Hungochani: The History of a Dissident Sexuality in Southern AfricaIn the vivid tapestry of global queer cultures Africa has long been neglected or stereotyped. In Hungochani, Marc Epprecht seeks to change that by tracing the history and traditions of homosexuality in southern Africa, modern gay and lesbian identities, and the vibrant gay rights movement that has emerged since the 1980s. He explores the diverse ways African cultures traditionally explained same-sex sexuality and follows the emergence of new forms of gender identity and sexuality that evolved with the introduction of capitalism, colonial rule, and Christian education. Using oral testimony, memoirs, literature, criminal court records, and early government enquiries from the eighteenth century to the present, he traces the complex origins of homophobia. By bringing forth a wealth of evidence about once-hidden sexual behaviour, Epprecht contributes to the honest, open discussion that is urgently needed in the battle against HIV/AIDS. Homosexuality - or hungochani as it is known in Zimbabwe - has been denounced by many politicians and church leaders as an example of how Western decadence has corrupted African traditions. However, a bold new gay rights movement has emerged in several of the countries of the region since the 1980s, offering an exciting new dimension in the broad struggle for human rights and democracy unfolding on the continent. |
Other editions - View all
Hungochani: The History of a Dissident Sexuality in Southern Africa Marc Epprecht Limited preview - 2004 |
Hungochani: The History of a Dissident Sexuality in Southern Africa Marc Epprecht Limited preview - 2004 |
Hungochani: The History of a Dissident Sexuality in Southern Africa Marc Epprecht No preview available - 2013 |
Common terms and phrases
accused activists acts anal Archives Basotho black Africans boys British Bulawayo Cape Town Christian claim colonial rule colonial Zimbabwe compounds court criminal culture discourse Dzobo early enquiry European evidence example fear February female GALZ gang gay rights gays and lesbians gender girls Harare heteronormative heterosexual homophobia homophobic homosexual hostels husband identity indecent assault interviewed January Johannesburg leaders Leary and Taberer lesbians Lesotho lobola magistrate male male-male sexual crime marriage married masculinity men's mines missionary modern Mozambique Mugabe N'ANGA Natal nationalist Native Ndebele nkotshane nonetheless officials oral police political Portuguese practice pre-modern Press prison prison sex prostitutes punishment queer racial rape region relationships role Salisbury same-sex sexuality sangoma Shangaan Shona social society sodomy Sokisi South Africa southern Africa Southern Rhodesia testimony thigh sex traditional transphobia unnatural vice urban violence wife witnesses wives woman women word wyfie young Zimbabwe's Zimbabwean Zulu
Popular passages
Page 286 - This Matter of Women Is Getting Very Bad': Gender, Development and Politics in Colonial Lesotho. Pietermaritzburg, South Africa: University of Natal Press, 2000. Ferguson, James. The Anti-politics Machine: "Development," Depoliticization, and Bureaucratic Power in Lesotho.
Page 6 - ... of violence against women; c) identify the causes and consequences of violence against women and take appropriate measures to prevent and eliminate such violence; d) actively promote peace education through curricula and social communication in order to eradicate elements in traditional and cultural beliefs, practices and stereotypes which legitimise and exacerbate the persistence and tolerance of violence against women; e) punish the perpetrators of violence against women and implement programmes...
Page 281 - Bleys, Rudi C. 1995. The Geography of Perversion: Male-Male Sexual Behaviour outside the West and the Ethnographic Imagination. New York: New York University Press.