Queering Family Dialogue through Entertainment Education: Narratives from Minority Sexual Identity Youth

Abstract This article examines how minority sexual identity plots in prime-time South African soap operas queered the family talk. It further explores how young people with (un)disclosed minority sexual identities navigate within these discursive or affirming dialogs that follow. Nine (9) participants (3 lesbian and 6 gay students) shared their narratives through one-to-one interviews on family dialogs after viewing minority sexual identities scenes in popular soap operas. The participants were selected through convenient and purposive sampling. Findings shows while minority sexual identities was a silent topic at home and marked with repression, repulsion, and threads in some families, other families appreciated the visibility, openness and realities of the contemporary South Africa. Three themes were identified. They are (1) normalization, heteronormativity & (self) regulation, (2) affirming heterosexual reactions and (3) navigating the family relations beyond the soap operas. Soap operas should be strongly considered as a pedagogical tool in various learning environments to solicit discussion about sexual diversity.