Lesbian Life in Malawi : an Intersectional Study of Repressive and Constructive Power

Sammanfattning: This thesis identifies a set of power relations that complicates Western aid to African gay movements. It is a cultural analysis focusing on lesbians living in Lilongwe, the capital of Malawi, aiming to explore the tensions between discourses of power in play, from a post colonial and intersectional perspective. The use of queer theory makes similarities between traditional non-conforming sexualities in Africa and updated Western queer thinking visible, in refusing to identify as negations to heterosexuality and that way define a hegemonic ideal. At the same time conditions’ stemming from colonial structures, Western influence and material indigence push gay people in Malawi towards an increasing use of problematic Western concepts such as binary sexual identities and “coming out” as a strategy to contest homophobia. Meanwhile, a rise of public homophobia due to political populist efforts and Western and African religious movements claiming homosexuality to be a neo-imperialistic invention, is accordingly facilitated by Western framings of gay rights movements. The thesis advocates for resources to be directed to lesbians who have been overlooked in the context of gay rights, partly because of how HIV/AIDS has directed focus upon gay men. In order to relevantly address the hardship of lesbians in poor areas the thesis suggests a rethinking of aid aimed to strengthen gay rights in Africa. It proposes the needs for financial resources rather than outreaching identity construction to be acknowledged and to start off in assisting with the purchase of real estate and the initiation of cooperative agricultural business.