Afroqueer Assemblages: An Aesthetic of Resistance in ‘Real’ and ‘Virtual’ Worlds.

• Applicant: Aminata Cecile Mbaye, Ph.D.
• Subject Area: General and Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies ; African, American and Oceania Studies ; Theatre and Media Studies
• Term: from 2020 to 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 442316037

Same-sex practices have been increasingly publicly condemned over the past decade throughout Africa. Several scholars have attributed the recent rise of this anti-LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (or questioning)) animus in Africa to economic, political and social changes that have affected many countries since their Independence (Awondo, 2012). Homophobic rhetoric often suggests that same-sex sexualities are ‘un-African’ and consequently are imported from the West (Mbaye, 2018a; Chitando and van Klinken, 2016) Conversely, many authors argue that same-sex practices and intimacy have always existed in Africa and insist on the plurality of forms and meanings related to these social and subjective practices (Epprecht et al., 2018; Mbaye, 2018a; Epprecht, 2008). While same-sex intimacy began making recent headlines in African media and became the focus of political and religious authorities, LGBTQ+ groups have emerged in several African countries. From human rights to HIV/AIDS prevention, these communities advocate for the rights of LGBTQ+ people and intend to change current representations of same-sex intimacy throughout the continent.Despite the creation of several networks of solidarity during the past decade, there has been little discussion on how African LGBTQ+ groups create and produce transnational networks of solidarity across the continent and abroad.Building on transnational approaches to sexuality (Wieringa and Sívori, 2013; Povinelli and Chauncey, 1999), my proposed research will focus on how the emergence of transnational LGBTQ+ pan-African communities redefines notions of ‘Africanness’, ‘gender’ and ‘sexuality’ through artistic practices and the use of communication technologies. This study will not only examine LGBTQ+ networks in Africa, but also investigate the interlink between LGBTQ+ people from the global South and the global North. Certainly, LGBTQ+ people of color living in the global North may face issues other than those living in Africa and the global South. In fact, many studies have pointed out that despite progressive LGBTQ+ laws in several countries of the global North, LGBTQ+ people of color experience social stigma for racial, gender and economic reasons (Bacchetta et al., 2019; El-Tayeb, 2011). Therefore, this research will examine how African LGBTQ+ communities and people recreate new feelings, affects and an aesthetic of belonging through the formation of ‘virtual’ and ‘real’ places.

• DFG Programme: Research Fellowships
• International Connection: Canada
• Host: Professor Marc Epprecht, Ph.D.