Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Thesis Format

Alternative Format

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy

Program

French

Supervisor

Chris Roulston

2nd Supervisor

Daniel Vaillancourt

3rd Supervisor

Heather Kirk

Abstract

In Sub-Saharan Africa, homosexuality is an intricate subject, reflecting deep socio-cultural complexities. Following colonization, increased visibility of homosexuality gave rise to controversies that fluctuated between notions deviance and self-assertion.” My thesis approaches this theme through the analysis of four novels: Chuchote pas trop (2005) by Frieda Ekotto, J’attends mon mari (2014) by Karim Deya, Si loin de ma vie (2018) by Monique Ibouldo, and De purs hommes (2018) by Mohamed Mbougar Saar.

Using a range of methodologies that includes theories of performativity and stigmatization, and theories of both collective and individual homosexual embodiment, we will explore the concept of Anti-corporeality in relation to the homosexual-body within the Sub-Saharan African context. This perspective will foreground the range of homoerotic practices before, during, and after colonization while clarifying the conceptual particularities of homosexuality in this region.

Our analysis of the interplay between the social body and the Anti-body will enhance our understanding of the trajectories of homosexual subjects. These journeys reveal a nuanced landscape where silence functions as both a means of escape and a form of resistance against the heteropatriarchal system. However, such resistance often appears ineffective, resulting in identity fluctuations leading the homosexual body towards a European homo-mobility. Europe being perceived as more tolerant.

Summary for Lay Audience

This thesis focuses on the study of the body within the sub-Saharan African context, drawing from four novels: Chuchote pas trop by Frieda Ekotto, J’attends mon mari by Karim Deya, Si loin de ma vie by Monique Ibouldo, and De purs hommes by Mohamed Mbougar Saar. By analysing the trajectories of homosexual bodies in these works, this research aims to explore the stigmatization of these bodies through the concept of Anti-body. The various journeys depicted reveal a nuanced landscape where the homosexual embodiment emerges as both performative, reproducing heteropatriarchal codes, and subversive, challenging the same framework. This dialectic of Anti-bodies triggers an identity fluctuation, leading to a homo-mobility towards Europe.

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