Second post for my Love and Afrofeminism series for BITCH Magazine: "That my girl could mindlessly shimmy onto a dance floor even as a gay woman and enjoy the simple pleasure of a dance, go out with her straight friends to bars and not be stared at or called names,…
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Afrofeminism - Blog - Gender and LGBT Issues - Love and Afrofeminism - Special Series - The Political, Personalized - Writing and Guest Blogging
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Blog - Gender and LGBT Issues - Guest Posts - Love Is My Revolution - Special Series - The Political, Personalized
Lessons Learned from a Straight African Woman: Homophobia is UnChristian
Love Is My Revolution: A few weeks ago, I shared a short photo essay about my best friend, ChiChi. We'd been estranged for four years due to my sexuality and her Christian faith. Recently, we reunited to find our friendship changed for the better. Given the ongoing battle between religion…
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A Word to the Wise On The Culture of Naming (and Divisive Labels)
I decided to tweet about "The Culture of Naming" one evening, and am sharing the archive via this post. My main point was that naming can be as powerful as it can be silencing, and that we should consider the purpose of them before blanket use; for affinity groups, naming…
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No More Denying: Embracing Positivity for Lent and Spending 40 Days on LOVE!
For Lent, I'm trying something different this year; in place of denying myself physical pleasures, I'm ridding myself of ingratitude and negativity. I'll be sharing daily positive reflections and affirmations via my Facebook Page & Twitter Handle (@spectraspeaks), and invite you all to share yours as well. I plan to…
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Challenging Gender Binaries in the Motherland: Could Transgender and Intersex Activism Unite Africa’s Movements?
The existence of LGBT Africans ultimately challenges the view that Africans are naturally attracted to people of the opposite sex (i.e. the Homosexuality is UnAfrican mantra). However, this pigeon-holes the entire continent — straight and LGBT Africans alike — into addressing homophobia from just one angle: sexual orientation. The danger…