36 research outputs found
Beyond African religious homophobia: how Christianity is a source of African LGBT activism
The emergence of anti-homosexuality politics in Africa is often explained with reference to religion. Although religion is a major factor in fuelling homophobia in Africa, the Bible and the Christian faith are not only sites of struggle but have also been appropriated by African LGBT activists in support of their cause. Adriaan van Klinken says we need to move beyond a narrow focus on African religious homophobia as religion plays multiple and complex roles in contemporary dynamics of African sexualities
Imitation as Transformation of the Male Self
St Joachim, who according to the apocryphal Protoevangelium Jacobi is the father of Mary, the mother of Jesus, is the patron saint of a Catholic Menâs Organization in Zambia which promotes him as model of Catholic manhood. Through a case study of this organization, this article explores the intersections of religion, men and masculinity in a contemporary African Catholic context, in relation to broader discussions on African masculinities. The focus is on the practice of imitation of St Joachim and its effects on masculinity as the symbolic, discursive and performative construction of embodied male gender identity. Two theoretical concepts inform the analysis, being the notion of imitation as a hermeneutical process and Michel Foucaultâs conceptualization of the technologies or hermeneutics of the self. The article shows how a sacred text is mobilized and inspires a communal imitative practice through which men are shaped, and shape themselves, after a religious ideal of masculinity.Saint Joachim, prĂ©sentĂ© par le proto-Ă©vangile apocryphe de Jacques comme le pĂšre de Marie, elle-mĂȘme la mĂšre de JĂ©sus, est le saint patron dâune organisation catholique dâhommes en Zambie, qui le promeut comme modĂšle de masculinitĂ© catholique. Ă travers lâĂ©tude de cette organisation, lâarticle explore lâintersection entre religion, hommes et masculinitĂ© dans le contexte de lâAfrique catholique contemporaine, en lien avec une discussion plus large sur les masculinitĂ©s africaines. Une attention particuliĂšre est accordĂ©e Ă la pratique dâimitation de saint Joachim et Ă ses effets sur la masculinitĂ© comme construction symbolique, discursive et performative de lâidentitĂ© de genre masculin incorporĂ©e. Lâanalyse repose sur deux concepts thĂ©oriques: la notion dâimitation comme processus hermĂ©neutique et la conceptualisation des techniques ou hermĂ©neutiques de soi par Michel Foucault. Lâarticle montre comment un texte sacrĂ© est mobilisĂ© et inspire une pratique imitative commune Ă travers laquelle les hommes sont façonnĂ©s, et se façonnent eux-mĂȘmes, sur la base dâun idĂ©al religieux de masculinitĂ©
Men in the Remaking: Conversion Narratives and Born-Again Masculinity in Zambia
The born-again discourse is a central characteristic of Pentecostal Christianity in Africa. In the
study of African Christianities, this discourse and the way it (re)shapes peopleâs moral, religious,
and social identities has received much attention. However, hardly any attention has been paid
to its effects on men as gendered beings. In the study of men and masculinities in Africa, on the
other hand, neither religion in general nor born-again Christianity in particular are taken into
account as relevant factors in the construction of masculinities. On the basis of a detailed analysis
of interviews with men who are members of a Pentecostal church in Lusaka, Zambia, this
article investigates how menâs gender identities are reshaped by becoming and being born-again
and how born-again conversion produces new forms of masculinity. The observed Pentecostal
transformation of masculinity is interpreted in relation to menâs social vulnerability, particularly
in the context of the HIV epidemic in Zambia
âAccused of a Sodomy Actâ: Bible, Queer Poetry and African Narrative Hermeneutics
This article explores the role of poetry and narrative methods in African-centred queer biblical studies and theology. As a case in point, it presents a poem, titled âAccused of a Sodomy Act,â by Tom Muyunga-Mukasa, that was written as part of a queer Bible reading project with Ugandan LGBTQ refugees. The poem is a contemporary re-telling of the gospel story about Jesus and the âwoman caught in adulteryâ in the context of socio-political homophobia in Uganda. The poem is complemented by an autobiographical reflection by the writer, providing insight into his personal experiences of growing up as gay and religious in Uganda. This is embedded in a more general discussion, relating the poem to trends of life storytelling in African LGBTQ activism, and to established narrative methodologies in African theological and biblical studies scholarship. Overall, the article makes a methodological contribution, by foregrounding queer poetry and storytelling as innovations in African narrative hermeneutics that expand the established concern with gender and sexuality beyond a heterosexual framework, and that include the marginalised voices and experiences of LGBTQ people
Pentecostal intimacies: women and intimate citizenship in the ministry of repentance and holiness in Kenya
This article explores the intersections of gender, sexuality and citizenship in the context of one prominent neo-Pentecostal movement in Kenya, the Ministry of Repentance and Holiness (MRH) led by the charismatic Prophet David Owuor. Employing the concept of intimate citizenship, the article analyses, first, how MRH engages in a contestation of intimate citizenship in the contemporary Kenyan public sphere, especially in relation to womenâs bodies. Second, it examines how MRH simultaneously configures, through a range of highly intimate beliefs, practices and techniques, an alternative form of intimate citizenship defined by moral purity and concerned with a political project of moral regeneration. Coining the notion of âPentecostal intimaciesâ, the article provides insight into the reasons why so many people, especially women, are attracted to MRH, and hence it interrogates the liberal frame in which intimate citizenship is usually conceptualised
Christianity, Sexuality and Citizenship in Africa: Critical Intersections
Citizenship in sub-Saharan Africa has undergone profound changes in recent decades as part of wider social and political dynamics. One notable development is the emergence of Christianity, especially in its Pentecostal-Charismatic forms, as a public religion. Christian actors, beliefs and practices have increasingly come to manifest themselves in the public sphere, actively engage with politics, define narratives of nationhood, and shape notions of citizenship. A second major development is the emergence of sexuality as a critical site of citizenship and nationhood in postcolonial Africa. On the one hand, many political and religious leaders are invested in a popular ideology of the heterosexual family as the basis of nation-building, while on the other hand, LGBT communities are becoming more visible and claim recognition from the state. The contributions to this special issue engage these two contrasting developments, examining the interconnections between Christianity, sexuality and citizenship empirically and theoretically through case studies in various African contexts and from several academic disciplines and critical perspectives
Citizenship of Love: The Politics, Ethics and Aesthetics of Sexual Citizenship in a Kenyan Gay Music Video
Against the background of the current politicisation of homosexuality and the policing of sexual citizenship in Kenya and other African countries, this article offers an analysis of the Kenyan gay music video Same Love, released by the band Art Attack in 2016. Employing the concept of acts of citizenship (Isin and Nielsen 2008), the article foregrounds the political, ethical and aesthetic aspects through which the lyrics and images of Same Love perform an act of sexual citizenship mediated through art. It argues that as an artistic intervention, the video interrogates popular narratives of homosexuality as un-Kenyan, un-African and un-Christian and creates a sense of a citizenship that is yet to come: a pan-African, Christian and queer citizenship of love. Thus, the article explores the new possibilities of cultural, sexual and religious citizenship created through popular culture and public space in contemporary Africa