Boy-Wives and Female Husbands: Studies of African Homosexualities [Paperback]

Prof. Will Roscoe (Author), Stephen O. Murray (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0312238290 | ISBN-13: 978-0312238292 | Publication Date: February 3, 2001

Claims concerning the presence and status of homosexuality in historic African cultures have become central points of contention in debates among contemporary African Americans. Some of those involved in the debate have even asserted that the original languages of Africa contained no words for gay or lesbian, therefore concluding that they did not exist. As the first work of its kind on the subject, Boy-Wives and Female-Husbands answers an urgent need for accurate, well-researched, and balanced work on African sexuality. It offers perspectives from the fields of anthropology and history, along with extensive evidence from ethnographic and literary sources. The essays explore such topics as woman-woman marriages, early reports of Malagasy "berdaches," male homosexuality in contemporary West Africa, alternative gender identities among the Swahili, the regulation of sexuality in colonial Zimbabwe, and the portrayals of homosexuality in modern African literature. Bound to be an invaluable resource for discussions of traditional and contemporary African cultures, Boy-Wives and Female-Husbands is a book whose time has clearly come.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Among the most persistent European myths about Africa, explain the editors of this anthology, is that homosexuality is "absent or incidental" in African societies. Since black Africans were felt to be the most primitive of people--the closest to nature--it followed that they must be the most heterosexual, their "sexual energies and outlets devoted exclusively to their 'natural' purpose: biological reproduction." That the field work of early anthropologists didn't always support this assumption merely led researchers to suppress their findings, or to fail to inquire too closely of subjects who were reluctant, in any case, to discuss their sexual lives with outsiders. The contributors to this volume argue convincingly that even native denials of homosexuality are often politically motivated (the sexual values of the West having permeated most of these cultures), and should be regarded as skeptically as the accounts of Western anthropologists, who in most cases have not seriously investigated same-sex patterns, "failing to report what they do observe, and discounting what they report." In the essays collected here, dating from the colonial period to the present and covering the major regions of black Africa, evidence of same-sex marriages, cross-dressing, role reversal, and premarital peer homosexuality challenges the myth and calls for further study. --Regina Marler --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

“The myth that homosexuality in Africa is nonexistent, incidental, or the result of Western influence is unequivocally refuted in this though-provoking book.” —Library Journal

“Defying the homophobia common in some parts of today's Africa, then, and challenging heterosexual-bound conceptions of parenthood, Murray and Roscoe have given birth to a new area of study...this book is not only an intellectual achievement-it is an act of courage on the part of both editors and contributors.” —International Journal of African Historical Studies

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Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan (February 3, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312238290
• ISBN-13: 978-0312238292
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #426,899 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

43 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Eye Opening Book, April 27, 2000

By 

Mr. Labrosse (Houston, Texas USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Boy-Wives and Female-Husbands: Studies in African Homosexualities (Hardcover)

Here is a book with oral histories and folklore tales from ethnographers that went to Africa. The book is an eyeopening one into the sexuality aspect of Africans often challenging theories of sexuality. It is an excellent book to answer to the question of How & Why Does Same Sex Sexual Behavior Varies Cross Culturally? It was writing an essay on this topic that got me to this book, I have always wanted to know about this issue since there has been a lot of denial from African colleagues but once I have read the first few pages of the book that 'denial' and "shh" feelings that exist within many Africans, was brought to light. The same smoothness and revelation is experienced throughout the book. The book seperates Africa into four regional sections to illustrate the diversity of African culture within that vast continent. It is very easy to read and simple too. If you are a book worm, you will love this one. It is the book for History, Anthropology or Gender Study students or those with interest in the above mention + Sexuality. The book now occupies a special place in my selective collection, get one too, I am sure there will be no regrets!

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome geographical and historical range!, November 29, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Boy-Wives and Female-Husbands: Studies in African Homosexualities (Hardcover)

The first book to attempt to survey homosexualities across (sub-Saharan) Africa is also a very good one. At a time when certain East African leaders are trying to hold onto power by scapegoating homosexuality as "un-African," Murray and Roscoe show that there are and have been a wide range of roles in "traditional" African cultures for those who love persons of their own sex. Once this is established - and it is established beyond any reasonable doubt - most readers will probably be more interested in the parts of the book dealing with contemporary individuals (including a young Kikuyu's male's memoir, Amory's chapter on the changing conceptions on the Swahili coast, and an explanation of the view in Lesotho and elsewherre that two women cannot have "sex," so that their physical relations are not seen as "sexual").

The book concludes by looking at the "social construction" of homosexualities by cross-tabulating societies with a kind of homosexuality (with relationships structured by age, structured by gender, or more-or-less egalitarian ones) with other structures (e.g., of inheritance, postpartum taboos) in the same societies. No absolute, categorical patterns emerge. I.e., there are correlations, but no clear "if x, then homosexuality y" conclusions.

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful resource, July 13, 2003

By 

Afdhere Jama, author of ILLEGAL CITIZENS (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Boy-Wives and Female-Husbands: Studies in African Homosexualities (Hardcover)

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"Boy-Wives and Female-Husbands: Studies of African Homosexualities" is a wonderful resource for those interested in learning African homosexualities. I gave it four stars because there is little about Somali homosexuality but the book is perfect. It goes from coast to coast and all in between.

I didn't know much about African homosexuality before I bought this book. Now I'm familiar with my home continent's homosexual "tendecies." :-)

I bought a few copies for friends as gifts and they loved it. Some of them have told me it read more like novels than a cultural study, which it is. It is fascinating to the last note. Enjoy, darlings.