African Studies Keywords: Queer

“Queer” is a relatively recent and somewhat controversial term in African studies. Yet it is proving to be productive, not only for understanding African subjectivities of sexuality and gender, but also Africa’s position in the larger economy of knowledge. This essay explores the productive tensions between “queer” and “Africa,” and aims to read Africa as queer and to read queer from Africa. Thus, rather than imagining Africa and queer as polar opposites, the essay harnesses the critical, productive, and creative affinities between these two terms that are vital for the project of decolonizing and queering queer Africa.