Muslim & Queer
I started wearing hijab when I was around three years old. It was both cultural and religious, so I never questioned it and wore it on and off until I […]
Category Archives: Sexuality
Gay Nigerians targeted as ‘un-African’
Despite evidence of homosexual customs pre-dating the colonial era, intolerant laws are flourishing across Africa. Abuja, Nigeria – Fourteen years ago, at the age of 19, Ifeanyi Orazulike could no […]
Senegal’s Secret Shame
But behind the smiles and occasional loud laughter lies a troubling nightmare that Ndiaye has to live with. It’s not the worry of living with a terminal illness or threat […]
After God Is The Condom: Sexual Health In Nigeria
Bassey Ngehaje does not have a problem using condoms. When that moment approaches, when he’s aroused in the company of an alluring woman, Bassey pulls out a condom and puts […]
African Homosexual Demon
This is not an essay. A few days ago, Kenyan novelist, Wainaina Binyavanga, tweeted a set of remarks he called “a brief scientific history of demons.” Aaron Bady of New Inquiry compiled and edited them into […]
African Men Don’t Do Feminists
Ask an African man what he thinks about feminists. Go ahead, and record their answers so you can email it to me later. I like a good laugh to start […]
The Gaze On Black Bodies
For her exhibition “Archival Impulse & Poverty Pornography”, Ayana V Jackson turns to the archives to touch on the representation of black bodies. The flyers pasted around the cobbled streets […]
Tanzania’s Booty Dance
I don’t like to call it that, “a booty” dance, but it got your attention. I’m presently in Tanzania as part of a reporting fellowship and I was talking to […]
Heaven On Earth? Maidens Made In Tanga Tanzania
Tanzanian freelance journalist, Erick Kabendera, writes about the traditions and customs in Tanzania’s Tanga region related to women and sexuality. Tanga women pass down ideas to girls on how a […]
It Happened To Me
I got a job in New York City a few years ago. I was new to the American North; I still reeked of the South. Pillsbury biscuits, Georgian peaches and […]
Fish Soup As Love Potions
The River Oyono is like a smoky-grey cloak animated by a strong wind. It is, in fact, only a small conceited river that embraces the Atlantic Ocean for a passionate […]
Where The Vagina Counts
Mothers lay their daughters on mattresses, spread their legs as wide as “Vs,” push their fingers inside their daughters’ vaginas and measure the depth of entry into the soft mounds […]
