Queer is Not Un-African: Debunking a Dangerous Myth

The claim that queerness is “un-African” or a Western import is a deeply harmful myth used to justify homophobia, discrimination, and even violence across the continent.

Yet, this notion is not only historically inaccurate—it is also a colonial relic that continues to cause immense damage to LGBTIQ+ Africans and their human rights.

Across Africa, governments and religious leaders often cite “tradition” or “African values” when pushing anti-LGBTIQ+ laws or rhetoric. From Uganda’s anti-homosexuality legislation to Ghana’s proposed “Family Values” bill, the argument remains the same: that same-sex love and gender diversity are foreign impositions. But historical records prove otherwise.

Pre-colonial African societies were not monolithic, and many embraced or at least tolerated sexual and gender diversity and fluidity, as has been documented across the continent.

In the Kingdom of Buganda (modern-day Uganda), King Mwanga II, who reigned in the late 19th century, is reputed to have had male lovers and openly defied the heteronormative expectations imposed by British colonisers and Christian missionaries.

In Southern Africa, intimacy between men in various forms was recognised and even accepted among groups such as the Khoikhoi, while Ndebele society saw effeminate men taking on healing and spiritual roles.

The San people, who’ve lived in the region for thousands of years, were also known to engage in same-sex intimacy, with one famous rock painting near Guruve, Zimbabwe, illustrating three men engaging in sex.

The Azande people of Central Africa had institutionalised relationships between older warriors and younger men as an accepted form of mentorship and intimacy that predated European contact.

Furthermore, the Yoruba, one of Africa’s largest ethnic groups, have historically recognised non-binary identities. The term yan daudu in Hausa-speaking parts of Nigeria refers to effeminate men or gender-diverse individuals, who traditionally held roles in religious ceremonies and society long before colonial morality criminalised their existence.

Let’s also not forget that marriages between women have also been a part of customary marriage rites for centuries in more than 40 societies in West Africa. While not necessarily romantic, these unions have allowed women to take on traditionally male gender roles.

What colonialism did bring were the anti-sodomy laws still embedded in the penal codes of many African nations today. These laws, typically rooted in Victorian-era Christianity and British imperialism, have since been repackaged as “African values,” despite their origins in European moralism.

The West continues to fuel queerphobia in Africa, largely through American-based religious hate groups and evangelical movements.

By denying the existence of queer Africans, these myths not only distort history but also strip people of their right to dignity, identity, and safety. They isolate LGBTIQ+ individuals from their communities and fuel societal rejection and violence.

Being queer is not un-African. What is truly un-African is the legacy of colonialism that continues to suppress the continent’s own diverse histories of love, identity, and humanity.