The Wide Margin's second issue on the 'black African body' is an exploration of various topics on... more The Wide Margin's second issue on the 'black African body' is an exploration of various topics on the body by feminist writers of African descent. Our bodies are central to our existence. They signify our presence or absence in/from material and ideological spaces, and are integral to our corporeal experiences. Our lived experiences throughout life are as varied as life itself, unconfined to or within a singular context. Read more in the document.
Feminism has often been distorted or co-opted by media, by religion, by capitalism, and by patria... more Feminism has often been distorted or co-opted by media, by religion, by capitalism, and by patriarchy. Many Africans avoid associating themselves with feminism. The claim that feminist ideals and projects “are not our culture” is often parroted as a stodgy excuse to disengage with feminism. But, as shown in Silence is a Woman by Wambui Mwangi, ‘Transversal Politics’ by Nira YuvalDavis, We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, amongst others, the concept of “culture” is fraught, and, while often in an antagonistic patriarchal relationship with women’s , lives, culture also provides an archive and site of articulation for women’s transgenerational quests for sovereignty, autonomy, freedom, and pleasure.
The Wide Margin’s inaugural issue seeks to imagine living a feminist life while African, thinking and creating through and beyond the work already done by the many feminists working in East Africa, and Africa as a whole as well as its diaspora. What is it that African women and men mean and aspire to when they say “I am a feminist”? What misgivings, and perhaps misunderstandings, about feminism, are revealed when people refuse or reject feminism?
ICT is a newly prevalent, but under-researched phenomenon in Africa, especially in the sphere of ... more ICT is a newly prevalent, but under-researched phenomenon in Africa, especially in the sphere of governance.
Sex Politics: Trends & Tensions In the 21st Century – Contextual Undercurrents, 2019
"This chapter in Volume 2 of Sex Politics is written by Varyanne Sika and Awino Okech, on behalf ... more "This chapter in Volume 2 of Sex Politics is written by Varyanne Sika and Awino Okech, on behalf of the Coalition of African Lesbians (CAL). The chapter begins with a re-capturing of an African Queer Manifesto, written in 2011 that develops a sharp critique of neo-colonial categories of identity and power, and ends by making explicit the position on sexual politics articulated by CAL. This standpoint squarely places struggles for sexuality rights within a Pan Africanist frame of self-determination in sexual, social, economic and political terms. This chapter also offers a concise and rich overview of African feminist writing on sexuality and identity that goes beyond social science bibliography to also give visibility to literature (poetry as well as fiction). This shows how contemporary African feminisms, while investing in theory and ground-level politics, are also engaged in exploring and valuing joy and pleasure as expressions of queer livelihoods and resistance. The chapter pushes further the critique of global LGBTI politics framed on the basis of identity and the biases that it implies. The chapter also scrutinizes how the insistent Western gaze on what is described as African homophobia provides North American and European LGBT subjects with an ideational platform to praise “their own emancipation against the foil of the subaltern other”. Analyses in this chapter also shows how the obsessive attention to violations of the human rights of LGBTI persons in Africa – in the Western media, but also in the discourse of international organizations –contributes to erase positive legal and policy gains achieved in recent years and, most principally, undercuts the agency of African queers in resisting various forms of oppression. In respect to organizing, the authors address the always difficult question of how funding can be de-politicizing and call for an intersectional politics on gender and sexuality that does not leave aside the economic and social dimensions of queer livelihoods." - Editors' note by Sonia Corrêa & Richard Parker
The Wide Margin's second issue on the 'black African body' is an exploration of various topics on... more The Wide Margin's second issue on the 'black African body' is an exploration of various topics on the body by feminist writers of African descent. Our bodies are central to our existence. They signify our presence or absence in/from material and ideological spaces, and are integral to our corporeal experiences. Our lived experiences throughout life are as varied as life itself, unconfined to or within a singular context. Read more in the document.
Feminism has often been distorted or co-opted by media, by religion, by capitalism, and by patria... more Feminism has often been distorted or co-opted by media, by religion, by capitalism, and by patriarchy. Many Africans avoid associating themselves with feminism. The claim that feminist ideals and projects “are not our culture” is often parroted as a stodgy excuse to disengage with feminism. But, as shown in Silence is a Woman by Wambui Mwangi, ‘Transversal Politics’ by Nira YuvalDavis, We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, amongst others, the concept of “culture” is fraught, and, while often in an antagonistic patriarchal relationship with women’s , lives, culture also provides an archive and site of articulation for women’s transgenerational quests for sovereignty, autonomy, freedom, and pleasure.
The Wide Margin’s inaugural issue seeks to imagine living a feminist life while African, thinking and creating through and beyond the work already done by the many feminists working in East Africa, and Africa as a whole as well as its diaspora. What is it that African women and men mean and aspire to when they say “I am a feminist”? What misgivings, and perhaps misunderstandings, about feminism, are revealed when people refuse or reject feminism?
ICT is a newly prevalent, but under-researched phenomenon in Africa, especially in the sphere of ... more ICT is a newly prevalent, but under-researched phenomenon in Africa, especially in the sphere of governance.
