ABSTRACT

Queer Africans in diaspora often reclaim histories obscured by colonialism. Implicit in gay Nigerian activist Bisi Alimi’s influential archival work is an anti-colonial, but strategically essentialist, claim of a historical place for queer African peoples. I submit “historical place” and “(dis)placing” to understand queer disidentifications with historical construction. The risks of strategic essentialism can become epistemological opportunities for identity building. My analysis first traces how strategic essentialism persuasively constructs historical place and then explores how (dis)placing unsettles epistemological constructions of queer African identity. Advocating for a recognition of multiplicity, I encourage scholars to understand (dis)placing as complex vernacular discursive strategy that produces further possibilities for belonging and anti-colonial imagination.

摘要

散居在外的非洲酷儿经常重拾被殖民主义掩盖的历史。尼日利亚同性恋活动家 Bisi Alimi 的有影响力的档案工作隐含着一种反殖民主义但战略上的本质主义，声称为同性恋非洲人民提供了一个历史地位。我提交“历史地点”和“（dis）安置”来理解对历史建构的酷儿不认同。战略本质主义的风险可以成为身份构建的认识论机会。我的分析首先追溯战略本质主义如何有说服力地构建历史场所，然后探讨（置换）放置如何扰乱非洲酷儿身份的认识论构建。提倡承认多样性，