Homosexuality/ Gayness: The Kenyan context

Kenyan MPs' caucus recently caused a stir in parliament trying to publish an anti homosexual bill. To their dismay the parliament refused to discuss such matters terming it as illegal even to discuss in the house. That threw the spanner in the wax. Among their proposals was stoning of any foreigner found engaging in homosexual acts(To them it appears that foregners are the ones teaching the young men). Further life imprisonment of any Kenyan found engaging in homosexual acts(The prisons? really?)

The London marriage of Kenyan gay couple was landmark among the gay community who saw it as a big step towards recognition of their rights. “Although, they have wedded in London, it is a step forward and it won’t be long before Kenyans stop thinking it irrational and unfounded,” says one fiery gay who requested anonymity for fear of victimization. In this paper I will take the issue of homosexuality on two perspectives: Children and adolescents(Discovery age that is full of adventures)Adults(persons who make well informed choices and are aware of what they are doing)

Children and Adolescents
Certain types of same-sex activity were tolerated in tribal tradition, but only as childish behaviors unworthy of an initiate. In tribes where initiation involves long periods of separation from female contact along with powerful emphasis on male group bonding (Maasai), situational homosexuality is not uncommon. When limited to mutual self-pleasuring, it is regarded as merely unmanly. Oral or anal intercourse can, however, result in expulsion from the age set, severe beatings, and disgrace.

Urban poverty has created an underclass of abandoned street youth, almost all male, ranging in age from 7 to the late teens. These “parking boys” survive by protecting parking spots, begging, petty crime, and scrounging for garbage. Though the older protect the younger, situational homosexuality is normative.

Adults
Self-identified gay Africans exist in Kenya, although homosexual activity is not unknown. There are no homosexual gender roles, such as the berdache in Native American societies, or the effeminate gà’tuhy of Thailand. Because homosexuality profoundly violates the traditional social pattern, it has been tabooed to the point that subcultural social norms have never developed. However this does not mean the homosexual community is small a quick preview on the social dating site shows Kenya has upto 10,000active gays though many live double personality lives in the fear of being found out. One finds some nonpenetrative homosexual behavior among Maasai askaris (guards) who have migrated to Nairobi or the coast. They more oftenly fondled each other in the night as they guarded many claimed to be looking for warmth.

Kenya has retained many aspects of the colonial British penal code, and homosexuality continues to be illegal as a “crime against nature.” It is regarded with disdain and disgust by the majority of the population, and persons arrested for homosexual activity are treated harshly by the police. In some traditions (e.g., Kikuyu), homosexuality could be punished by death. However one striking factor is that more openly gay men are Kikuyus this is by fact that they stay mostly in the urban areas and their economic activities keep them away from their wives for long. A disturbing trend is that there are youths at the age of 13-18 who are actively gay sexual partners this can be linked to the fact that they belong to the same ageset thus they were circumcised together. Further reading on Kikuyu circumcision practises will enable one understand better why the youths are more curious after circumcision

Kenyans discriminate against same-sex behaviors. Self-pleasuring with a partner or spouse present is regarded as childish, but relatively harmless, particularly between friends. While socially and legally tabooed, playing the inserter role in same-sex acts does not define a man as homosexual. Accepting insertion, especially in anal intercourse, is regarded with extreme disgust. In addition to that most homosexual men who act as bottoms(accept insertion) are held with low self esteem while the inserter is held high as a hero. This is however a stereotypic behaviour, majorly fueled by male chauvinism since the bottom is normally viewed as a woman.

There are no gay venues as such though gays have identified some pubs where they frequently meet. Kenya has no overt gay presence although this is because many are closet gays and bisexuals in marriages. in A small white, predominantly British, homosexual society exists in Nairobi, although over years Kenyans have been more assertive and come out to own up to the fact that they are gay. Most expatriate white homosexuals avoid African partners because of the drastic consequences, and confine themselves to sexual activity on trips to Europe. On the contrary due to poverty and fear of victimization many gay kenyans go after whites so that they can get gifts and money in return. This has led to a good number of them being kept in the houses as sex partners.

Male prostitutes are readily available on the streets of Nairobi,Mombasa,Kisumu, Eldoret usually catering to tourists and married men. They are well dressed in order to be able to enter international hotels. Male prostitution serving an African clientele does not seem to exist, this does not mean there aren't african clienteles . The prostitutes themselves are probably bisexual, many having girlfriends or wives, and consider themselves heterosexual. All religious groups abhor homosexuality and condone its complete suppression. There are gay activist and support groups in Kenya although they have not been very assertive. It is only in the recent past that they have come to be recognised as key stakeholders in the fight of HIV and AIDS, any gay publications are held in their offices and not in public libraries for public perusals. Foreign gay publications are proscribed.

Lesbian and bisexual relationships are either so rare or so hidden as to be unnoticeable. The “woman-to-woman” marriage should not be confused with lesbianism, even if an occasional sexual exchange may occur.

Homosexuality is often ascribed to the coastal Swahili, Arabs, and Muslims generally as a racist slur, and the few Africans involved are said to be exploited by these groups. The sexual act in these accounts is always sodomy, which, as an image of rape and political dominance, effectively excludes mutuality in same-sex relationships. Male homosexuality is politically interpreted in terms of racist, anti-black exploitation by whites (former colonial masters) and Arabs (former slavers).

This pattern, both expatriate and African, is typical of sub-Saharan Africa except for the Republic of South Africa. Although the dramatic AIDS pandemic has generated interest in research on same-sex behavior, almost no such research has been done in Africa. A 1995 study indicated that such research is almost unknown in sub-Saharan Africa. In Kenya, all survey research designs must be approved by the Office of the President, a sufficient damper on any same-sex studies. The National AIDS Programme has no literature or outreach to homosexuals in Kenya, although last year it had the interest of doing a gay census after indicators showed that most male youths were exposed to adventurous sex.

The imposition of Western social notions of homosexual/gay patterns tends to obscure any true picture of same-sex activities in Africa. To say that there is no organized gay community in Kenya does not mean that there is no homosexual activity. There are cliques of men who are predominantly or exclusively homosexual, but who limit their sexual activities to their acquaintance group. In this sense, in urban concentrations such as Nairobi and Mombasa, these serve as homosexual analogs to age-set groups. Occasionally, one finds a group organized as a brotherhood or fraternity, a form of homosexual support group providing casual, although not promiscuous, pairings. A 1995 survey indicated that violent assault was either likely or possible for homosexuals in Africa—at 69%, the highest in the Third World. This helps to explain the closed nature of homosexual society in Kenya and other African countries.

Gender Diversity and Transgender Issues
Gender-conflicted persons are regarded as homosexuals and treated as criminals. Suppression is so complete as to make such persons, to the extent that they exist, invisible.

Kenyan traditional societies did not provide for special gender roles. During the independence movement, sodomy was practiced by some in the Mau Mau society, with the sole intent of making the participants ritually unclean and thus unable to participate in normal society. This is the only ritual use of homosexual behavior known.

Conclusion

A cursory glance will reveal that the gay community in Kenya is now an audacious lot. What with the vibrant movement- Gay and Lesbian Coalition of Kenya (GALCK-www.galck.org) that has even forwarded its views on the Constitution, to the CoE. There is Ishtar-MSM, an organization that deals with the sexual problems of gay men, and it have quite a following judging from its web site.
The organization has a church in an exclusive suburb in Nairobi’s Westlands and quite a considerable congregation. Queer nights are routinely held, but they are disguised as ‘theme nights’ exclusively for invited guests. In the recent past, the possibility of a man being hit on by a man, especially in swankier joints was high.
Gay community is living at home!!!