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Index

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 January 2021

Serena Owusua Dankwa
Serena Owusua Dankwa
Affiliation:
Universität Bern, Switzerland

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Chapter
Information
Knowing Women
Same-Sex Intimacy, Gender, and Identity in Postcolonial Ghana
 , pp. 303 - 318
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BYCreative Common License - NCCreative Common License - ND
This content is Open Access and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/cclicenses/

Index

Aba Adama (pseudonym), 18
Abotsi, Ernest Kofi, 65–66
abstinence, 56
Abu-Lughod, Lila, 7
abusive dynamics
age difference and, 217
concealment of, 173
emotional, 188
feeling “used,” 199, 202
jealousy and, 203
kinship terminology and, 268
sex workers and, 199
abusua (family, matrilineal family), 85, 129, 136, 141, 169, 227
Accra Central, 190
Accra Girls Senior Secondary School, 192
Accra, Ghana, 14–17, 174
activism. see LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) activist politics
activist-ing, 76
Adizah (Adi) Cortey (pseudonym), 174, 184–189, 199, 215
Adjabeng, Joshua, 84
Teenage Sex and Love, 79
Adomako Ampofo, Akosua, 66, 172, 199
Adwoa Boateng (pseudonym), 80, 84, 97–106, 119, 154, 161–168, 169–170, 172, 176, 213, 220–222, 225–226, 228–240, 250, 263
affect, 107, 117, 119, 271
affect theory, 275
African bodies, as sexualized and racialized Others, 28–32, 277
African migrants, 277
African Women’s World Cup, 178
African-American English, 273
African-American hip-hop artists, 143
African-American women, 42, 119, 144, 259
Afro-Surinamese Creole, 273
Agbenozan, Josephine Enyonam, 9, 10–11, 16, 63, 109, 152, 165, 185, 186, 213
age. see also erotic age, social age
as relational category, 128, 176–178
gender and, 45, 129–131, 271
seniority and, 151, see also seniority
status and, 147
age gaps in relationships, 40, 172–175, 187–189, see also senior-junior hierarchies, sugar motherhood
anthropological terms for, 176–178
sibling terminology and, 226
agency, 155, 204, 206, 222, 264, 273
Agenda, 24
agonwɔle agyalɛ (friendship marriage), 39–41
agonwɔlɛyɛlɛ kpalɛ (”good” friendship), 39
Ahinful, Kwamena, 93
Ahmed, Sara, 10, 117
Aisha (pseudonym), 18, 267
Akagbor, Sena, 241
Akan ethno-linguistic group, 15, 52
anthropological studies of, 32–34
female beauty ideal, 131
matrilineality, 85, 129–131, 141, 169, 176, 228, 245
narrative traditions, 11–12
social and political organization, 224
Akan language
gender and, 40
indirection and, 52–53
terms for same-sex practices, 71
akomofoɔ (diveners), 144
Akwetey-Kanyi, Ashiagbar, 94
Akyeampong, Emmanuel K., 86, 235
Allen, Jafari, 22, 150
Allman, Jean, 141
allusion, 73, 122, see also indirection, verbal discretion, speech norms
Amadiume, Ifi, 31, 127
Male Daughters, Female Husbands, 128–129
ambiguity, 53, 220
in ethnographic research, 8–11
siblinghood and, 241
Ameley Norkor (pseudonym), 57, 72–73, 109–110, 154–158, 169–171, 238
Amoah, Elizabeth, 130
Anarfi, Mrs. (pseudonym), 201–207, 214
anti-gay discourse, 6, 24, 47–49, 61–63, see also homophobic discourse
law and, 63–68
nature and nurture debates, 66–68
anti-imperialism, 42, 62
Appiah, Kwame Anthony, 53–54, 67–68
Arnfred, Signe, Re-thinking Sexualities in Africa, 51
arrival stories, 2–3, 12
Asafo companies, 80, 95–97, 120
Asante, 53
incest bans, 242
king-queen terminology, 163
speech norms, 133
Asantewa, 146
asexual relationships, 263
atwebenefie, 243–244
autonomy. see also economic independence
erotic, 142, 151
