Politicizing Sex in Contemporary Africa: Homophobia in Malawi

Description

Although sexual minorities in Africa continue to face harsh penalties for same-sex relationships, strong anti-homophobic resistance exists across the continent. This book systematically charts the emergence and effects of politicized homophobia in Malawi and shows how it has been used as a strategy by political elites to consolidate their moral and political authority, through punishing LGBT people and dividing social movements. Here, Ashley Currier pays particular attention to the impact of politicized homophobia on different social movements, specifically HIV/AIDS, human rights, LGBT rights, and women's rights movements. Her timely account intervenes in Afro-pessimist portrayals of the African continent as a hotbed of homophobia and unravels the tensions and contradictions underlying Western perceptions of Malawi. It shows that, in reality, many lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people happily call Malawi home, in spite of heightened antigay vitriol that has generated unwanted visibility for them. Cover Half-title Title page Copyright information Contents Figures Acknowledgments Abbreviations Introduction: Politicized Homophobia in Malawi The Malawian Context The Politicization of Sexuality Defining Politicized Homophobia The Architecture of Politicized Homophobia Organization of the Book 1 The Politicization of Same-Sex Sexualities in Malawi Homosexuality in the Public Sphere between 1995 and 2004 Gays in the Constitution? The Politicization of Homosexuality in Malawi The Rise of Religious Homophobia in Malawi Public Sympathy for LGBT People and Rights in Malawi Early LGBT Organizing in Malawi From the Politicization of Homosexuality to Politicized Homophobia 2 Trials of Love The Engagement and Arrests The Prosecution and Reactive Politicized Homophobia Responses to Convictions, Sentencing, and Pardons Consequences of Politicized Homophobia during and after the Trial Sexualization of Politics: Same-Sex Sexualities and Homeless Youth The Trial's Effects on Sexual Minorities in Malawi The Trial's Effect on Human and LGBT Rights NGOs Conclusion 3 The Repressive ''Wedge'' Politics of Politicized Homophobia Politicized Homophobia as Repression State and Social Suspicion of NGOs Hostility toward NGOs in Malawi The Run-Up to the July 20 Protests The July 20 Protests The Deployment of Politicized Homophobia during and after the July 20 Protests ''Vilified'': The Costs of Opposing the Government 4 Arrested Solidarity Looking for Solidarity: Feminist and Social Movement Studies Perspectives The Impossibility of Public Solidarity Produces Political Restraint The Costs of Absent Solidarity Issue Ranking National Readiness for Decriminalized Same-Sex Sexualities? Envy, Money, and Distance Missed Opportunity for Pro-LGBT Rights Solidarity Conclusion 5 Under Duress Unwanted Visibility Anti-Queer Prejudice in Families and Communities The Specter of Criminalization Exposure: Threats, Blackmail, and Extortion Ill Treatment: Anti-Queer Interactions with Healthcare Providers Rape and Unwanted Sex Antigay Harassment and Violence Antigay Vigilantism Strategies of Coping and Resistance Conclusion: The Reach and Limits of Politicized Homophobia Discovering ''Homophobic Africa'' Against Virality: Why Politicized Homophobia Is Not Infecting Africa Population Racism and ''African Homophobia'' The Looming Threat of Arrest References Index