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The Origins of Senegalese Homophobia: Discourses on Homosexuals and Transgender People in Colonial and Postcolonial Senegal

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 August 2013

Babacar M’Baye
Babacar M’Baye*
Affiliation:
Babacar M’Baye is an associate professor of pan-African literatures and cultures at Kent State University. His research interests include the relationships between intellectuals of the black diaspora and those of continental Africa; African influences in black diasporan literatures and cultures; black travel writings; black Atlantic theories and methods; and the representations of immigration, race, class, gender, sexuality, and hybrid identities in black literature, film, and music. He is the author of The Trickster Comes West: Pan-African Influence in Early Black Diasporan Narratives (University Press of Mississippi, 2009). E-mail: bmbaye@kent.edu
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Abstract:

This article traces the history of homosexual and transgender behavior in Senegal from colonial times to the contemporary period in order to demonstrate the flimsiness of the claims, made by many political and religious leaders and scholars, that homosexuality is “un-African.” Such claims, which appear as reactions to neocolonialism and Western intervention in African affairs, usually are homophobic discourses that invoke patriotism, cultural difference, and morality in order to justify the subjugation of homosexual and gender nonconforming individuals (goor-jiggens) living in Senegal. In an attempt to understand the roots of Senegalese homophobia, the article analyzes several depictions of homosexuals and transgender people in contemporary Senegal and traces them to similar representations in European writings of the colonial period. As this approach reveals, homosexuals and transgender people in Senegal, from colonial times to the present, have been constructed as scapegoats, first of the French mission civilisatrice (civilizing mission) and then of Senegalese political and Islamic backlashes. Although they have always cohabited with the rest of the society, homosexuals and transgender people in Senegal have been treated largely as strangers in their own land. By analyzing the discourses of both French colonials and Senegalese, one finds a persistent binary opposing the West and Africa and denigrating sexual and gender variances and subcultures in Senegal as pathological European imports.

Résumé:

Cet article retrace l’évolution historique des comportements homosexuels et transsexuels au Sénégal depuis les temps coloniaux jusqu’à aujourd’hui dans le but de démontrer la faiblesse des revendications faites par de nombreux leaders et intellectuels que “l’homosexualité n’est pas africaine.” De telles déclarations, apparemment des réactions contre le néocolonialisme et l’intervention des pays occidentaux dans les affaires africaines, sont pour la plupart des discours homophobes qui font appel au patriotisme, aux différences culturelles, et à des valeurs morales bien-pensantes pour justifier l’assujettissement des homosexuels et ceux ne se conformant pas aux normes sexuelles actuelles (goor-jiggens) au Sénégal. Dans un effort de comprendre les racines de l’homophobie présente au Sénégal, cet article analyse plusieurs représentations d’homosexuels et de transsexuels dans le Sénégal d’aujourd’hui et les relie à des représentations similaires dans la littérature européenne pendant l’époque coloniale. Cette approche montre que les homosexuels et transsexuels au Sénégal ont été, depuis les temps coloniaux, construits comme des boucs émissaires, tout d’abord de la “mission civilisatrice” française et ensuite des protestations contre les islamistes et le gouvernement sénégalais. Bien qu’ils aient toujours cohabité avec le reste de la société, les homosexuels et transsexuels ont été traités largement comme des étrangers dans leur propre pays. En analysant les discours des colons français et des Sénégalais, on trouve une polarisation opposant l’occident a l’Afrique et caractérisant négativement les variances de genre et de sexualité ainsi que les cultures marginales au Sénégal comme des phénomènes importés d’Europe.

Keywords

homosexualityhomophobiatransgenderSenegalcolonialpostcolonial
Type
ASR FORUM: HOMOPHOBIC AFRICA?
Information
African Studies Review , Volume 56 , Issue 2 , September 2013 , pp. 109 - 128
Copyright
Copyright © African Studies Association 2013 

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