financial, 139, 161
of market women, 181
sugar motherhood and, 189, 209
urban women and, 146
baa banyin, 132, see also ɔbaa barima (manly/brave woman)
Badu, Mr. (pseudonym), 59–60, 67
Banks, William, 71
barima (man, manly), 131
barrenness. see infertility
bars. see drinking spots
Bartels, Kwamena, 49–50, 53
Basel Mission, 2, 4, 40–41
bathhouse intimacies, 101, 106, 107–111
privacy and, 108
sharing substance and, 234, 263–264
sisters and, 228
Baule language, 52
Bayo, Adjoa, 179
Becky McCarthy (pseudonym), 208, 244
Berlant, Lauren, 21
Beyoncé, 95
“big men,” 131, 161, 216, 257
“big women,” 131, 146, 162, 216
discretion and, 199
Mami Wata and, 191, 198
sexualized rumors of selfishness, 174
small girls and, 178
binary gender roles, 271–272, see also gender
bi-national families, 2–3
biological determinism, 128
biological kinship, 223
birth order, 112, 225, see also siblinghood
bisexuals, 74
black Atlantic world, 143
queer relationships and, 38, 120, 273–274
black feminism, 144
black lesbians, 119, 144, 166
black masculinity, 143
Black Queens (national football team), 134, 179
Blacking, John, 88–89, 113
blackmail, 212
Blackwood, Evelyn, 25, 136–137, 169
Bleek, Wolf, 130, 138
blood, 235–236, 243, 249, 269–270
kinship and, 228–229
blood friendship, 198, 270
boarding schools
as homosocial bonding space, 270
Asafo companies and, 97
comparisons of, 86–91
dormitory “partner” setup, 90
in Victorian England, 87, 98
kinship terminology, 87–91, 113, 121
lack of privacy at, 116
mother-child terms used in, 80
pre-marital pregnancies and, 40
reports, 4
senior-junior hierarchies, 111–116, 120–121, 173
supi girlfriendships, 80, 81–91, see also supi girlfriendships
supi-supi lesbianism, 91–94
Bochow, Astrid, 56
bodily fluids. see sexual fluids, blood
body ideals, 146
Boellstorff, Tom, 252
Bourdieu, Pierre, 112
bragoro nubility rites, 113–115
break-ups and heartbreaks, 179, 208, 211–213, 233, 244, 246, 257
breasts, 100, 201
holding of, 231
“British Accra,” 190
British colonial administration, 81, see also colonialism
educational system, 87, 122
laws, 41
British Common Law, 64
British Council, 68
British sodomy laws, 77
Brubaker, Roger, 150
Burton, Richard, 28
butch-femme discourse. see also masculine gender presentation
clothing and, 144
emotional butchness, 207
erotic subjectivities and, 149, 152–154, 166–167, 168–171, 207
female footballers and, 132
gender and, 125–127, 271–272
giving and receiving, 211
Butler, Judith, 126, 127, 148, 153, 241
Cameroon, 27, 77
Cape Coast, 81–82, 95, 97
caring, 239–241
cars, gender and, 134–137
Carsten, Janet, 223, 228–229, 235–236, 265
Cultures of Relatedness, 41
Castle School, 83
Castro Varela, María do Mar, 23
casual relationships, 210–212
Catholic boarding schools, 192, see also boarding schools
Catholics, 58
Central Market Kumasi, 16
charismatic Christianity, 48, 54–58, 278–279, see also Christianity
anti-gay initiatives, 68
condemnation of homosexuality, 50
sexualization of public sphere and, 77
Chauncey, George, 67
childhood. see also motherhood, youth
gender and, 134–137
chop bars, 193–194
chop money, 104, 158, 181, 195, 200, 207
chosen families, 253–254, 265
Christensen, James, 132–133
Christian educational booklets, 204
Christian women’s groups, 270
Christianity, 278, see also Pentecostalism, charismatic Christianity
discourse on homosexuality, 66–67, 77
fatherhood and, 141
CitiFM (radio station), 65
Clark, Gracia, 11, 16, 130, 131–133, 139, 141, 178, 194
Clarkson, Kelly, 95
Clifford, James, 7
closeness, 268
ambiguous, 226–228
forms of address and, 222
status and, 234
