“Cross your legs like this—not like that—so no one suspects you are the mommy’s boy we’re concerned you’re becoming,” Professor Mark Behr read during a lecture on campus Tuesday evening.

Students and faculty filled the seats of the Women’s Formal Lounge on Tuesday to hear Behr, a professor at Rhodes College and author of “The Smell of Apples,” in a discussion on literature, race and gender.

Behr began his lecture with a reading of a short piece he wrote in response to Jamaica Kincaid’s essay, “Girl.” Behr’s piece, titled “Boy,” which emphasized the pushing of the male stereotype onto boys.

He focuses his writings on themes of identity construction, race, sexual orientation and militarization. “The Smell of Apples” has won the M-Net Award as well as has received a nomination for the Booker Prize Award; it has also been translated into ten languages.

Behr, who was born in Tanzania before immigrating to South Africa, said his life and writings have been shaped by his experiences growing up during Apartheid and serving as an officer in the Angolan Civil War.

Following his first piece, Behr read a longer text he wrote, called “Cape Town, My Love.”

In this piece, Behr was intrigued by an event that took place in 2003, where 9 workers were murdered, and one was seriously injured at Sizzlers, a gay massage parlor in Cape Town. He used this event to share his reaction to bigotry, and ultimately reflect on his own life experiences with identity in the face of military service.

Behr focused “Cape Town, My Love” on the question, “Why didn’t they fight back? Surely the 10 [victims] could have overpowered the two [attackers].”

In the discussion portion, Behr later told the audience that feminist and African American activist Alice Walker’s “The Color Purple” changed both his life and writing.

“It turned everything that I knew about myself inside out. I could never, after that book, write popular fiction again,” he said.

Behr said he continues to struggle with issues of sexuality, race, and gender issues. At Rhodes, he teaches Queer and Gender Theory, African Literature and Literature and War, among other classes.

“My confrontation with my homophobia is daily … How can you grow up without being homophobic even if you are comfortable with your sexuality?” Behr said.

Some students said they found that part of the presentation especially captivating.

“It was really intriguing to hear about Professor Behr’s struggle with gaining a sense of sexual identity and nationality. It was potentially even more intriguing to hear dialogue on the disconnect between his two identities and how this disconnect impacted the development of his groundbreaking ideals about South African gender and sexuality,” sophomore Ryan Sasse said.

The lecture was sponsored by students in the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship Program, an international program intended to bring students into the life of academia in the humanities. The program emphasizes identity, social justice, and diversity.

“I think that he [Behr] has a lot to offer in terms of not being afraid of being provocative. I think that we have a tendency on campus to want to be too [politically correct] and I think that he has the ability to be a fantastic speaker without feeling a pressure to stay within the box. I think it is what we need,” said senior Mariana Oliver, a Mellon Mays fellow.

Other students said they found the speaker particularly compelling as well.

“I was particularly struck by his presence and voice. There was an incredible eloquence in the recounting of his experiences,” sophomore Emily Tulloch said.