Reproducing the Ghanaian/African Subject: Ideological Tensions and Queer Subjectivities in Postcolonial Ghana Godfried A
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University of New Mexico UNM Digital Repository Communication ETDs Electronic Theses and Dissertations Summer 7-31-2017 Reproducing the Ghanaian/African Subject: Ideological Tensions and Queer Subjectivities in Postcolonial Ghana Godfried A. Asante University of New Mexico - Main Campus Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/cj_etds Part of the Journalism Studies Commons Recommended Citation Asante, Godfried A.. "Reproducing the Ghanaian/African Subject: Ideological Tensions and Queer Subjectivities in Postcolonial Ghana." (2017). https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/cj_etds/104 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Electronic Theses and Dissertations at UNM Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Communication ETDs by an authorized administrator of UNM Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Godfried Agyeman Asante Candidate Communication and Journalism Department This dissertation is approved, and it is acceptable in quality and form for publication: Approved by the Dissertation Committee: Dr. Mary Jane Collier, Chairperson Dr. Shinsuke Eguchi Dr. Myra Washington Dr. Alyosha Goldstein i (RE) PRODUCING THE GHANAIAN/AFRICAN QUEER SUBJECT: IDEOLOGICAL TENSIONS AND QUEER SUBJECTIVITIES IN POST-COLONIAL GHANA BY GODFRIED AGYEMAN ASANTE B.A., Communication, Media and Rhetoric, University of Minnesota, Morris 2010 M.A., Communication Studies, Minnesota State University, 2012 DISSERTATION Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Communication The University of New Mexico Albuquerque, New Mexico July 2017 ii DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to all the queer men and women in Africa who continue to experience state-sanctioned violence and limited access to health resources because of their sexuality. iii ACKNOLWEDGEMENTS I hereby acknowledge Dr. Mary Jane Collier, my academic advisor and dissertation chair for the immense support and guidance through my years as a PhD student. When I approached you to be my academic advisor, and spoke to you about my academic and career plans, you encouraged me and provided the pathways for my success. You have supported my research interests since I moved to University of New Mexico. I am sincerely grateful for the constant encouragement that Dr. Collier gave me, especially when the work at times were overwhelming and it seemed deadlines could not be met. Medaase! I also want to extend my sincere appreciation to my dissertation committee members: Dr. Shinsuke Eguchi, Dr. Myra Washington and Dr. Alyosha Goldstein who guided me from the comprehensive exam to the completion of the dissertation. I benefitted immensely from Dr. Eguchi’s insightful theoretical contributions particularly in sharpening my understanding of queer intercultural communication. To Dr. Washington, thank you very much for continuously showing me my blind spots and refining my application of intersectionality. I am so grateful Dr. Goldstein stepped in when a previous committee member had to vacate their position. Your knowledge of postcolonialism and neoliberalism was crucial in helping me untangle many intersections of queer discrimination in Ghana. To everyone in the Communication and Journalism Department, the Global Education Office, and the Black Graduate and Professional Student Association, your support and influence were invaluable to me. iv REPRODUCING THE GHANAIAN/AFRICAN QUEER SUBJECT: IDEOLOGICAL TENSIONS AND QUEER SUBJECTIVITIES IN POST-COLONIAL GHANA BY GODFRIED AGYEMAN ASANTE BA., Communication, Media and Rhetoric, University of Minnesota, Morris, 2010 MA., Communication Studies, Minnesota State University, Mankato, 2012 PhD., Communication Studies, University of New Mexico, 2017 ABSTRACT Same-Sex sexual relationship continues to be a criminal offence in Ghana under the carnal knowledge clause instituted by the British during colonization. Although the law does not specifically mention same-sex sexual relations, carnal knowledge criminalizes all forms of non- heterosexual sexual activities. The criminalization of same-sex sexual relations has sparked an intense debate about African subjectivity. On the one hand, many African nationalists and most Christian organizations argue that same-sex sexual relations is unAfrican; this enables them to both subjugate queers while not having to defend their views more explicitly. Others (typically academics) have explored the existence of diverse sexual behaviors over many generations in many African countries, which were not necessarily condoned, but did not have dire social consequences (Murray, & Roscoe, 1997). Therefore, using critical discourse analysis as theory and method, this