The Invention of Homophobia in Africa

Abstract

In this paper, I assert that the criminalization of homosexuality in Africa is a result of a co-construction process which has its roots during the colonial period. I emphasize that during the pre-colonial period, although heterosexuality was the socially recognized and accepted sexual norm as elsewhere in the world, same-sex sexual practices occurred on the continent and were practiced by several communities. Subsequently, even though it is now established that laws criminalizing homosexuality in many countries have their roots in the colonial period, this assertion must be nuanced. First of all, colonizer's sexual policies were not the same throughout the continent, but also even where repressive laws were enforced, homosexuality existed and the colonizer remained silent. Finally, new legal framework are the result of both colonial encounter and contemporary African agency.