This article explores the silence associated with sexuality in Africa. Aside from examining the false premise that homosexuality is un-African and un-Christian, this article argues that sexuality in Africa was not only socially controlled, but also carried socio-ethical and sacred overtones. Against the belief that sexuality in Africa exists in silence, the essay contends that […]
Articles & Poetry
Secrecy and the Poetics of Witness: Mourning Fanny Ann Eddy
The arts of mourning, like the masquerade and the elegy in poetry, are cultural treasures and sources of memory beyond the silence of death. How then do we mourn as queer and same gender loving Africans in the face of state-sanctioned violence and homophobia, which have led to the deaths of LGBTI Africans from Sierra […]
A Desperate Cry for Mama Africa
Mama Africa, Mama Africa,Please heed,Our sacred stories to disentangle,With a spirituality that unseals the human heart,No more blood to cry,From your beautiful soil,0 mama Africa. Mama Africa, Mama Africa,Only for once open your heat,Listen to our voices of pain, anguish, and courage.Stop and listen for once,From the deep silence that dehumanizes, rapes and kills us,your […]
‘I Say, We must Talk, Talk, Mama!’ Introducing African Voices on Religion, Ubuntu and Sexual Diversity
The ACHPR’s resolution and the decriminalisation of homosexuality in Mozambique were heralded as signs of good hope, amidst the growing violence targeting sexual minorities and the adoption of new anti-gay laws on the continent. There is a gap, however, between these developments and the political and socio-religious context in which most sexual minorities exist. The […]
To Tell the Truth
For many years,I was forced,to sit quietly by,and be subjected to the hatefulwords and actsof self-righteous,religious bigots.Imagine feelingout-numbered,overwhelmed,alone,outcast,and separated from God,all because youknew that you were different.Imagine hidingwho and what you are,your friendships,your relationships,and who you date,all to avoid the same fateas Matthew Shephardand others whose nameswere forever wiped-off life’s slate.Imagine beingphysically, emotionally,psychologically,and even sexually […]