A Ugandan tabloid recently did a story ” exposing†a Ugandan journalist and his ” male palsâ€. Although the article did not outrightly accuse him of being gay, it made very blatant insinuations as to the sexuality of him and his friends. Several people have since commented that the article was part of an attack on him by opposition supporters because of his widely and loudly expressed pro-government opinions. That however, is not the business of this piece. The purpose of this article is to address the homophobia inherent in the tabloid’s coverage of him and his ” male palsâ€.
Uganda is widely viewed as an extremely homophobic country. Following the passing of the Anti-Homosexuality Act (AHA) and later its nullification by the Constitutional Court on technical grounds, homophobia still manifests itself daily in blatant and sometimes subtle ways. Although the focus of advocacy by LGBTQ groups is usually state-sanctioned homophobia, it is important to address the different manifestations of homophobia within Ugandan society.
Homophobia is generally defined as hatred or prejudice towards Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and other queer people. Whether it is expressed online, in print or in real life encounters, the one constant is that homophobia affects the physical and mental health of queer people, their ability to access services and opportunities and therefore their overall quality of life. Many Ugandans have accepted homophobia as part of Ugandan culture and so it usually passes without comment and is even encouraged.
Homophobia is a feminist issue because like most oppression under patriarchy, it is based on sexism. The tabloid’s expose focused on a few things to make the insinuation that the men in the story are gay. Most interesting was the focus on how they ” hold each other’s waists†and have ” men only†parties.
First of all, there is nothing wrong with men, whether gay or straight, forming bonds with each other and being affectionate towards each other. The expectation that men should be indifferent toward each other is based on the sexist notion that ” real men†are hard and unemotional which is not only false, but also extremely harmful to men in the long run. The assumption also holds that men’s affection should be saved and only expressed towards womyn and therefore any man who expresses affection towards another man is gay, which is just not true. Bromances are a thing, many men form enduring platonic bonds with other men in which they love and support each other. The reality of relationships among men- both platonic and erotic, challenge this sexist notion everyday.
It is clear that the article was written with the intention of stirring hostility towards the journalist and his ” male pals†because the majority of the Ugandan public and particularly readers of this tabloid are homophobic. Because of this, the responses of most of the men mentioned in it was to either explicitly deny that they are gay or re-affirm their heterosexuality by sharing stories of their ” female conquests.†This is sad but understandable. If I were one of them, however, my response would have been to re-iterate the right of all Ugandans to live and love as they please and to condemn the homophobia inherent in the tabloid story. Even though it might not affect their lives as individuals or might have been levelled against them in error, those homophobic ideas continue to adversely affect the lives of LGBTQ people in Uganda. ” Outing†of queer people by tabloids like this has previously led to assault, homelessness and even death of LGBT people at the hands of violent homophobes. No journalist with any ethics would be proud of endangering people’s lives in this manner, but this is the country we live in.
Finally this article serves as a reminder to Ugandans and Africans generally that it is our duty to call out instances of homophobia, sexism and other forms of oppression that manifest in our lives daily. It is not enough to claim that you are not homophobic/ sexist if you are not actively taking steps to address it among your peers.
Audre Lorde reminds us that none of us is free until we are all free; we should therefore be more concerned with each other’s liberation.
"Male Pals" and Other Harmful Stereotypes
One word, it is our duty! Thank you, Lady!
Excellent work, hopefully these thoughtful views get wider consideration. There is so much debunking work to be done. As long as the business of critically putting apart sexism is not widely known, the prophet is calling in the desert.
I don’t think homophobia in Uganda is entirely rooted stereotypes around masculine friendships, ” hardnessâ€, etc. This is a place where heterosexual men regularly form close friendships, hug and even walk down the street holding hands. Are men in Uganda really falling over themselves to not appear close to other men? I’m skeptical.
I do, however, agree that homophobia in Uganda has a lot to do with men and the sexualised power they wield over women. As you rightly pointed out, the men who were ” accused†of being gay, reaffirmed their heterosexuality by bragging about their ways with women. Power (the essence of what patriarchy is about) here is measured in the language of sex of relationships with women.
I love the Lorde quote you chose. It’s so important (but so often neglected) to stress that that another reason to fight homophobia is that gay people are among us. They are us. We’re not just working towards the liberation of ” othersâ€, we are working towards our own.
Thank you for this piece.
You watch!— Homophobia is going to cause Ugandans to lose the ability for men to walk around holding hands, to be close to each other— not just physically, but emotionally. They will become wooden and stunted, like many American and British men who can’t ever dare to let their machismo down. Some of the best values of Uganda culture are at risk! We African men need to decide whether this fake fear of The Gay is worth losing the real love and joy we have in each other!