ABSTRACT
This chapter traces some hidden forms of power and discourse through a brief South African history so as to trouble notions of same-sex behavior as unAfrican. It demonstrates the shifting constructions of sexual identity among African men in accordance with race, power and class, across time. The chapter explores the evolution of Zulu masculinities by unpacking the various ways in which Zulu masculinity has been constituted, negotiated and performed. It argues that D. L. Donham's thesis is too quick to afford external influences to African same-sex practices. The engagement in male-to-male sexual relations among the Zande people even went as far as paying compensation to young boys, just as one would toward women. A man's sexual identity was constructed in relation to reproduction. The connection between empire and the regulation of sexuality is evident in how the apartheid government handled the sexualities of various racial groups in South Africa.
