2.4: Africa and Europe

Africa

African formations of sexuality and gender include culturally specific norms of Indigenous groups in urban, rural, and religious contexts. Rudolf Gaudio’s work on ‘yan daudu (or “effeminate men” in the Hausa language) in the northern Nigeria city of Kano finds differences between sexual identity and sexual practices. ‘Yan daudu are thought of, by themselves and by the public at large, as effeminate male sex workers who are not necessarily homosexual, even though they regularly have sex with men. They also occupy a socially ambiguous space with regard to their Islamic faith.^[24]

Regine Oboler studied female husbands among the Nandi of Kenya. She describes a cultural position occupied by older, childless (or more specifically, without a son) women who marry other women. They take on wives, receive bridewealth, and perform male duties, while not necessarily making their position part of their sexualities or gender embodiments. Oboler argues that maleness and the woman-woman marriage bond is understood as a matter of necessity and function in Nandi patrilineal societies.^[25] Some authors argue that Oboler did not sufficiently explore the possibilities of a sexual relationship between the women.^[26]

Ifi Amadiume similarly explores female husbands in Igbo culture, as does Kenneth Chukwuemeka Nwoko.^[27] Among the Tanala, a Malagasy ethnic group in Madagascar, third-gender-embodied individuals are referred to as sarombavy. They have been described as occupying a cultural position like that of Native American two spirits. The Swahili on the East African coast also have third- or alternative-gender identities (figure 2.8).

Figure 2.8. The 2013 winners of the annual Miss Gay Daveyton pageant in Daveyton, a township in East Rand, Gauteng, South Africa. (CC-BY Collen Mfazwe of Inkanyiso, Africa Is a Country.)

In the late twentieth century, leaders of new African states typically derided homosexuality as un-African, and they supported the persecution of lesbians and gay men. Nonetheless, after decades of struggle against apartheid in South Africa, the new South African constitution in 1996 enshrined protections against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. The increase in studies on postcolonial LGBTQ+ rights and gender nonconformity and sexual minorities in Africa constitutes a relatively recent pan-African political movement. In postcolonial African cities, sexual violence against lesbians in South Africa and gender- or sexuality-based oppression and violence have occurred.^[28] Scholars have focused on a variety of topics, including sexual violence against lesbians in South Africa and knowing women, a term for working-class women in southern Ghana who share friendship and intimacy.^[29] The twenty-first century has witnessed a surge of activism by gender and sexual minorities across Africa. This activism promotes both Indigenous terms and histories of sexuality and gender. It also draws on international LGBTQ+ culture and activism in creating identities that resist and critique colonial and neocolonial heteronormativity.

Europe

Binary formations of sexuality and gender are widely characterized as Western, European, Euro-American, or American. European cultures, however, also have multiple instances of third-gender or nonbinary gender formations. For example, Italy’s traditional Neapolitan culture has the femminiello (the plural form is femminielli), an assigned-male-at-birth homosexual with gender-variant expression (figure 2.9). Members of this group play prominent roles in cultural festivities. These individuals have specific roles in religious parades, are often asked to hold newborn infants, and participate in games such as bingo and raffles (tombolas). Moreover, recent studies suggest that today’s Neapolitan culture is more accepting of femminielli than mainstream LGBTQ+ notions of sexuality and gender.^[30] This assignation as femminiello is associated with the long-standing references to gender ambiguity (androgyny) and intersex individuals in Italian custom, going back to ancient myths about Hermaphroditus (the intersex son of Aphrodite and Hermes) and Tiresias. The cult of Hermaphroditus traces back to ancient Cypriot rites in which men and women exchanged clothing before the statue of a bearded Aphrodite.

Figure 2.9. Portrait of A. de Pardadeda, a femminiello. (Public domain, Abele de Blasio.)

