policymakers, practitioners, and activists working to promote inclusive and equitable societies for all.

Weight: 520g
Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780367520076