closet metaphor, 38–39
clothing, 144–145, 162, 275
Coalition of African Lesbians (CAL), 276
Cole, Jennifer, 121
Coleman, Khadija (pseudonym), 5
collectivization of love, 174–175, 216–219
colonial records, 4
colonial violence, 44
colonialism, 181, see also British colonial administration
homosexual theories and, 77
imperialist “rescue narratives,” 35
sexual relationships and, 33
colonizing keyhole gaze
male same-sex relationships, 28
sexualized and racialized African bodies, 28–32
women marriages, 30–32
Comfort Otu (pseudonym), 103
coming out, 15, 68
feelings and, 117–119
men and, 77
metropolitan emphasis on, 37–38, 44
community-based organizations, 14, 61
companionate marriage, 121, 139, 237, 271
Confederation of African Football, 178
conflicts, 231–233, see also jealousies, fights (between lovers)
confusion, 117–118
conjugal households, 169, 192, 194, 208
duo-local, 268
conjugal intimacy, 230
connectedness, 267
Connie Ofosu (pseudonym), 233–234
consensual relationships, 188
consumerism, 188, 237, 240
Convention People’s Party (CPP), 51
cooking, 194–195
cornrows, 143
cousins, 46, see also parallel-cousins, cross-cousin marriage
fear of incest and, 222, 265
incest and, 241–242
terminology for, 222
Crenshaw, Kimberlé, 36
Criminal Code (1960), sodomy law, 64–68
cross-cousin marriage, 242, 244, 247
culture, discourse on homosexuality and, 62
customary court cases, 4–5
customary marriage, 138, 237
Cvetkovich, Ann, 153, 166, 171
Dakar, 188
Dankwa, E. Akurang, 82
darling bonds, 89
Dearham, Kaitlin, 76
decolonization, 279
Dede Kpobi (pseudonym), 139, 163
dees, 271
Defiant Desire (Gevisser and Cameron), 25
democratization, 59, 76
denial, 106, 193
desire, 20–23
desire for knowledge, 9, 10
deviance, 10
Dhawan, Nikita, 23
Dina Yiborku (pseudonym), 164, 166, 174, 184, 208–215, 216, 232, 235
discretion. see verbal discretion
disgrace, 117–118
“doing everything together,” 213, 269
erotic intimacies, 220–221
sharing and, 261–264
siblinghood and, 229–241, 265–266
Dokua Hewlett (pseudonym), 92
domestic helpers, 173, 193–195, 202–203
dramas, 18
dreadlocks, 143–144
drinking spots, 5, 186
masculinity and, 124
Ebron, Paulla, 145, 169
economic independence, 156–168, 231, 245, see also autonomy
Economic Recovery Program, 172
economic support, 245
Edna (pseudonym), 18, 267
Efua Aikins (pseudonym), 107–119
egalitarian relationships, 34–35, 176–177, 200, 213, 218, 271
eggs, symbolism of, 239–240
elite women, 4
emotional butchness, 207
emotional intimacy, 160
emotions, 106–120
employment, 193–194, 229–230, 260
enjoyment. see pleasure
erotic
as power, 21–22, 150
in ethnographic research, 8–11
erotic age. see also age
gender and, 155
seniority and, 157–158, 170
erotic capital, 187
erotic hierarchies, 203, see also hierarchies
erotic intimacies, 42
erotic subjectivity, 21
adulthood and, 250
gender and, 147–154
Esther Gyamerah (pseudonym), 164, 259–264
ethical questions, 6
ethnocartographies, 34
ethnographic fieldwork locations, 14–17
ethnopornographic gaze, 29, see also colonizing keyhole gaze
Europe. see also global North
civilizing mission, 28, 87, 121
racialized exclusions, 277
Evans-Pritchard, Edward, 30
Ewe, 53
ex-gay Christians, 67
exploitation, 45, 203
extended family model, 254–258
extra-large beds, 32–33
Faderman, Lillian, 43
family ties
importance of, 138
marriage and, 169
situational, 254–258
Fante, 53, 71, 191
Asafo and, 95
gender and, 132–133
Fante-Asante wars, 95
fathers
authority of, 136
disapproval of same-sex desire, 102, 105, 106
Felicia Clottey (pseudonym), 254–258
female agency, 22–23
female egalitarianism, 34–35