Sex Politics: Trends & Tensions In the 21st Century – Contextual Undercurrents, 2019
"This chapter in Volume 2 of Sex Politics is written by Varyanne Sika and Awino Okech, on behalf ... more "This chapter in Volume 2 of Sex Politics is written by Varyanne Sika and Awino Okech, on behalf of the Coalition of African Lesbians (CAL). The chapter begins with a re-capturing of an African Queer Manifesto, written in 2011 that develops a sharp critique of neo-colonial categories of identity and power, and ends by making explicit the position on sexual politics articulated by CAL. This standpoint squarely places struggles for sexuality rights within a Pan Africanist frame of self-determination in sexual, social, economic and political terms. This chapter also offers a concise and rich overview of African feminist writing on sexuality and identity that goes beyond social science bibliography to also give visibility to literature (poetry as well as fiction). This shows how contemporary African feminisms, while investing in theory and ground-level politics, are also engaged in exploring and valuing joy and pleasure as expressions of queer livelihoods and resistance. The chapter pushes further the critique of global LGBTI politics framed on the basis of identity and the biases that it implies. The chapter also scrutinizes how the insistent Western gaze on what is described as African homophobia provides North American and European LGBT subjects with an ideational platform to praise “their own emancipation against the foil of the subaltern other”. Analyses in this chapter also shows how the obsessive attention to violations of the human rights of LGBTI persons in Africa – in the Western media, but also in the discourse of international organizations –contributes to erase positive legal and policy gains achieved in recent years and, most principally, undercuts the agency of African queers in resisting various forms of oppression. In respect to organizing, the authors address the always difficult question of how funding can be de-politicizing and call for an intersectional politics on gender and sexuality that does not leave aside the economic and social dimensions of queer livelihoods." - Editors' note by Sonia Corrêa & Richard Parker
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Papers by Varyanne Sika
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quests for sovereignty, autonomy, freedom, and pleasure.
The Wide Margin’s inaugural issue seeks to imagine living a feminist life while African, thinking and creating through and beyond the work already done by the many feminists working in East Africa, and Africa as a whole as well as its diaspora.
What is it that African women and men mean and aspire to when they say “I am a feminist”? What misgivings, and perhaps misunderstandings, about feminism, are revealed when people refuse or reject feminism?
Books by Varyanne Sika
(CAL). The chapter begins with a re-capturing of an African Queer Manifesto, written in 2011 that develops a sharp critique of neo-colonial categories of identity and power, and ends by making explicit the position on sexual politics articulated by CAL. This standpoint squarely places struggles for sexuality rights within a Pan Africanist frame of self-determination in sexual, social, economic and political terms.
This chapter also offers a concise and rich overview of African feminist writing on sexuality and identity that goes beyond social science bibliography to also give visibility to literature (poetry as well as fiction). This shows how contemporary African feminisms, while investing in theory and ground-level politics, are also engaged in exploring and valuing joy and pleasure as expressions of queer livelihoods and resistance. The chapter pushes further the critique of global LGBTI politics framed on the basis of identity and the biases that it implies. The chapter also scrutinizes how the insistent Western gaze on what is described as African homophobia provides North American and European LGBT subjects with an ideational platform to praise “their own emancipation against the foil of the subaltern other”. Analyses in this chapter also shows how the obsessive attention to violations of the human rights of LGBTI persons in Africa – in the Western media, but also in the discourse of international organizations –contributes to erase positive legal and policy gains achieved in recent years and, most principally, undercuts the agency of African queers in resisting various forms of oppression. In respect to organizing, the authors address the always difficult question of how funding can be de-politicizing and call for an intersectional politics on gender and sexuality that does not leave aside the economic and social dimensions of queer livelihoods." - Editors' note by Sonia Corrêa & Richard Parker
(Authors are listed within the document)
quests for sovereignty, autonomy, freedom, and pleasure.
The Wide Margin’s inaugural issue seeks to imagine living a feminist life while African, thinking and creating through and beyond the work already done by the many feminists working in East Africa, and Africa as a whole as well as its diaspora.
What is it that African women and men mean and aspire to when they say “I am a feminist”? What misgivings, and perhaps misunderstandings, about feminism, are revealed when people refuse or reject feminism?
(CAL). The chapter begins with a re-capturing of an African Queer Manifesto, written in 2011 that develops a sharp critique of neo-colonial categories of identity and power, and ends by making explicit the position on sexual politics articulated by CAL. This standpoint squarely places struggles for sexuality rights within a Pan Africanist frame of self-determination in sexual, social, economic and political terms.
This chapter also offers a concise and rich overview of African feminist writing on sexuality and identity that goes beyond social science bibliography to also give visibility to literature (poetry as well as fiction). This shows how contemporary African feminisms, while investing in theory and ground-level politics, are also engaged in exploring and valuing joy and pleasure as expressions of queer livelihoods and resistance. The chapter pushes further the critique of global LGBTI politics framed on the basis of identity and the biases that it implies. The chapter also scrutinizes how the insistent Western gaze on what is described as African homophobia provides North American and European LGBT subjects with an ideational platform to praise “their own emancipation against the foil of the subaltern other”. Analyses in this chapter also shows how the obsessive attention to violations of the human rights of LGBTI persons in Africa – in the Western media, but also in the discourse of international organizations –contributes to erase positive legal and policy gains achieved in recent years and, most principally, undercuts the agency of African queers in resisting various forms of oppression. In respect to organizing, the authors address the always difficult question of how funding can be de-politicizing and call for an intersectional politics on gender and sexuality that does not leave aside the economic and social dimensions of queer livelihoods." - Editors' note by Sonia Corrêa & Richard Parker