On the whole, homosexuality is described and discussed in West Africa with violent language, revealing the poor regard in which homosexuals are held. As in other regions of Africa, terms such as “ancestral tradition” (which was and must remain heterosexual) and “our negritude” (which makes each African a defender of that which has been agreed to be called “black,” “negro-African,” or “African” values) are uniformly invoked in such discussions. It is surprising to note that stasis is considered the norm, and that cultural uniformity appears as a fact, whereas historical and ethnographical research clearly refutes the idea of the universal heterosexuality of African traditions. The differences among African societies are numerous, and the history of the peoples of Africa is neither singular nor stationary. The abundance of cultures and their various mutations and subsections are so numerous that neither negritude, nor negro-African or African values, have ever really meant anything.
It is, however, curious to note the paradox that surrounds Western culture’s contribution to the construction of the sexual identity of the people of Africa today. It is the West that introduced Christian dogma (largely homophobic) to the region, as well as colonial laws that were often very strict with regard to homosexual relations; but presently, the West is often perceived in Africa as a poor model because of its general
tolerance
toward homosexuality. If homosexuality is considered a foreign
vice
in the region, then contemporary homophobia should also be considered an import. At the March 1997 Cotonou Conference, which dealt with the elimination of legal barriers to sexual and reproductive health in French-speaking Africa, many important observations were made: for one, contemporary laws of African states are based on colonial laws, but they have not evolved; this leads to the fact that the national laws are often incompatible with large, international apparatus and the resolutions from international conferences. As for the states that have emerged from French colonization, the situation is somewhat confusing: the Napoleonic Code, upon which they more or less base themselves, does not criminalize homosexuality, but the articles regarding the affront to public decency allow for its repression. With regard to states that were once controlled by Great Britain, the situation is much clearer: since the sixteenth century, English law punished homosexuality, and the Labouchère Amendment of 1885 allowed this law to be extended to the various colonies. Today, all countries in West Africa remain on the same page with regard to homosexuality: it remains a criminal offence, and not only is decriminalization not on the agenda, but the official homophobic position has been reinforced again and again.
However, in the last few decades, conditions have changed that improve the lives of homosexuals in the region. Increasing urbanization is a determining factor. The average rate of urbanization is currently between 30 and 48%. Certain countries remain very rural, with very low urbanization levels, such as Burkina Faso (18%), Niger (20%), or Mali (29%), whereas others are much more urbanized, such as Senegal (46%), the Ivory Coast (46%), or Liberia (47%). Strikingly, countries that do not have access to the sea are the least urbanized. Linked to the history of colonization, larger cities in the region, such as Lagos, Abidjan, Dakar and Accra, are found on the Atlantic coast, former commercial ports that sprang up with “triangular commerce” (between Africa, Europe, and America) and later became the capitals of the countries that emerged from colonization. Their political-economic role, which attracted a large workforce from the rural interior and from neighboring countries, explains their rapid growth into melting-pots with populations of diverse origins. The city is, therefore, a meeting place, a place for mixing and sharing ideas, for being aware of social change; it is also a place that allows for anonymity and individual autonomy, away from the stifling pressures of community,
family
, and “traditions.” These conditions create a greater opportunity for homosexual relations, even if they remain strongly condemned. Thus, the city, a place where new ideas are disseminated, becomes a privileged space where homosexuals can engage one another.
This urbanization is an essential factor in understanding homosexuality’s place in the region today. The idea that homosexuality is a minority activity controlled by taboos and witchcraft is slowly changing, thanks to urbanization. In the large cities, there are nightclubs frequented by homosexuals, and homosexuality is often perceived as a phenomenon of certain social strata, notably the affluent, who are then likely to purchase the services of same-sex partners. Sometimes female prostitutes serve as fronts and intermediaries for their male counterparts who dare not openly offer their services for hire. Some women complain about this competition that not only reduces the number of customers, but is also more lucrative. In recent years, Europeans have been accused of maintaining a huge homosexual “network” in the region, but this accusation falls in the line with the idea that homosexuality is imported; thus, AIDS is a “white illness” (in the same way that it is a “black illness” according to some outside of Africa). In rural areas, it is also believed that sexually transmitted diseases are exclusive to the city. In this way, the context of what is believed to constitute urban life largely colors the populace’s views concerning sexuality.