female elderhood, 129, 131, 157–158, 170
female footballers, 16, 260–261, 270
casual relationships and, 210
friendships among, 19, 118–120
masculine gender expression, 132, 134–136, 152, 179
police interventions and, 63–64
senior-junior hierarchies in, 90, 181
sugar mummies and, 4, 16, 45, 174, 179–181
female masculinity, 124–127, 146, 168, see also masculine gender presentation
female traders, 16, 230, 234, 247, see also market women
helpers and, 178
supi, 81
femininity
age and, 177, 218
autonomous, 126
butch-femme theory and, 153, 272
motherhood and, 130, 175
passivity and, 153
Feminist Africa, 24
feminist anthropology, 7, 30–32
feminist fiction writers, 27
femme. see butch-femme discourse
fertility, 40–41, see also motherhood
fictive kinship, 221, 228, see also kinship terminology
fights (between lovers), 231–233, 236, 237
visibility and, 261
fluids
bathwater, 21, 112, 228, 234–235, 263, 265
bodily, 235–236, 243, 249, 269–270
sexual, 235, 243, 249, 265
football, 178–179, see also female footballers
Fortes, Meyer, 101, 112, 175–176, 226, 228
Kinship and the Social Order, 224–225
Foucault, Michel, 110, 150
“ars erotica,” 122
friendship as a way of life, 42
History of Sexuality, 33
repressive hypothesis, 56
repressive thesis, 77
France, 77
free marriage, 138
Freundin (German), 273
friendship, 18–20, see also networks
as a way of life, 42
as ambiguous term, 12, 264, 273
distinction between kinship and, 222, 223
erotic intimacies and, 3, 21
exchange of gifts and, 156–157
in nineteenth-century Britain and North America, 42–43
language of, 34
love and, 103–106, 237–239
love triangles and, 208–216
same-sex desire and, 116–122
subversive potential of, 42–43
use of term, 267
friendship marriage (agonwɔle agyalɛ), 39–41
Fulani, 248, 249
funding, international, 14, 69, 70, 74, 76, 78, 276
funerals, 13, 85–86, 255, 257
Ga ethno-linguistic group, 71, 169, 191–192, 194, 249
matrifocality, 176, 223
patrilineality, 176, 245, 247–248
same-sex desires and, 94, 133
Ga language, 10, 53
Ga-Dangme ethno-linguistic group, 15, 53
Gambia, 27
Gandhi, Leela, Affective Communities, 42
Gaudio, Rudolf, 34–35
Allah Made Us, 22
gay and lesbian (sub)cultures
emergence of, 20
Gay and Lesbian Association of Ghana (GALAG), 49, 70–71
gay bars, 187, see also drinking spots
gay kinship, 252–253, see also queer kinship
Gay, Judith, 30, 88
gay, use of term, 76
gay/lesbian anthropology, 33
“gayism,” 48, 50
gender
age and, 129–131, 177–178, 271
as relational category, 45, 154–160, 168–171
colonial violence and, 44
flexibility of, 131–133
incest and, 242
performativity of, 171
power relations and, 37
situational, 127–129
gender expression, 143–147, see also masculine gender presentation
gender roles
binary, 271–272
homosexuality and, 34, 67, 147
transferability of, 40
gender studies, 36–37
gender-neutral pronouns, 40, 128–129, 164
genealogical kinship, 223, 228, 252
Germany, Ghanaian migrants in, 17
Ghallywood (Ghanaian cinema), 27, 94, 120, 183
Ghana
economic growth, 61
educational system, 86–87
postcolonial precariousness in, 21
research on same-sex intimacy in, 26–27
urban same-sex subcultures, 61
Ghana News Agency, 49
Ghana Telecom, 178–179
Ghanaian English, 93, 107, 201
Ghanaian highlife music, 236, 238
Ghanaian languages. see also Ga language, Akan language, Twi language, speech norms
reduplication in, 93
Giddens, Anthony, 217
gift economy, 218
gift exchanges, 39, 260, 267, see also sharing, materiality of love, sugar motherhood
between boarding school girls, 173, 266, 272, see also supi girlfriendships
caring and, 239–241
