Gay, ngochani, ordaa, gumutete and mwana waEriza: ‘globalised’ and ‘localised’ identity labels among same-sex attracted men in Harare, Zimbabwe

Abstract

Drawing on ethnographic research, this paper explores self-understandings among same-sex attracted men in Harare along with the local terms such men use to refer to themselves as well as their adoption and modification of globally circulating sexual identity labels. All study participants related to some of the labels that are prominent in the present-day, western-inspired global discourse on same-sex relations. However, they were rarely understood in the exact same way that is represented as typical in the ‘west’, indicating that when understandings and labels travel, they are not simply copied and pasted into new contexts. In Harare, being gay was closely interwoven with considerations about one’s gendered self, and many same-sex relations were gender-structured. At the same time, this characteristic appeared to be a matter of emerging dispute, as it was sternly criticised by some. The history of political homophobia in Zimbabwe shone through in many stories and could be identified in some of the local terms used to refer to gay people, some of which had been invented to conceal from outsiders what they laid bare for insiders, and others of which had sting and mocked those in power for ideas and rhetoric perceived to be misguided or bizarre.

KEYWORDS:

• Same-sex
• identities
• gay
• ‘ngochani’
• Zimbabwe

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to the study participants and GALZ. We are also grateful to Michael Drewett who was an academic advisor to the project.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 GALZ is an LGBTI organisation founded around the year 1990. Until 2013, it was known as Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe. The change to just GALZ was made to reflect the diverse identities which the organisation represents.

2 Faculty Higher Degrees Committee, Rhodes University

3 MRCZ/A/2204

4 Within the LGBTI community in Harare, “the Centre” commonly refers to GALZ’s offices. The centre, apart from serving administrative functions for the organisation, also serves as a meeting place for members.

5 Eriza and Eliza are short versions of the name Elizabeth

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the International Association for the Study of Sexuality, Culture and Sexuality (IASSCS) under an IASSCS-Ford Foundation Emerging Scholars International Research Fellow 2016–2017 grant.