POLITICIZING SEX IN CONTEMPORARY AFRICA, homophobia in Malawi

306pp., paperback, Reprint, Cambridge, (2019) 2020

Ashley Currier on how homophobia has been used by political elites in Malawi to consolidate their moral and political authority and divide the HIV/AIDS, human rights, LGBT rights and women's rights movements.

"'Homophobia in Africa' (and the Global South generally) is commonly portrayed in blanket, simplistic, and even racist terms based on isolated worst-case scenarios ... Using Malawi as a case study, Currier gives a most welcome antidote to that nonsense. She enriches our understanding of how and why homophobia is mobilised for political purposes in specific circumstances that are subject to change over time and context. With a keen and empathetic eye and a powerful story-telling style, she sheds light on the complexity of this 'scavenging ideology'" Marc Epprecht, Queens University, and editor (with S.N. Nyeck) of Sexual Diversity in Africa  

 "Carefully researched and making extensive use of primary sources, Currier’s book makes a significant contribution to sociology by expanding the reach of the discipline to sub-Saharan African countries and provides a number of tools for thinking about how elites in postcolonial states deploy politicized homophobia to solidify their authority. Countering Afro-pessimism, the book shows that homophobia is not an inherent trait of African countries, and through detailed analysis of its rise and use, offers knowledge beneficial to combatting it." Rachel Sullivan Robinson, American Journal of Sociology

Ashley Currier is Professor of Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at the University of Cincinnati. She is the author of Out in Africa: LGBT organizing in Namibia and South Africa (2012).