Rictor Norton chronicles eighteenth- and nineteenth-century England’s molly houses, meeting places for gay men, or mollies—although it is unclear whether this term was a pejorative one or used as a self-designator.^[31] Socializing, romancing, and same-sex sexual encounters took place there, as well as cross-dressing activities such as faux-wedding rituals between men and mock births (figure 2.10). These venues were illegal, and homosexuality of any kind was a capital offense in England until the late nineteenth century. Police regularly raided molly houses, and the homosexuals who frequented them were recognizable social types. This complicates Michel Foucault’s suggestion that the public categorizing and punishment of homosexuals and homosexuality did not begin until later.^[3

Figure 2.10. A man and a woman in dishabille swapping clothes. (Public domain, Yale Center for British Art.)

Conclusion

Throughout history and all around the world, many peoples engaged in same-sex relations. In many societies these practices were accepted and even celebrated. Christianity and colonialism were two key forces that brought homophobia to many societies and influenced local social constructions of gender and sexuality. The study of global sexualities is an ever-evolving discipline. This chapter describes the range of gender and sexual practices that have existed in different places and times and that continue to evolve. In the twenty-first century, globalization continues to spread Western notions of LGBTQ+ liberation, and in turn, local and regional cultural practices affect contemporary Western expressions and struggles over gender and sexuality.

Read “In Han Dynasty China, Bisexuality Was the Norm"

The article “In Han Dynasty China, Bisexuality Was the Norm,” by Sarah Prager (https://daily.jstor.org/in-han-dynas...-was-the-norm/), explores studies that document China’s “long history of dynastic homosexuality.”

• What are some catchphrases that refer to love between men in ancient China? Where do they come from?
• What evidence does the author present that bisexuality (and not heterosexuality or homosexuality) was the norm in China’s Han dynasty? Do you agree or disagree with this characterization?
• What is one of the only references to love between women in ancient China? Why isn’t there more documentation of women’s sexuality?

Watch “Naples’ Beloved ‘Third Sex’ Wedding”

On the BBC’s Travel gallery, “Naples’ Beloved ‘Third Sex’ Wedding” (http://www.bbc.com/travel/gallery/20...rd-sex-wedding) explores a play, a local ritual, that takes place in the Italian town of Pagani. Although the ritual dates back to the seventeenth century, it is kept alive today by the gay community. The play, The Wedding of Zeza, features a marriage between a femminiello and a straight man.

Check Your Knowledge

Contributed by Has Arakelyan, Rio Hondo College

1. In northern Nigeria, what is the term for the effeminate men who may have sex with men but are not considered homosexual?
A) Sarombavy
B) Femminiello
C) ‘Yan daudu
D) Molly

2. Among the Nandi of Kenya, what is the cultural role of a “female husband”?
A) A woman who dresses as a man for religious rituals
B) An older, childless woman who marries another woman and performs male duties
C) A third-gender individual who is a healer
D) A male who takes on female roles in ceremonies

3. What is the Malagasy term for third-gender-embodied individuals among the Tanala?
A) Sarombavy
B) Kinnar
C) Fa’afafine
D) Bakla

4. Which African country was the first to enshrine protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation in its constitution?
A) Nigeria
B) Kenya
C) South Africa
D) Ghana

5. In traditional Neapolitan culture, what is a femminiello?
A) A female husband
B) An assigned-male-at-birth homosexual with gender-variant expression
C) A third-gender healer in Madagascar
D) A cross-dressing performer in England

Discussion Questions

1. How do African Indigenous gender and sexuality roles, such as ‘yan daudu and female husbands, challenge Western binary understandings of gender and sexual identity?
2. Discuss the impact of colonialism and postcolonial politics on the recognition and treatment of LGBTQ+ individuals and gender minorities in Africa.
3. Compare the roles and social acceptance of third-gender individuals in African and European contexts, such as sarombavy in Madagascar and femminielli in Italy.
4. What are the implications of the legal and social changes in post-apartheid South Africa for LGBTQ+ rights across the African continent?
5. How do historical spaces like England’s molly houses complicate our understanding of the development of sexual identity categories in Europe?

Multiple-Choice Questions - Answers

1. C) ‘Yan daudu
2. B) An older, childless woman who marries another woman and performs male duties
3. A) Sarombavy
4. C) South Africa
B) An assigned-male-at-birth homosexual with gender-variant expression

1. Back to top