Gay Senegal - From Ai's Gay Capal to Centre of Homophobia

Contents:

• GAY SENEGAL - FROM GAY CAPAL TO COUNTRY OF HOMOPHOBIA
• ONLY LADS : EE GAY DATG & GAY CHAT SOCIAL WORK
• IF YOU SAY BEG GAY IS NOT AIN, YOU DON’T KNOW YOUR HISTORY
• GAY SOUTH AI
• A GAY WHE TEEN STGGL TO EXIST IN APARTHEID SOUTH AI IN 'MOFFIE'
• OPN: NIGERIA IS A LD-BLOOD UNTRY FOR GAY MEN – I HAVE THE SRS TO PROVE
• DO THEY HI THEIR FAC? SEARCHG FOR GAY LIFE WT AI.

GAY SENEGAL - FROM GAY CAPAL TO COUNTRY OF HOMOPHOBIA

While the former practice is often rid by many as “humane” and the latter is often referred to as “homosexual” behavur, the Sambia’s unrstandg and purpose behd the two procs differs om our nventnal unrstandg.

For example, while many of might brand the young men and boys “homosexuals” the sense that they have a lastg sire for men whout the need or sire for a woman, once they have passed their re of passage to manhood, they marry women and bee fathers.

In lonial tim, Senegal’s metropolis Dakar was famo for s open and tolerated homosexual prostutn market, and as late as the 1970s, as many as 17 percent of Senegale men admted havg had homosexual experienc.

ONLY LADS : EE GAY DATG & GAY CHAT SOCIAL WORK

Sce 1965, same-sex activy has been punishable by up to five years imprisonment, but only durg the last five years, Dakar’s former visible gay muny has had to go unrground, riskg punishment. Ined, homosexualy has been a visible and well-known part of Wolof tradns, and only moralist opns of the lonialists, later adopted by an creasgly domant Mlim clergy, led to the supprsn of this culture. (photo right, gay uple Baba and Baidy had to flee Senegal after a lol newspaper prted their photo).

” Dr Corre referred to the Wolofs’ appete for “morbid eroticism” his cril report; the olst known wrten rerds of homosexualy Senegal. Mr Gorer tertgly not that the openly gay men “do not suffer any way socially, though the Mohammedans refe them relig burial. “The elrs and fahful Mlims nmn men for this, ” Mr Crowr noted, th documentg a slowly growg tolerance towards homosexualy om the lol clergy.

” When he returned ne years later, “Dakar was gayer than ever” and nobody did have to shy about his homosexualy the cy. And by 1958, he rells, homosexualy was not nfed to the French domated centre of Dakar, but to the nightlife the “native quarters” and shantytowns surroundg the pal.

IF YOU SAY BEG GAY IS NOT AIN, YOU DON’T KNOW YOUR HISTORY

While many still ed the Wolof term gor-digen, several men now referred to themselv as “homosexuèl” French. A nnectn between the Wolof gor-digen tradn and the ternatnal notn of “homosexualy” – a much wir fn often excludg the optn of marryg someone of the oppose genr – was slowly beg tablished. But still the mid-2000s, gay meetg pots were well known to Dakar habants and gay men relatively openly uld pick up equally oriented men terrass of the famo beach promena Corniche Out the centre at pla daylight.

Anti-gay rhetoric the media and by policians agast dividuals believed to be gay or lbian sharply creased. In Febary 2008, publitn of photographs om a same-sex mment ceremony set off a wave of arrts and an anti-gay media enzy and sent dozens of gay men to exile. In November 2009, Safatoul Amal, an anisatn charged wh the spirual protectn of the town of Touba, raid a man’s home and arrted him for formg a “work of homosexuals.

The arrts were acpanied by sensatnal media verage, strong homophobic statements om relig and polil lears, and vlence — cludg physil attacks and the exhumatn and secratn of the bodi of ceased people spected of beg gay.

GAY SOUTH AI

Remend further readg about the history of homosexualy Ai: “Boy-wiv and Female Hbands” eded by Stephen O Murray & Will Rose, New York 1998.

This has led to a ntroversy as stnch heterosexual activist claim homosexualy is a nsequence of neo-lonialism troduced by the Wtern World. Deep and reful rearch to sexualy Ain history (pre-lonial) has revealed homosexualy might have been an trsic part of Ain life.

A GAY WHE TEEN STGGL TO EXIST IN APARTHEID SOUTH AI IN 'MOFFIE'

For him, bee heterosexualy was not anthis to homosexualy pre-lonial tim, there was liberty to move between the two divi.

It was well believed that Kabaka (kg) Mwanga II, who led the latter half of the 19th century, was gay.

The ra queen Modjadji of Balob peopl found southern Ai is believed to be homosexual her relatns as she has ‘many wiv’.

OPN: NIGERIA IS A LD-BLOOD UNTRY FOR GAY MEN – I HAVE THE SRS TO PROVE

One school of thought vehemently stat that homosexual relatns is un-Ain, satanic and perpetuated by evil spirs, even see as a way through which the wt ntu her lonial fluence on the ntent. The other stat that homosexual relatns may have fact been an tegral part of Ain history and hence Ain life. This is believed to expla why much of Ai stands to ntravene any le of thought that claims homosexualy is Ain.

Christiany and Islam own on homosexual relatns and as such, s troductn and subsequent entrenchment has ma heterosexual relatnship the norm while homosexualy is viewed as the vice.

DO THEY HI THEIR FAC? SEARCHG FOR GAY LIFE WT AI.

Acrdg to anthropologists Stephen Murray and Will Rose the “Expand Crimalisatn of Homosexualy Uganda: A Flawed Narrative / Empiril evince and strategic alternativ om an Ain perspective, ” they were of the opn that Numero reports also dited that the highly sex-segregated societi of Ai, homosexual behavur and relatnships were not unmon among peers, both male and female, pecially the years before heterosexual marriage. They went further to state unapologetilly that what the lonisers imposed on Ai was not homosexualy “but rather tolerance of — and systems of surveillance and regulatn for supprsg .

Pro Ain homosexualy school of thought believ that sce pre-lonial Ai had no anized means of archivg her history, much of might have been lost through time and time.