While few Francophone African films explore same-sex intimacy, many Francophone African writers have integrated this topic in their novels for a long time. Daniel Vignal (1983) is one of the first scholars who deals with the representation of homosexuality in sub-Saharan Francophone literature. In his pioneer enquiry, Vignal highlights the presence of negative social conceptions and stigmatizing ideas about same-sex sexuality. Drawing on Vignal study, Chris Dunton (1989) offered a similar interpretation few years later. In his important reflection, the author takes into account Francophone and Anglophone examples for elucidating his interpretation. Following these pioneering examinations, other critical readings of Francophone African literary representations of same-sex sexuality confirm previous research results. The negative representation of homosexuality seems to echo social discourses widespread in many African countries, in which same-sex sexuality has been publicly condemned in increasing way over the past years. This communication provides a further perspective on the representation of same-sex intimacy in Francophone African novels and films. The analysis focuses on two novels: Crépuscule du tourment [Twilight of Torment] (2016), by Cameroonian female writer Léonora Miano, De purs hommes [Pure Men] (2018), by Senegalese male writer Mohamed Mbougar Sarr, and one Francophone African film, Dakan (1997), by Guinean male filmmaker Mohamed Camara. The presentation draws on queer and post-colonial studies and sheds light on how these artistic productions reveal the tension between a normative and performative construction of sexual identities on the one hand, and the multiple modalities of resistance enacted by queer and post-colonial subjects, on the other. The presentation explores the dialectic strategies of minoritarian subjects’ resistance, such as African queer people, who situate themselves between intersectional systems of oppression.
Chair: Rémi Tchokothe
Online in Moodle: Institut für Afrikawissenschaften.
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