erotic intimacies and, 44
gift theory, 81, 98, 100, 120, 215
Gifty (pseudonym), 168
Gikuyu women marriages, 31
girlfriend, 273
girlfriend, use of term, 271
girlfriendships
at secondary schools, 80, see also supi girlfriendships
pregnancy and, 104
use of term, 80
givers and receivers, 208–216
Gladys Agyeman (pseudonym), 211–213, 216, 232
global North
female egalitarianism and, 34
queer studies, 38
same-sex marriage rights, 41
go-betweens, 208
gossip, 18–19, 133, see also visibility of same-sex desiring women
among female relatives, 226–228
consequences of, 58
denial and, 193
love triangles and, 215
media attention and, 102–103
police interventions and, 196
social networks and, 174
supi, 251
Grace Tagoe (pseudonym), 238, 245–246
Greece, ancient, 177
Greenberg, David, 32–34
Green-Simms, Lindsey, 94
Grotanelli, Vingi L., 39–40
Gunkel, Henriette, 88
Gyamerah, Akua, 62
Gyekye, Kwame, 117, 132
hairstyles, 57, 143–144, 161, 164
Halberstam, Jack, Female Masculinity, 124–125, 126
half-caste, 9, 17, 50
Halperin, David M., 150
Hamda Ibrahima (pseudonym), 246–252
Hanses, Karen, 42
Hasty, Jennifer, 13
Hausa, 52, 273
heartbreaks. see break-ups and heartbreaks
Helena Asamoah (pseudonym), 243–246
Héritier, Françoise, 242–243, 249, 251–252
Herskovits, Frances, 205
Herskovits, Melville, 30–31, 128, 205, 219
heteronormativity, 36, 58
heterosexual matrix, 126
hierarchies. see also erotic hierarchies, senior-junior hierarchies
gift exchange and, 98
in friendships, 268
in giving and receiving, 174
in sibling relations, 224–226
social, 191
Hirschfeld, Magnus, 29
HIV/AIDS programs, 49
MSM peer educators, 16, 60, 69, 197
queer globalization and, 60–61
sexualization of African bodies and, 29
WSW peer educators, 69
HIV/AIDS risk, 189
homo/heterosexual binarism, 30, 31, 38, 76, 125
“homoconference” debate, 44, 47–51, 58–60, 76, 278
homonormativity, 253, 276
homophobia, 199
Euro-American discourse on, 48
imperialist “rescue narratives” and, 36
in Africa, 47–49, 77, 276–277
internalized, 118
homophobic discourse, 20, 25, 76, 200, 204–205, see also anti-gay discourse
countering, 71
incest and, 243, 251
homophobic exclusions, 103
“homosexualism,” 47, 204
homosexuality. see also same-sex desiring women
age-differentiation and, 176–178
as concept in precolonial Ghana, 53
as modern and Euro-American, 47
concept of, 20–21
in Sub-Saharan Africa, 24–27
non-natural world and, 102–103
revolutionary potential of, 42
situational, 73
taboo on public discourse about, 3
“unafricanness” of, 80
homosocial spaces, 85–86, 270
in precolonial Ghana, 39
in USA, 87
male, 177
puberty rites, 113–115
human rights, 14, 65, 68–69, 277
Hunter, Mark, 195–196, 217
husbands. see also marriage
shared housing and, 254–258
“husband-wife game,” 88
“hustling” women, 162–168, 170, 273, 275, 279, see also “tricksters”; tricksters
hypersexuality, 51
I will not eat stone (Allman and Tashjian), 22
identity, 20, 77, 150, 274, see also sexual identity, self-identity
resistance to labels, 277
identity politics, 39
Igbo
motherhood paradigm, 175
woman marriages, 31, 128–129
Illouz, Eva, 237
immoral practices, 51
imperialist “rescue narratives,” 35, 36, see also colonialism
incest, 46
fears of, 222, 265–266
gender and, 242, 244
incest bans, 241–243
social networks and, 251
India, 73, 228
indirection, 51–54, 270, see also verbal discretion, speech norms
charismatic movement and, 55
culture of, 48
gossip and, 133
identities and, 78
labels and, 73
police interventions and, 64
research methodology and, 6, 8–11, 15
supi and, 122
Indonesia, 136–137, 169, 271
