Boy-wives and Female Husbands - Studies in African Homosexualities (Hardcover)

Claims concerning the presence and status of homosexuality in historic African cultures have become central points of contention in debates among contemporary African Americans. Some of those involved in the debate have even asserted that the original languages of Africa contained no words for gay or lesbian, therefore concluding that they did not exist. This text offers a balanced work on African sexuality, and contains perspectives from the fields of anthropology and history, along with extensive evidence from ethnographic and literary sources. The essays explore such topics as woman woman marriages, early reports of Malagasy "berdaches", male homosexuality in contemporary West Africa, alternative gender identities among the Swahili, the regulation of sexuality in colonial Zimbabwe, and the portrayals of homosexuality in modern African literature.;The book os aimed at departments of gender studies; sociology; anthropology; history; African studies; and literature.