When Europe set forth to colonize the globe over the past five centuries, they brought with them a host of weapons to destroy the integrity of peoples far older than them. Among the artillery in their arsenal were religious doctrine, which — among other things — decreed the LGBTQ community in violation of the law, subject to persecution, imprisonment, and death.
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Though most nations regained their independence, the damage was done: the history had been whitewashed, traditions lost and destroyed, and what remained was the stain of European injustice and bigotry. Today, in the 54 nations recognized by the African Union and the United Nation, homosexuality is illegal in 34 countries, and the death penalty operable in four states.
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In 2001, Steph O. Murray published Boy Wives & Female Husbands: Studies of African Homosexualities, the first book on the subject to draw upon anthropology, history, ethnographic, and literary sources to provide a well-researched look at what has long been a volatile subject of discourse in African communities.
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Years later, photographer Yannis Guibinga decided to create visual narratives inspired by the subjects featured in the book for his series Boy Wives & Female Husbands to create a connection between the spaces that LGBTQ and non-binary communities occupied in African societies, both then and now. Originally from Libreville, Gabon, Guibinga is now based in Montreal, Canada, where he made the series of work. Here, he reflects on the importance of visibility and representation of identities on the African continent and its diaspora.
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