ABSTRACT

Queer identities and non-heteronormative sexualities are increasingly becoming visible globally and Zimbabwe has witnessed an emergent queer mobilization and sexual identities politics. There have been significant attempts to expunge non-heterosexuals from Zimbabwean citizenry by drawing borders on the basis of sexual orientation. Over the years, western and local media have mediated a narrative of a thoroughly homophobic Zimbabwe, not the least emanating from the former president, Robert Mugabe's homophobic utterances which recurrently generated global news stories. A dominant discourse framed homosexual identities as on or beyond the border of what is socially acceptable, whilst the individuals with queer identities have been denied legal protection and status. Predominantly, homophobic sentiments are expressed, often reflecting the view that homosexual identities should not be given space in Zimbabwe, nor should anything associated with it be tolerated. The populist arguments are based on among other things, depicting heterosexuality as ‘natural’, homosexuality as ‘uncultural’ and ‘unChristian’, and stereotyping gay people as licentious. Drawing on ethnographic research, this paper explores how LGBT people in Harare perceive, make sense of and cope with the infamous hate speech, ‘worse than dogs and pigs’, by the former president and the implications of this on their self-perception as they defiantly express a narrative of self-affirmation challenging the marginal status in popularized discourse.

摘要

酷儿身份和非异性恋性行为在全球范围内越来越明显，津巴布韦目睹了新兴的酷儿动员和性身份政治。通过以性取向为基础划定边界，试图从津巴布韦公民中清除非异性恋者。多年来，西方和当地媒体一直在调解津巴布韦彻底仇视同性恋的叙事，尤其是来自前总统罗伯特·穆加贝 (Robert Mugabe) 的仇视同性恋言论，这些言论一再引发全球新闻报道。主流话语将同性恋身份框定为处于或超出社会可接受的边界，而具有酷儿身份的个人则被剥夺了法律保护和地位。主要是表达了恐同情绪，经常反映这样一种观点，即不应在津巴布韦给予同性恋身份，也不应容忍与此相关的任何事情。民粹主义的论点基于其他方面，将异性恋描述为“自然的”，将同性恋描述为“非文化的”和“非基督教的”，并将同性恋者定型为放荡的。本文借鉴人种学研究，探讨了哈拉雷的 LGBT 人群如何看待、理解和应对臭名昭著的仇恨言论，“比狗和猪更糟糕，前总统以及这对他们的自我认知的影响，因为他们勇敢地表达了一种自我肯定的叙述，挑战了大众话语中的边缘地位。