Troubling the waters of a ‘wave of homophobia’: Political economies of anti-queer animus in sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

During the debate over Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill in 2009 and 2010, journalists and activists warned of a ‘wave of homophobia’ in sub-Saharan Africa. In this article, I illustrate how this trope elides critical differences between contemporaneous incidents. I suggest that forms of anti-queer animus instead might be understood as the products of political economies, and use that approach to distinguish the Anti-Homosexuality Bill in Uganda, the arrest of Tiwonge Chimbalanga and Steven Monjeza in Malawi, and the efflorescence of anti-LGBTI persecution in Senegal. A situated understanding of the political economies that generate these incidents enriches activist responses, and raises critical questions about solidarity and responsibility for activists and theorists alike.