Årsagerne til homofobi i Afrika syd for Sahara

Sammanfattning: Homophobia is widespread in Sub-Saharan Africa. The causes of homophobia are numerous and interconnected, but the main causes can be found in Africa’s colonial history, and its influence on religion, gender roles and African leaders. Christianity became widespread in Africa during the colonial era, and religion has since played a major role in African societies and in the construction of homophobia. African Christianity is hugely influenced by the colonial narrative, which states that homosexuality is unnatural. Colonialism has also had an impact on gender roles in Africa, which has contributed to homophobia among the general population. African gender roles have increasingly become a mixture of traditional and Western values, and especially African men have had a hard time adjusting to the new roles by which they have experienced emasculation. A part of the animosity towards homosexuality can be found in this development. The more you distance yourself from homosexuality the more masculine you appear, which is a way of regaining lost masculinity. It is furthermore a tangible way of showing ones resistance towards Western values. In general African leaders have a huge amount of authority. This in combination with the fact that they are affected by the colonial past, means that they play a role in the construction and stewarding of homophobia.