dissertation examines how the queer Ghanaian subject is constituted through discourse. This research was informed by theoretical and conceptual underpinnings of post-colonial theory, queer of color critique and queer intercultural communication. Consistent with the critical perspective that informed this project, I utilized Fairclough’s critical discourse analysis to bring out ideological tensions framing the discussions of same-sex relations and LGBT visibility v politics. Online news media texts and interviews with NGOs and queer Ghanaian men were chosen to show the contrasting views and tensions which constitute discourses about queer men in Ghana. Findings from the study showed that much has not changed for queer Ghanaian men with the end of British colonialism. From the above explanation, it is evident that independence did not mark the end of social relations and practices informed by colonialism. The continual references to social, political, medical, and legal institutions inherited at independence to violently deny queer Africans access to state resources show the importance of illuminating sexuality as a relevant aspect of postcolonial theory. Ideologies such as heteronormativity are implicated in discourses positioning queer men as against the norm. In this context, relations between queer men and social institutions such as religion and the criminal justice system reproduce power relations subjugating same-sex sexual relations as abnormal and heterosexuality as the norm. It also became evident that relationships established between the colonizer and colonized, to “civilize” and “modernize” the other, have been sustained through broader discourses of globalization and human rights. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………….1 Problem Statement………………………………………………………………………...1 Goals of Study……………………………………………………………………………..9 CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL, CONTEXTUAL AND CONCEPTUAL BACKGROUND Historical Background…………………………………………………………………...11 Discourses Produced by Structural Agents about Queers………………………………..13 Competing Narratives……………………………………………………………13 Theoretical Approaches………………………………………………………………….17 Queer African Studies……………………………………………………………17 Queer Postcolonial theory……………………………………………………......20 Critical/Queer Intercultural Communication…………………………………….25 Subject Position and Subjectivities………………………………………………32 Intersectionality………………………………………………………………….35 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY AND METHOD………………………………………….45 Reflexivity and Positionality…………………………………………………………….45 Defining Queer…………………………………………………………………………...47 Critical Discourse Analysis………………………………………………………………48 Media Sources……………………………………………………………………………54 Background of NGOs……………………………………………………………………60 Interviews………………………………………………………………………………..62 Coding and Interpretation………………………………………………………..64 vii CHAPTER 4: VIOLENCE…………………………………………………………………….68 Contextual Factors……………………………………………………………………….73 Print and Online Media Texts…………………………………………………………....75 Institutional Voices Demonizing Queers………………………………………...76 Complicating Gay Bashing Through Intersectionality…………………………..92 Non-Profit Organizational Texts………………………………………………………..100 NGOs are positioned as Saviors………………………………………………..103 Empowerment Discourse Constrains and Enables Agency…………………….108 Focus Group Interviews with Queer Men………………………………………………114 Enacting Agency in Context of Violence………………………………………114 Negotiating Positionality Through Identity Performance………………………121 Summary and Conclusion………………………………………………………………132 CHAPTER 5: HEALTH……………….……………………………………………………..139 Context of Health………………………………………………………………………142 Print and Online Media Texts…………………………………………………………..145 Queers Sex as Risky…………………………………………………………….146 Human Rights Discourses as Co-opted and Contested…………………………152 Non-Profit Organizational Texts………………………………………………………..162 Acknowledging the Contextual Challenges…………………………………….162 Human Rights Discourse as Steeped in Superficial Morality and Individual Awareness………………………………………………………………………169 Focus Group Interviews with Queer Men………………………………………………173 Health Practitioner Discourse Positioning of queers…………………………...173 Utilizing Strategic Subjectivities to Enact Restricted Agency…………………177 viii Summary and Conclusions……………………………………………………….........183 CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS………………………………….191 Discursive Themes……………………………………………………………………..194 Discursive Accomplishments…………………………………………………………...207 Implicated ideologies and Orders of Discourse………………………………...207 Implications Related to Agency………………………………………………...212 Matrix of Domination and Power Relations……………………………………213 Theoretical Contributions………………………………………………………………213 Critical Discourse Analysis as Methodology and Method……………………………..221 Methodological Reflections……………………………………………………………222 Contributions, Limitations