Comments on: “Un-African” Homosexuality?

By: Ephilei

Ephilei — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 17:07:47 +0000

Africa, to my knowledge, is the strongest example of cultures having a history of same-sex marriage. When someone says same-sex marriage is new, I always point them to female-female marriages in southern Africa.

One example:
http://www.tribune.com.ng/19062009/opinion.html

By: anteros

anteros — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 01:05:39 +0000

…”un-African” …as though Africa were some distant utopian planet that would crash and burn upon any interaction with anything “alien” (as defined by a loud group of assuming “leaders”). What would Africa look like today, if all things deemed “un-African” were vigorously rejected by African leaders? What would education, healthcare, infrastructure, industry and technology in Africa look like today?

By: anteros

anteros — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 00:47:30 +0000

And so what if it were “un-African” (which it clearly isnt)… should everything deemed “un-African” be criminalized? Is it even possible to define “un-African”, considering the continent’s massive population, its constantly changing cultural and social values and its incredibly vast diversity which includes countless minority groups such as LGBT? Whatever happened to protecting minority groups from discrimination and intolerance from the “majority”? It would seem, judging by the sadder parts of African history… that the protection of African minority groups is “un-African”.

By: Regan DuCasse

Regan DuCasse — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 18:44:09 +0000

Absolutely right Ben. And all those locations more closely resembled Eden than anywhere else on Earth.

First Peoples had a little simpler view of men and women. The considered the fusion of man and woman a blessed thing, not something to fear or abhor.And actually, this shows an understanding of reality in the human world, instead of building artificial boundaries which inevitably can only be challenged just by existence.

It’s a shame that Eastern and African people and Native Americans have been forced to forget that by the influence of Christianity on these cultures.
Certainly has proven to be wasteful and restrictive of otherwise productive and talented people.
Just as religion based misogyny and racism has been wasteful of that same potential in other members of humanity.

By: Ben in Oakland

Ben in Oakland — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 03:58:39 +0000

As with so many “native” cultures, it took Christianity to introduce the idea that some kinds of sex were ok, and all of the others were bad, with homosex being the worst. The very tale of the ugandan king who was going to “rape” all of those young men is probably a good example of how anti-homo Chrsitianity turned something that was probably well accepted into something that was closer to the tale of Sodom than how Uganadans at the time percevied it.

Japan had a highly homoerotic culture among the samurai. and although tye are not particularly homophobic now, neither are they particularly accepting of something that waso nce considered ihghly noble.

Likewise, Hawai’i had the tradition of the ‘aikane, which has been pablumized to “bosom buddy.” I’ll say! ‘ai refers to sex, though it also refers to eating. Kane means man. you do the math.

My understanding is that homosex was considered quite normal in polynesian society, and the mahu, what we would now call transgendered, are still quite accepted in Hawai’i, though actual homosex not so much.

Thanks to the mormons, Samoa and Tonga are now highly homophobic, when they didn’t used to be.

By: Désirée

Désirée — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 19:42:14 +0000

The idea of people essentially being forced to flee their homes for fear of death makes me want to weep. The idea that a place like Simply Blue exists gives me a little hope.