Heterosexual Africa? - The History of an Idea from the Age of Exploration to the Age of AIDS (Paperback)

Heterosexual Africa? The History of an idea from the age of exploration to the age of AIDS explores the historical processes by which a singular, heterosexual identity for Africa was constructed. Epprecht argues that Africans, just like people all over the world, have always had a range of sexualities and sexual identities. Heterosexual Africa? aims to understand an enduring stereotype about Africa and Africans. It asks how Africa came to be defined as a "homosexual-free zone" during the colonial era, and how this idea not only survived the transition to independence but flourished under conditions of globalisation and early panicky responses to HIV/AIDS. In this timely volume, Epprecht examines a number of issues concerning sexuality and the construction of sexual identities that have largely been overlooked by studies of African ethnology in the past.