Sexuality – especially queer sexuality – has always been one of the most heavily policed themes in African film.
- Senior Lecturer, Stellenbosch University
Even as Chido Muchemwa’s characters move between countries, generations and identities, they are tied by their desire for care.
Seven queer African creative works you should know about, from short stories to music videos.
From angry spirits and parallel universes to alien abductions and epic folklore, African writers are offering fresh new horizons for the world’s science fiction landscape.
A public figure who appeared often on TV and radio, Pathisa Nyathi celebrated the history and culture of Zimbabwe’s marginalised Ndebele people.
Mambo’s Chicken regularly uses chicken breasts and thighs to objectify women. What does that say about men?
These social media posts aren’t just for fun – they’re a way to fight back against discrimination and show the world that queer love is powerful and important.
Christopher Mlalazi, award-winning novelist, was inspired by the stories he was told by his grandparents as a child.
Despite harsh laws, a growing number of African countries are representing queer life in their cinema.
Writers have challenged oppression, exposed social injustices and advocated for political change.
His books bring north Africa into conversation with sub-Saharan Africa about lived queer experiences.
Ses livres font dialoguer l'Afrique du Nord et l'Afrique subsaharienne sur les expériences gay vécues.
On at Cape Town Pride, Melanie Chait’s documentary is about her life partner Nancy Diuguid.
She paved the way for women to play the mbira – and then took the ancient tradition global.
The activist is today the subject of songs, sculptures, an annual lecture and even a new musical.
The comic offers important ways of criticising those in power. Trevor Noah is superb at it.
Synik’s new album continues to shape identity and consciousness in a country with limited freedom of speech.
Discussions about the films on social media and online forums show that African queer lives are complex and don’t tell a single story.
Aliens arrive in Lagos in Nnedi Okorafor’s celebrated sci-fi novel Lagoon – and with them they bring a future free of restrictive gender norms.
CC BY-NC-ND8.53 MB (download)
Nakhane’s artistic oeuvre makes visible marginalised masculine identities.
The artist’s body of work, through its very public focus on queer masculinity, offers alternative ways of thinking about what being a man is.
Artists are filling the state’s silence by revisiting history so that it can be discussed.
Sexist slandering has been used not just to describe Grace Mugabe, but to denigrate any women who aspire to political positions.
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