infertility, 134, 183
initiation, 29, 39, 81, 97, 112, 121, 177
Krobo, 231
Ma’Abena, 111
International Monetary Fund (IMF), 55, 172
intersectionality, 36
intimacy, 21, see also same-sex desiring women
as socializing process, 46
conjugal, 230
emotional, 160
Irene Bonsu (pseudonym), 82
Islamic groups, 54
Ivory Coast, 52
Janet Aidoo (pseudonym), 8–9, 14, 123–125, 134–154, 169–171, 207, 274
jealousies, 18, 179, 200, 205–206, 218
abusive dynamics, 203
between siblings, 227, 236
love triangles, 198, 218, 240, see also love triangles
witchcraft accusations, 57, 240
Jezebel (2007), 94
Johnson, Graft, 96
Joy FM (radio station), 49, 60
Junior Secondary School (JSS), 86, 246
Karsch-Haack, Ferdinand, 29
kawa, 273
Kenya, 24
Kilson, Marion, 247–248
king-queen terminology, 161–168
kinship. see also queer kinship, motherhood, siblinghood
gender roles and, 40
Ghanaian principles, 46
in Africa, 41
in global North, 41
normative ideas of, 222
social construction of, 223
kinship terminology, 34, 212, 255, 267–268
kinship theories
on substance, 228–229
“knowing women,” 74, 81, 120–122
“doing everything together,” 220, 230
masculinity and, 127
meaning of term, 274
knowledge production, 279
research methodology and, 8
kodjo besia (feminine man), 6, 71
Korkoi Okudzeto (pseudonym), 220–221, 226, 229–239, 263
Krobo Girls School, 83
Krobo girls’ initiation rites, 231
Kufuor, John, 59
Kulick, Don, 9
kunya (shame or modesty), 52
Kunzel, Regina, 150
Kwaku Ananse (trickster figure), 162
labels. see sexual identity
Langkawi (Malaysia), 228–229
language, 34, see also indirection, verbal discretion, speech norms
gendered, 45, see also gender-neutral pronouns
in female friendship networks, 44
performativity of, 52
Latasha Ray (pseudonym), 75
law
discourse on homosexuality and, 48
on sexual practices, 63–68
“lesbian bed death,” 263
lesbian groups, 3
lesbian invisibility, 72
lesbian visual language, 148
lesbian, use of term, 24, 43, 73–75, 76, 147, 198, 274
lesbian/gay studies, 36
lesbian-feminist historians, 42, 125–126
lesbianism. see also same-sex desiring women
as identity, 14–15, 163
as invisible, 47
laws on, 65
Lesotho, 30, 88, 273
Lévi-Strauss, Claude, 251
LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) activist politics, 20, see also sexual rights politics
chosen families and, 253
cultural imperialism of, 68
family arrangements and, 257
gender and sexual categorization, 151, 274
global, 48
HIV/AIDS initiatives and, 27
in Accra, 14
in Africa, 276–277
international, 38, 44, 72, 74
male-dominated, 27
names and naming, 71–76
women’s voices in, 44, 68–71, 76–78
LGBTIQA+, use of term, 37
life history genre, 11–14
lifestyles (“liking life”), 143–147
Lithur, Nana Oye, 66
Lorde, Audre, 21–22, 31, 150
love, 236–240
affective work of, 271
as mode of sociality, 216–219, 267
declarations of, 154, 159–160
siblinghood and, 239–241
working for, 207
Love in the Girl’s Dormitory: ‘Supi’ Palava (2005), 95
love letters, writing of, 87, 89, 121–
love triangles, 174, 186–187, 189–200
banning of, 243
friends and, 208, 215, 267
in same-sex bonding networks, 265
incest and, 249
jealousies in, 198, 218, 240, see also jealousies
shared housing and, 254–258
supi, 272
Love, Heather, 117
Feeling Backward, 117
“loveless Africa,” 47, 196, 267
lover’s marriage, 138
lovership, 233, 236–237, 268
Lydia Sackey (pseudonym), 144, 152, 174, 183, 185–200, 208, 215, 216, 217
Ma’Abena Oppong (pseudonym), 80, 90–91, 106–119, 154, 164, 259–264, 278–279
Maa’Evelyn (pseudonym), 167, 172–173, 176, 203, 218
Macharia, Keguro, 277
Mahmood (pseudonym), 67
Makola Market, 182, 192
