For many years the fifth of November, Guy Fawkes Day, has been celebrated in Soweto. Guy Fawkes Day, township style, is a completely different type of celebration compared to traditional European customs. For one thing, you won't see any fireworks going off, and although most people know that Guy Fawkes has something to do with blowing up the Houses of Parliament in London, Sowetans use the day to parade around the streets, and hang out on intersections dressed up in humorous and colourful costumes. Youngsters dress up as old people, some appear as clowns, anything goes. This year some of the older generation of Sowetans were asking questions of the youth, they want to know why people make a big deal of Guy Fawkes which has no real cultural meaning for them, while they don't seem at all interested in participating in heritage days?
But, attracting even more interest on Guy Fawkes Day this year, was the fact that so many of the younger men came dressed up as as women, wearing drag outfits and makeup, and using overly exaggerated feminine gestures. People were asking themselves if gay men, who aren't easily accepted in the township were using the day as an excuse to come out of the closet.
In traditional African communities it is believed that males are males, they never cry, they fight their own battles, they are providers and it is an insult to GOD, the ancestors and our society at large to wear dresses and act in a feminine way. Guy Fawkes Day saw males parading in groups, masquerading as females, these groups were mainly found on traffic intersections and inroads to township dwellings like Mapetla which is in the very south of Soweto, and also in Mofolo and Orlando East. Orlando East is slowly becoming the gay capital of Soweto. Although there aren't gay bars and pubs, gay people throw big parties where the gay community congregates. Gays are also more easily accepted in Mofolo. In other areas like Zola which has a history of violent struggle from back in the apartheid days, gay people are insulted if they walk around in groups, and if a gay person walks alone he or she will probably get beaten up.
While some of the younger generation is becoming more accepting of homosexuality, the older generation is generally not. Another question people are asking is if gay men should be classified as women or not? As far as gender is concerned, we still have a long way to go. In a traditional African context there is no women empowerment and equal rights. This has been an ongoing red hot debate in African social circles where there is a search for common ground between the culturally academic and the traditional semi-literate in trying to find a way forward for African growth and development while still preserving African heritage.
