New African Histories
1 total work
Heterosexual Africa? The History of an idea from the age of exploration to the age of AIDS explores the historical processes by which a singular, heterosexual identity for Africa was constructed. Epprecht argues that Africans, just like people all over the world, have always had a range of sexualities and sexual identities. Heterosexual Africa? aims to understand an enduring stereotype about Africa and Africans. It asks how Africa came to be defined as a "homosexual-free zone" during the colonial era, and how this idea not only survived the transition to independence but flourished under conditions of globalisation and early panicky responses to HIV/AIDS. In this timely volume, Epprecht examines a number of issues concerning sexuality and the construction of sexual identities that have largely been overlooked by studies of African ethnology in the past.