In Cameroon, homosexuals have for a long time been called freemasons, as they are believed to belong to the esoteric world of mystic brotherhoods who practice this form of sexuality in order to acquire supernatural powers. It is thought that some do it in order to become wealthy, and others to increase the strength of their double. This concept is also linked to political power. In modern political mythology from Congo to Cameroon that is more current in the cities than in rural areas, there is mention of politicians who request that those who come to see them wishing to be hired for a particular job or contract are to be accompanied by their wives. In such a scenario, the wife enters the politician’s office alone while the husband waits outside; how the wife “performs” has a direct consequence on her husband’s career. In a variation of this tale, however, the wife is nowhere to be found, and it is the husband who must undress before his potential boss. This particular idea seems to be inspired by the beliefs that tie homosexuality to witchcraft and the manifestation of the double, but it is important to distinguish it in a homophobic light—given that this link is only made because it has to do with homosexuality. In the version where the wife is involved, it is construed not as an invocation of witchcraft but as an abuse of authority.
The homophobic
discourse
in West Africa is thus based on old traditions and beliefs that have been adapted to the ideas of the contemporary world. These representations remain vivid in the heart of the public, and if they are not often talked about, it is due to a common fear of being stigmatized as being an irrational, superstitious fetishist. However, other components, such as the law, negritude, and the religions of Semitic origin, offer rhetoric that is just as homophobic, and, if not more so, encouraging a negative view of homosexuality. But just as the threat of stigmatization does not prevent people from having these traditional beliefs, neither does it prevent homosexuality from being more present and more visible in the cities.
—
Séverin Cécile Abega
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Further Reading
Amnesty International.
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. Amnesty International USA, 1994.
—Africa, Central & Eastern; Africa, South; AIDS; Anthropology; Family; Islam; Rhetoric; Sterility.
AGAINST NATURE
The expression “against nature” is not specifically Christian. Though it can be found in the writings of St Paul (Rom 1:26), it originally stems from pagan philosophy, and in a more general sense, from a certain Greek and Roman interpretation of sexual morals. In fact, nothing is more cultural than this concept of nature. Traditionally, neither the Greeks nor the Romans were, properly speaking, homo- or heterosexual, but rather their sexuality was based on roles accorded to them by their social status: the dominant role (i.e. penetrating the other) was played by free male citizens, while the passive role (i.e. being penetrated by the other) was played by everyone else, that is, women, slaves, and adolescents. This was the practice of pederasty in its original pedagogical sense. In this context, someone who is, or acts, “against nature” (
para phusin
) does not respect this simple social norm; the word “nature” in this sense has almost the same meaning as “society.”
Things began to change with the introduction of the popular form of Stoicism, which promotes an ethic of “living according to nature.” Here, the word “nature” takes on a very different meaning (further yet from its contemporary sense), referring to the “divine order of things.”Thus, following nature did not mean conforming to some sort of instinct (as is the current meaning), but rather to reason, as defined by one’s biological function. This meant following physical laws, especially, of course, that of procreation. The goal was to seek out
ataraxia
(serene calmness) through the struggle against pleasures, desires, emotion, etc. The body was devalued as being the source of irrational passions, a contingent part of man.
This philosophical and existential system had a strong influence on the Church Fathers, who took up the body/soul dualism (a dualism missing from the
Bible
, even in the writings of St Paul), as well as the disdain for sexuality (which was contrary to the Biblical concept of Creation), reducing it to its “rational” end, meaning
marriage
and reproduction. Under these conditions, homosexuality certainly does appear to be “against nature” and relations between members of the same sex (sodomy in particular) were considered an insult to nature. In this context, homophobia is represented by the fear of the body, sexuality, and pleasure, and by the reduction of sexuality to its reproductive ends. Yet, the extreme example of
sterility
is, on its own, not enough to annul a religious marriage; it is not enough even to justify a sort of chastity. But pleasure is free, in that it does not always need to have procreation as its goal. What is considered against nature in one case is not in another, and it is the very definition of nature that wavers: a pseudo-concept that is only ever invoked in a partial manner when condemning homosexual relations and those who practice them.
—Thierry Revol