Africa Is a Country

Gay in Africa

Gay in Africa

By
Sean Jacobs

Two photographers - unrelated - highlight the precarious existence of gay lives on the continent.

By Tadej Žnidarčič.

The Slovenian photographer, Tadej Žnidarčič‘s series of portraits of gay men and women in Uganda is called “Being Gay in Uganda,” They all have their backs turned to the camera. Žnidarčič’s subjects are coy for a reason. Attracting attention can be fatal: “The problem is the way I dress. Everyone is asking, ‘is that a boy or a girl?’ In clubs, when ladies can get in for free, they push us, tell us we are not ladies and that we have to pay. They scream: ‘Is she boy or a girl? Is that man or a woman?’ As tom-boy, everyone looks at you.”

Žnidarčič is one of seven photographers in the “Moving Walls” photographic exhibition opening in mid-March at the Open Society Documentary Project in New York City (and that will travel elsewhere, including hopefully to Uganda).  It could not have come at a better moment for those concerned about and campaigning against the growing homophobia on the continent (see, for example, the statement by bloggers posted on this blog and elsewhere yesterday).

Sam, 2010.

Žnidarčič is one of seven photographers in the “Moving Walls” photographic exhibition opening in mid-March at the Open Society Documentary Project in New York City (and that will travel elsewhere, including hopefully to Uganda).  It could not have come at a better moment for those concerned about and campaigning against the growing homophobia on the continent (see, for example, the statement by bloggers posted on this blog and elsewhere yesterday).  He is also one of two photographers in Moving Walls who focus on gay identity and homophobia on the continent in their work.

The other is Bénédicte Desrus. Her “Persecution of Homosexuality in Uganda” covers events around the Anti-Homosexuality Bill introduced in the Ugandan parliament in October 2009. (The Bill proposes life imprisonment for anyone engaged in homosexual activities and the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality”).

Anti-gay pastors in Uganda. Bénédicte Desrus.

Closer to home in New York City, a third photographer, Jamaican-born, Samantha Box, covered homeless minority LGBT youth in New York City.

Samantha Fox.

Here are the details for the exhibition.

Further Reading

Cinematic universality

Fatou Cissé’s directorial debut meditates on the uncertain fate and importance of Malian cinema amidst the growing dismissiveness towards the humanities across the world.

The meanings of Heath Streak

Zimbabwean cricketing legend Heath Streak’s career mirrors many of the unresolved tensions of race and class in Zimbabwe. Yet few white Zimbabwean sporting figures are able to stir interest and conversation across the nation’s many divides.

Victorious

After winning Italy’s Serie A with Napoli, Victor Osimhen has cemented his claim to being Africa’s biggest footballing icon. But is the trend of individual stardom good for sports and politics?

Breaking the chains of indifference

The significance of ending the ongoing war in Sudan cannot be overstated, and represents more than just an end to violence. It provides a critical moment for the international community to follow the lead of the Sudanese people.

The magic man

Chris Blackwell’s long-awaited autobiography shows him as a romantic rogue; a risk taker whose life compass has been an open mind and gift to hear and see slightly into the future.

How to think about colonialism

Contemporary approaches to the legacy of colonialism tend to narrowly emphasize political agency as the solution to Africa’s problems. But agency is configured through historically particular relations of which we are not sole authors.

More than just a flag

South Africa’s apartheid flag has been declared hate speech by a top court. But while courts are important and their judgments matter, racism is a long and internationally entrenched social phenomenon that cannot be undone via judicial processes.

Resistance is a continuous endeavor

For more than 75 years, Palestinians have organized for a liberated future. Today, as resistance against Israeli apartheid intensifies, unity and revolutionary optimism has become the main infrastructure of struggle.

Paradise forgotten

While there is much to mourn about the passing of legendary American singer and actor Harry Belafonte, we should hold a place for his bold statement-album against apartheid South Africa.

The two Africas

In the latest controversies about race and ancient Egypt, both the warring ‘North Africans as white’ and ‘black Africans as Afrocentrists’ camps find refuge in the empty-yet-powerful discourse of precolonial excellence.

A vote of no confidence

Although calling for the cancellation of Nigeria’s February elections is counterintuitive, the truth is that they were marred by fraud, voter suppression, technical glitches and vote-buying.