READ MY LIPS ABIGALE Association of Bisexuals, Lesbians and Gays (front)


Formed in 1992, The Association of Bisexuals, Gays and Lesbians (ABIGALE) made a point of being inclusive of urban, working-class Black and coloured people. With racism rife in Cape Town’s predominantly white gay bars and clubs, ABIGALE performed an important social function, while also being explicitly political. Its members drew inspiration from the pickets, occupations and anti-assimilation tactics of ACT UP, Outrage, and Queer Nation.

After protests at sites including Green Market Square and outside of a discriminatory gay club, tensions developed between ABIGALE members who wished for the organisation to become more political and those who saw its primary function as providing safe spaces for socialising. This, in conjunction with hostility towards the dominant role played by coloured activists in the organisation, contributed to its collapse in 1995.