Edited by Zethu Matebeni, Surya Monro and Vasu Reddy Queer in Africa
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Queer in Africa is a powerful intervention in the roiling debates around sexuality in the region. I hope it gets widely read on the continent and beyond, not only because it gives a platform to a diverse range of fascinating scholars and activists from countries outside of southern Africa – toward which the literature on queer themes has historically been skewed. But also because the evidence and arguments it presents so forcefully challenge the heterosexism or passive acceptance of gender and sexual binaries that still prevail in so much scholarship (and art) from and about the continent. It is a disturbing fact that “Africa” is often treated as a footnote in queer theory in the Global North, or its supposedly monolithic homophobia as a rhetorical football in homonationalist self-congratulations. Yet even scholars of gender in Africa commonly continue to ignore contests around non-normative sexuality and identity in their research, and to justify their disinterest by the somewhat misleading claim that sexual minorities are a hard-to-reach population. Yes they are, except when one knows or intuits where to look and how to ask questions respectfully. I congratulate the editors of Queer in Africa for assembling such a rich tapestry of respectfully asked questions. Marc Epprecht, Professor, Department of Global Development Studies, Queen’s University, Canada This is a very welcome and wide-ranging set of original essays that will add to our rapidly expanding awareness of African sexualities. Both academic and activist, the essays help both clarify and move beyond traditional Western theories and categories. Ken Plummer, Emeritus Professor of Sociology, University of Essex, UK Queer in Africa African sexualities are dynamic, multifaceted, and resilient. However, people with non-heterosexual sexualities and gender-variant identities are often involved in struggles for survival, self-definition, and erotic rights. Queer in Africa forms an entry point for understanding the vulnerabilities of queer Africans as shaped by social, cultural, and political processes, aiming to provide innovative insights about contentious disagreements over their lives. The volume mediates southern and northern scholarship, directing attention towards African-centred beliefs made accessible to a wide audience. Key concerns such as identity construction and the intersections between different social forces (such as nationalist traditionalism and sexualities) are addressed via engaging chapters, some empirically based and others providing critical cultural analysis. Highly interdisciplinary in nature, Queer in Africa provides a key resource for students, academics, and activists concerned with the international support of sex and gender diversity. It will appeal to those interested in fields such as anthropology, film studies, literary studies, political science, public health, sociology, and socio- legal studies. Zethu Matebeni is a Senior Researcher at the Institute for Humanities at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. Surya Monro is a Professor of Sociology and Social Policy at the University of Huddersfield, United Kingdom. Vasu Reddy is a Professor of Sociology and Dean of the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Pretoria, South Africa. Routledge Advances in Critical Diversities Series Editors: Yvette Taylor and Sally Hines Sexuality, Citizenship and Belonging Trans-National and Intersectional Perspectives Edited by Francesca Stella, Yvette Taylor, Tracey Reynolds and Antoine Rogers Creativity, Religion and Youth Cultures Anne M. Harris Intersexualization Lena Eckert The Sexual Politics of Asylum Calogero Giametta Exploring LGBT Spaces and Communities Eleanor Formby Marginal Bodies, Trans Utopias Caterina Nirta Sexualities Research Critical Interjections, Diverse Methodologies, and Practical Applications Edited by Andrew King, Ana Cristina Santos and Isabel Crowhurst Queer Business Queering Organization Sexualities Nick Rumens Queer in Africa LGBTQI Identities, Citizenship, and Activism Edited by Zethu Matebeni, Surya Monro and Vasu Reddy For more information about this series, please visit: www.routledge.com/sociology/ series/RACD Queer in Africa LGBTQI Identities, Citizenship, and Activism Edited by Zethu Matebeni, Surya Monro and Vasu Reddy First published 2018 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2018 selection and editorial matter, Zethu Matebeni, Surya Monro and Vasu Reddy; individual chapters, the contributors The right of Zethu Matebeni, Surya Monro and Vasu Reddy to be identified as the authors of the editorial material, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice : Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A catalog record has been requested for this book ISBN: 978-1-138-22284-7 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-138-40021-4 (ebk) Typeset in Times New Roman by Apex CoVantage, LLC Contents List of contributors ix Introduction 1 VASU REDDY, SURYA MONRO, AND ZETHU MATEBENI African studies: non-normative genders and sexualities 17 1 The human and the non-human: African sexuality debate and symbolisms of transgression 20 SENAYON OLAOLUWA 2 Creaturely lives and sexual exposure in African prison writing 41 TAIWO ADETUNJI OSINUBI 3 ‘She who creates havoc is here’: a queer bisexual reading of sexuality, dance, and social critique in Karmen Geï 61 CHERYL STOBIE Moving beyond and between identity categories 81 4 Beyond identity: queer affiliation and the politics of solidarity in Gordimer’s None to Accompany Me and Duiker’s The Quiet Violence of Dreams 84 DERRICK HIGGINBOTHAM 5 ‘Queer/white’ in South Africa: a troubling oxymoron? 99 JANE BENNETT viii Contents 6 Practices of non-heterosexual masculinities among MSM in Nigeria 114 ABISOLA BALOGUN AND PAUL BISSELL Citizenship, activism, and human rights 133 7 Lesbian students in the academy: invisible, assimilated, or ignored? 136 MARY HAMES 8 Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (LGBTQ) forced migrants and asylum seekers: multiple discriminations 158 GUILLAIN KOKO, SURYA MONRO, AND KATE SMITH 9 Experiences of transgender people in Swaziland 178 VELILE VILANE Author index 197 Subject index 202 Contributors Abisola Balogun is a PhD researcher in the School of Health and Related Research at the University of Sheffield. She has just finished her PhD, which explored the use of HIV-related healthcare services including antiretroviral therapy among HIV positive men who have sex with men living in Nigeria. Her research interests include sexuality, masculinities, issues at the intersec- tion of sexual health and HIV, and reproductive health. Jane Bennett is the Director of the African Gender Institute and Associate Pro- fessor at the University of Cape Town. Her research interests are in feminist theory, sexualities, pedagogies, and violence, and she has published many arti- cles and book chapters in these areas. She is also interested in research which is allied to political activism in different areas, within and beyond university spaces within the African continent. She writes both fiction and non-fiction. She works regularly with colleagues at the University of Buenos Aires, Maker- ere University, the University of Ghana, the University of California (Davis), and the Human Sciences Research Council. Paul Bissell is Dean of the School of Human and Health Sciences at the Uni- versity of Huddersfield. He is a medical sociologist by background and has over 25 years of experience undertaking qualitative research at the interface of health services research and public health. He has published widely in the areas of health inequalities, medicines usage, patient and public involvement, obesity management, and global public health. He has extensive knowledge of a wide variety of qualitative research techniques and is particularly interested in issues concerning shame, embodiment, and public health. Mary Hames is the Director of the Gender Equity Unit at the University of the Western Cape. She is instrumental in implementing programmes dealing with diverse social justice concerns such as disability, sexuality and sexual orienta- tion, gender and gender identity, taking action against violence against women, and conducting research on the politics of food. She wrote several articles and chapters from a feminist perspective on women’s rights, institutional trans- formation, gender and gender identity, and sex and sexual orientation. She has also produced several feminist theatre productions. She has served on the x Contributors boards of a number of non-profit organisations (NGOs), amongst them the Forum for the Empowerment of Women, a black lesbian organisation. Under her guidance, the first lesbian and gay programme, Loud Enuf, was started