Malaysia, 228
male same-sex intimacies. see also Men who have Sex with Men (MSM)
colonizing keyhole gaze and, 28
in Nigeria, 61
masculinity and, 71
patriarchal bonding and, 35
political focus on, 50
research on, 22, 24–25, 27
sugar daddies and, 185, 187
Malinowski, Bronislaw, Diary, 9
“Mama Benz,” 178
Mami Wata, 57, 94, 120, 183, 216
Marcus, George E., 7
market literature, 94–95
market women. see also female traders
as sugar mummies, 4, 45, 174, 181–183
gender and, 131
military attacks on, 54, 182
sexualized rumors of greediness, 181–183, 216
supi and, 122
marriage. see also same-sex marriage
autonomy and, 214
cooking in, 194–195
heteronormative script on, 15
in working-class context, 1
monogamous, 55, 58
motherhood and, 138–143
Martin, Biddy, 43, 153
Marxist scholars, 20
Mary Awoonor (pseudonym), 235
masculine gender presentation, 16, 158, 170, 214, 254, 258, see also female masculinity
masculinity, 45
activity and, 153
in women, 16, 123–127, 133–171, 201–202, 203–204
relational, 169–171
Massad, Joseph, 38
masturbation, 41
matchmakers, 208
material circumstances, 13, 16–17, 257, see also poverty
materiality of love, 45, 172–175, 195, 268–269, see also sharing, gift exchanges
collectivized, 216–219
sugar motherhood and, 184–208
maternal support, 269
matrilineality, 169
Akan, 85, 129–131, 141, 169, 176, 228, 245
authority of relatives, 136
Mauss, Marcel, 98, 100, 215
Mavis Marfo (pseudonym), 100
Mbembe, Achille, 25, 275
McKinley, Catherine, 96
media
discourses on homosexuality, 48, 58–63, 102
liberalization, 55, 59, 76
state-owned, 59
Melanesia, 177
men. see also husbands, “big men”; sugar daddies
cis-gendered, 125, 134
fear of female closeness, 227
Men who have Sex with Men (MSM), 16, 49, see also male same-sex intimacies
HIV/AIDS programs, 60, 69, 197
Menon, Nivedita, 73
Mensah, Ronald, 92
menstrual blood, 235
metaphorical kinship, 223
Meyer, Birgit, 57
Meyerowitz, Eva, 33
mi mati, 273
Middle Passage, 38, see also black Atlantic world
middle-class aspirations, 146, see also upward mobility
Miescher, Stephan, 131
mission churches, 54, 58
mission reports, 4
mixed ethnic background, 191, 245
mixed parentage, 7, 244
mixed-race, 2, 7
mockery, 62
modernity, 47, 121, 275–276
mogya (blood/line), 140
Monica Ankrah (pseudonym), 213–215
monogamy, 213, 215, 219, 222
Moore, Mignon, 119, 144
moral corruption, 188, 204
moral decay, 50, 61
motherhood, 130, 169, see also pregnancy, motherhood paradigm, sugar motherhood
as metaphor for intimate relationships, 45–46
barrenness and, 134
gender and, 147
marital sex and, 207
marriage and, 138–143, 211
mother-daughter relations, 88–91, 175
same-sex relationships and, 200
motherhood paradigm, 173, 175–176, 216
motsoalle, 273
mpena (lover)
mpena awadeɛ (lover’s marriage), 138
mpena twee (lovership), 236–237, 268
Murray, Stephen O., 34, 177, 218, 253
Muslim religious authorities, 77
my girl, 273
Naa (pseudonym), 18, 267
names and naming, 71–76, see also sexual identity
Nana Mansa (pseudonym), 6
National Archives of Ghana, 4
National Coalition for Proper Human Sexual Rights and Family Values, 68
National Democratic Congress (NDC), 50
“natural law of compensation,” 212
nature, 64–68
non-natural world and, 102–103
neoliberalism, 60–61
Nestle, Joan, 126
Netherlands, 85
networks. see also queer family networks, personal kindreds, networks of
collectivized love and, 218–219
friendship marriage and, 40
of female friends, 19–20, 174–175, 216, 267, 271
of same-sex desiring women, 19
New Patriotic Party (NPP), 51
newspapers, 59
Nguyen, Vinh-Kim, The Republic of Therapy, 69
