Decolonizing African sexualities: between continuities and change

Abstract

In recent times, gender and sexuality have increasingly become a focus of academic studies, within diverse disciplines and as well as feeding into interdisciplinary studies in Africa. This field presents new theoretical and methodological challenges to contemporary researchers in many ways. In this paper, we argue that much secrecy prevail[ed] in the area of human sexuality that restricted open discussions and exchange of information on the subject. We argue that such Africa’s secretive morality has increasingly led to much confusion, misinformation and misrepresentation of actual sexual dynamics in the region. Moreover, investigation on pre-colonial and colonial attitudes towards sexuality often reveal wider social anxieties and tensions. Drawing primarily on theoretical literature from the social sciences, we reveal how notions of gendered and sexualized identifications in sub-Saharan Africa can affect the very production of history and other analysis in African sexuality.4 It is hoped that, the theme of silences and secrecy and its connections to matters of sex and sexuality will provide a new window from which to explore these and other issues.