African Refugees and the Making of a New Queer Identity
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No Place Like Home: African Refugees and the Making of a New Queer Identity by Notisha M Massaquoi A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Department of Social Justice Education Ontario Institute for Studies in Education University of Toronto © Copyright by Notisha M Massaquoi 2020 No Place like Home: African Refugees and the Making of a New Queer Identity Notisha M Massaquoi Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Department of Social Justice Education Ontario Institute for Studies in Education University of Toronto 2020 Abstract For reasons of necessity, urgency, and sometimes choice, queer Africans cross borders and find their lives unfolding in diasporic spaces. Refugee claims based on sexual orientation and gender identity persecution make up 12% of all refugee cases in Canada, with queer African refugees constituting the largest group within this category. With this in mind, we now have to ask, “what kind of history will be written about the collision between queer Africans dislocated from post- colonial nations and the Canadian settler nation?” In this study, qualitative in-depth interviews were conducted to explore the individual lived experiences of queer African refugees, with a focus on the intricate realignment of sexual orientation, sexual identity, sexual politics, and sexual desire that inevitably emerges through forced migration and the refugee process in Canada. The deep meaning of life experiences is captured in the participants’ own words, providing detailed, in-depth insights into the complexities of their lives, their reflections, and their subsequent responses. These narratives call attention to the specific features of queer African refugees, who test the limits of the current homonational refugee apparatus. Participants’ experiences of resisting social roles, structures, identities, and expectations that limit queer African refugees and keep them “in their place,” both in their countries of origin and in Canada, are interrogated. The construction of boundaries that decide who belongs and deserves protection within Canada and who does not provides a foundation for engaging in research as a practice of ii iii freedom, in order to counter the global narrative of refugee life that excludes queer Africans. The findings in this research require us to look at practices of exclusion and inclusion in the Canadian refugee system and the tensions that emerge for queer African claimants. In the end, we are left with strategies for how to engage with the politics of knowledge production and advocate for an agenda of social justice and transformation for queer Africans globally. Acknowledgements It’s not about when you cross the finish line but about the many people you meet along the way who help you complete the race. To my parents, Johannes and Sylvia Massaquoi, who instilled in me the determination to reach for the highest goal no matter what obstacles were in the way. Ase´. To my biggest cheerleaders—my partner, Alison Duke, and daughter, Miata—for countless hours of quiet and play time in libraries, thank you. Thank you to the IRN Africa academics and activists, with special mention to Drs. Sybille Nyeck and Marc Epprecht. Thank you to the staff, board, and management dream team, Lori-Ann Green Walker and Wangari Tharao, of Women’s Health in Women’s Hands Community Health Centre, for allowing my leadership to include research. To the African activists, Victor Mukasa, Drs. Stella Nyanzi, and Bev Ditsie, who taught me to be relentless in this fight, aluta continua. Thank you to the Ryerson Black Women’s Teaching Collective for showing me the true meaning of excellence in pedagogy: Sharon McLeod, Renee Ferguson, Karen Arthurton, Charlotte Akuoko-Barfi and Dr. Steven Solomon. Thank you to the many researchers who have helped me hone my research practice over the years—Drs. Purnima George, Ken Moffat, Anne O’Connell, Charmaine Williams, Izumi Sakamoto, Carmen Logie, Peter Newman, Winston Husbands, Nazilla Khanlou, Denise Gastaldo, George Dei, and Njoki Nathani Wane. Thank you to Drs. Rinaldo Walcott, Alissa Trotz, and Jacqui Alexander for support on earlier versions of this dissertation. Thank you to my mentors, Drs. Akua Benjamin and Joan Lesmond, for showing me how to stand my ground. Much gratitude goes to my committee members, Drs. Lance McCready and David Murray, and external examiners, Drs. Rupaleem Bhuyan and Eliana Barrios Suarez. I will be forever grateful to my supervisor, Dr. Laura Bisaillon, who carried me to the end. It was an honor. Finally, I thank my research participants, members of PRIDE Uganda, and the Sierra Leone Lesbian and Gay Association for gifting me with their stories. Ijo je o we yon i. (Eating together makes the exercise more enjoyable) iv Table of Contents Abstract ........................................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................ iv Table of Contents ............................................................................................................................ v List of Tables ............................................................................................................................... viii List of Figures ................................................................................................................................ ix List of Appendices .......................................................................................................................... x Glossary of Terms ........................................................................................................................... x Part One: General and Methodological Terms ........................................................................... x Part Two: Canadian Immigration-Related Terms .................................................................... xiii Prologue .......................................................................................................................................... 1 Introduction: Dissertation Overview............................................................................................... 6 Disjuncture ................................................................................................................................ 11 First Comes Grief, Then Comes Action ................................................................................... 18 Caught Between a Home and a Queer Place ............................................................................ 23 Chapter Details.......................................................................................................................... 25 Chapter 1: Fieldwork and Methodology: A Transformative Research Process and Design ........ 33 My Responsibility as a Transformative Anti-Oppressive Researcher ...................................... 33 Mind the Research Gaps ........................................................................................................... 37 Negotiations and Engagement: Recruiting Participants ........................................................... 39 Who Were the Study Participants? Responsible Representation .............................................. 42 Interview Process ...................................................................................................................... 46 Transcription Conventions ........................................................................................................ 48 Data Analysis ............................................................................................................................ 50 Politics of Accountability: Ethical Considerations ................................................................... 51 Exceptions and Explanations .................................................................................................... 53 Confidentiality and Ownership ................................................................................................. 55 Truthfulness and Transformative Standards ............................................................................. 58 When Positionality Gives an Added Advantage ....................................................................... 59 Reflexivity as a Tool of Transformative Research ................................................................... 60 Research as Resistance ............................................................................................................. 63 Chapter 2: The Death of FannyAnn Eddy and Future Imaginings of Queer African Subjects .... 66 Queering the Diaspora .............................................................................................................. 69 An Elaborate Project ................................................................................................................. 72 Queer Markers and Queer Meaning .......................................................................................... 74 Let’s Hear It for Queer and the Necessity for Two Theories ................................................... 78 Queer Africans? ........................................................................................................................ 86 v vi The Un-African Homosexual ...................................................................................................