Call for contributions: Uganda’s Gay-Hating Bill and Global Battles

Outliers is calling for contributions.

Uganda’s Gay-Hating Bill and Global Battles The anti- homosexuality bill introduced in Uganda in October 2009 sparked off wide-spread outrage, condemnation and, in certain quarters (and not only Uganda), massive support among defenders of the authoritarian, gay-hating status quo. Among many on the left, both in the west and in Africa, the Bill testifies mainly to a backwardness that critics thankfully believe is alien to their own countries. So, certain South Africans heaved a sigh of relief in the belief that South Africa, unlike Uganda, is a country gays, lesbian, intersexed and transgender rights are firmly protected. Similarly, in the West, the zeal with which certain donor organizations, NGO workers and activists launched the battle to defend human rights violations in Uganda speaks volumes about their complacent belief in their guaranteed freedoms.  Ironically, the gay-hating mindset from which proponents of the Uganda bill take their cue, (especially the Christian fundamentalism that the homophobic zealots in Uganda presently express) draws directly on certain philosophies in the West: the obsession with “natural” African sexuality as patriarchal and heterosexual is a colonial prescription. And it’s a prescription that many Africans have tragically embraced. The current neo-fundamentalist Christian obsession with patriarchal and heterosexist morality, family structure and values has been directly fueling the rhetoric and beliefs of many gay-hating Ugandans today. For radical African gays and other progressives committed to all forms of imperial, racist, homophobic violence and othering, the Bill raises two sets of issues: 1 – to confront the Ugandan Bill as a global problem with global repercussions 2 - to use vibrant and outspoken ways to speak about the Bill not simply as “expressing homophobia”, but as promoting sustained hatred and violence. 3 – to raise debate about global systems that currently work to reproduce homophobia and authoritarianism throughout the world. This issue of Outliers provides a forum for wide-ranging writing addressing these themes. Radical gays, lesbians, transgender and intersexed people, (especially from Africa) as well as other progressives are invited to submit essays, opinion pieces, interviews and writings in any genres. 

Submit brief biographical details and paper (800 words – 2 000 words) by August 30, 2010 Submit to: Desiree Lewis .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) and send a copy to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). Note: email subject should include the following: The author’s initials, the mention OutliersV.4, and title of the submission - as in “DLewis_OutliersV.4_Understanding the Bill…” or “SNyeck_OutliersV4._Politics of….

Source: International Resource Network