Afropolitan Sexual and Gender Identities in Colonial Senegal

Abstract

Drawing from Achille Mbembe’s theorization of Afropolitanism as an opportunity for modern Africans “to experience several worlds” and develop flux, hybrid, and constantly mobile identities (“Afropolitanism” 29), this essay attempts to make an intervention into the ways in which this phenomenon appeared in colonial Senegalese culture. A neglected site of Afropolitanism was the colonial metropolis of Dakar which reflected subversive homosexual or transgender identities during the 1940s and 50s. Focusing on key writings such as Armand Corre’s book, L’ethnographie criminelle d’après les observations et les statistiques judiciaires recueillies dans les colonies françaises [criminal ethnography based on judiciary observations and statistics gathered from French colonies] (1894) and Michael Davidson’s travelogue, “Dakar” (1970), this essay wants to uncover a part of the silenced and neglected history of sexual and gender variances in colonial Senegalese culture. In these texts, one finds salient examples of Afropolitanism which were deployed as tools of resistance against homophobia and transphobia and as means of affirming erotic, sensual, and transgressive identities. In the end, colonial Senegalese culture transcended gender and sexual binaries in order to provide space for recognizing and examining Afropolitan sensibilities that have thus far been neglected in African studies scholarship.

Transgender women in Kenya experience greater stigma, depressive symptoms, alcohol and drug use and risky sexual practices than cis-gendered men who have sex with men

“…This study further identified that time spent “living as a woman” was variable among participants identifying as transsexual or transgender, and authors acknowledged that varying concepts of the transfeminine identity may have led to misclassification. As explained by M’Baye, “studying transgenderism and homosexuality in African contexts is challenging” due to reliance on concepts that are primarily Western-derived [ 43 ]. Generating contextually centered knowledge on gender-related identities and experiences could lead to measures that better represent the health and well-being of trans- and gender non-conforming communities, and lead to development of interventions that better serve their needs.…”

Sexuality-based stigma and access to care: intersecting perspectives between healthcare providers and men who have sex with men in HIV care centres in Senegal

“…Literature shows that the intentional politicization of homophobia under religious pressure has served as a reassertion of national integrity in the face of Western domination and as a tool of electoral support ( Angotti et al. , 2019 ; Bertolt and Masse 2019 ; M’Baye and Muhonja 2019 ). The media has also been a great contributor in depicting same-sex relationships as a decadent menace to society ( Mbaye, 2021 ).…”