Gender and sexuality in African discourses

Authors

  • Daniel Yaw Fiaveh University of Cape Coast Author
  • Eyo Mensah University of Calabar Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/sols.24323

Keywords:

gender, sexuality, gender discourses, sexual desires, sexual expressions, queer, LGBT rights, Africa, Ghana, Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya

Abstract

This issue examines the role of language and/or cultural expression in discourses around gender and sexuality. We explore the expressions used to describe people in relation to their gender and sexual configurations and practices. The contributions are from scholars writing from West and Eastern African perspectives, and the findings are useful for ongoing discourse and for informing policy direction. We first present an introduction to this issue, where we highlight the problematic areas of gender and sexuality research in Africa and the aim of the study, taking into consideration how spaces in language expressions make us gendered and sexual beings. We also discuss some historical research trajectories in African sexuality, followed by some future prospects. We conclude with a brief overview of each of the papers in the issue.

Author Biographies

  • Daniel Yaw Fiaveh, University of Cape Coast

    Daniel Yaw Fiaveh is a senior lecturer in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at the University of Cape Coast, Ghana. He is a sex sociologist, turned anthropologist with primary research interests in gender and sex studies, especially contestations around masculinities, representation of men and boys in popular cultures, understanding sexual practices and relationships in postcolonial English West Africa, and social-cultural health.

  • Eyo Mensah, University of Calabar

    Eyo Mensah is currently a Senior Research Fellow and Guest Professor of African Studies at the Merian Institute for Advanced Studies in Africa (MIASA), University of Ghana, Legon. He is also a professorial fellow at FRIAS, University of Freiburg, Germany. His research interests include anthropological linguistics, structural linguistics, ethnopragmatics, and the intersection of language with identity, gender, sexuality, and popular culture.

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Published

2023-08-07

How to Cite

Fiaveh, D. Y., & Mensah, E. (2023). Gender and sexuality in African discourses. Sociolinguistic Studies, 17(1-3), 7-19. https://doi.org/10.1558/sols.24323