Homophobia in African Music – The P-Square Rant

Recently a member of the popular Nigerian duo P-Square made a homophobic post on Facebook which naturally got shared and liked a bunch of times. What pissed gay people off was that they were slated to perform in Washington DC in the USA (a city which supports gay marriage) and in a gay-friendly club no less. Also annoying is that there have been rumours (some from very credible sources) that one of them is gay. Some Nigerian LGBT activists are trying to put a stop to their tour. 

 

Sex Cells

I spent sometime in DC recently and had quite a bit of fun. My friends took me to the clubs which were nothing short of phenomenal, filled with some of the most beautiful men I’d ever seen. And the gogo dancers! They were packing some of the biggest meat I’d ever seen up close. My mind kept screaming “they are naked men in the club!” as my eyes bulged at the never. I tried to chat up a couple of good-looking men but was shot down every time. I decided to concentrate on having a good time with the friends I came with.  To complete my DC experience, one of the guys took me to an old, nondescript building with a big parking lot which was so full that we eventually had to  park on the street after going round a few times and fighting for spots with a couple of other cars. I kept wondering what exactly was going on inside and making the place so busy. I repeatedly questioned my friend but all he gave me was a very secretive smile and three words: just be patient. When we finally got in (after standing in line for fifteen minutes mind you), I found myself in a seedy house filled with small dark rooms, winding corridors and glory holes. What really surprised me was that the building was filled with the guys I’d seen in the club who had acted like they weren’t interested in talking to anyone. Now they were all smiles and touchy-feely, patrolling this joint like police men on red alert. I’m not sure why this bothered me so much. It’s almost like these guys felt too proud/ashamed/insecure to talk to themselves in public (public here meaning gay bar) but would go to such dark places where  they could have sex without knowing/caring who they were having it with and forget about it tomorrow along with the fact that they may not have used condoms. I kept wondering why such places exist, after all being gay is legal already. What is it that is so attractive about mindless hookups? Was HIV eradicated while I was sleeping? Am I really that vanilla that I don’t get it? Is being gay still a problem for gay black men in the US? Why would anyone choose this over something more meaningful? Even with all the problems I have had with my relationship, I would still choose it over this.

Different strokes for different people. Then again, what do I know, I’m not African-American and I don’t know the struggles they face. I’m glad I had this experience though.

 

 

Kiss The Boys: Serial Killer Targets Gay Men in South Africa

South Africa, known for gold, diamonds, apartheid and Nelson Mandela; is popular in the gay community for many reasons. First, it’s the only country in Africa where GLBT are protected by the law and allowed to marry, with all the well-known tax and other benefits that comes with it. It’s also given us some fabulous porn stars such as Kurt Rogers and Jason Kingsley (yes, the link is SFW). On the other hand, it has become infamous for its high frequency of violence against lesbians and now, the violent murder of gay men. South Africa is actually the country with the second highest number of serial killers (after the United States) according to South African profiler M. Pistorius. The information available on these crimes suggest that they are the work of a serial killer and even more worrying is that the police do not seem any closer to catching him after three years and the killing spree shows no signs of abating. 

 

A Hero Gone Too Soon

source: BBC News

Justin Fashanu, a footballer from 1978-1997, was the first black footballer to be transferred for £1million. He was also the first (and only) footballer in the English Premiership to “come out” (in 1990) even though team mates apparently  knew that he was gay. This happened after he heard a newspaper was going to reveal his sexual orientation and he wanted to beat them to it. However his career was marred by this event and he did not play professional football for six years afterwards (although he had a knee injury during that period). He finally committed suicide in May 1998 after the news broke that he was wanted for questioning by the police regarding a case of sexual assault on a seventeen year old male.