Niger, 61
Nigeria, 22, 27, 35, 52, 273, see also Nollywood (Nigerian cinema)
criminal code, 65
gender in, 128, 168
male same-sex subcultures in, 61
repatriation from, 55
Nkrumah, Kwame, 54, 59
Noll, Andrea, 89
Nollywood (Nigerian cinema), 26, 94, 97, 120, 183
non-normative practices, research on, 6
North America. see also United States (USA)
boarding school crushes, 80
North Atlantic queers, 117
ntɔrɔ (spiritual aspect of paternity), 140–141
nubility rites
bragoro nubility rites, 113–115
nuclear family ideal, 41, 56, 58, 71, 121, 128, 130, 254, 264, 271
Nuer women marriages, 30
nurture argument, 67–68
Nyamnjoh, Francis, 188
Nzema friendship marriage, 39–40
ɔbaa (woman), 131
ɔbaa barima (manly/brave woman), 45, 131–133, 168–171, 271
ɔbaapanyin, 82
ɔbaatan (nursing mother), 96
ɔbarima (man, valiant man), 131
occult forces, 57, 102
occult same-sex bonding practices, 198
occult sexual crimes, 64
occupational work, 134–137, 143, 193–194, 229–230, 260, see also vocational identity
sexuality and, 148
ɔdɔ (love), 237, 239
ɔhemaa (queen-mother), 82, 163
ɔhene (chief), 82, 163
Okaile Allotey (pseudonym), 73–74, 174, 200–208, 217, 223, 246–252
Okech, Awino, 77, 276
ɔkyeame (spokesperson), 53
Onions are my husband (Clark), 22
open narrative interviews, 11–14
opposite-sex desire, 166–167, see also marriage
material exchanges and, 195
oral sex, 235
Orientalist discourse of sexuality, 28, 38
Others, 3, 7–8, 10, 23, 28–32, 33, 276
Otu, Kwame E., 71
outdooring (abadinto) (name giving ceremony), 141–142, 144, 169, 187, 197
Oyéwùmí, Oyèrónké, 154, 170, 175
The Invention of Woman, 127–128
ɔmanhene (king), 163
pamphlet literature, 94–95
parallel-cousins, 242, 244
Paramaribo, 205
participant observation, 6–8
passion, 151, 222, 237, see also pleasure, sexual activity
gifts and, 240
lack of, 234
loss of urgency in, 263–264
paternalism, 277
Patricia Opoku (pseudonym), 1
patrilineality, 169
in Ga ethno-linguistic group, 176, 245, 247–248
motherhood and, 216
patronage, 170
Penal Codes, 64
penis, 139, 179, 211
Pentecostalism, 54, 56
performativity, 159
permanence, 264
personal kindreds, networks of, 228, 245, 252–264, 265, 267, see also networks
personhood, 40, 136, 236
Pierce, Steven, 61
pleasure, 151, 154, 198, 222, 236, 237, see also passion, sexual activity
police interventions, 63–65, 101–102, 196
politeness, 51, 52, see also speech norms
Popoola, Olumide, 3
popular entertainment, 55
popular fiction, 94–95
postcolonial feminists, 23, 35
postcolonial subject, 275
postcolonial theory, 23, 38
postmenopausal women, 173, see also sugar motherhood
post-structuralist theory, 3
poverty, 156, 160, 270, see also material circumstances, precariousness
exploitation and, 203, see also abusive dynamics
family arrangements and, 254, 259
power relations. see also abusive dynamics
decolonization and, 279
gendered, 37, 154–168
queer globalization and, 38
practice, 34
precariousness, 16–17, 270, 275, see also poverty
queer family arrangements and, 254–258
social identities and, 61
pregnancy, 103–106, 116, see also motherhood
fear of, 190
football careers and, 179
premarital sex, 56
Presbyterians, 58
Prince Kweku MacDonald (pseudonym), 49–50, 58–60, 68–75
privacy
access to, 270
in bathhouses, 108
lack of, 18–19, 38–39, 116, 247
loss of, 71
right to, 66
privilege, 279
pro-natalist culture, 40
pronouns, gender-neutral, 40, 128–129, 164
provider love, 156, 170, 217, 269
puberty rites, 113–115, 231
public display of affection, 52
public spaces, 275, see also sexualization of public sphere
queen-mother, 82–83, 113, 114, 115, 131, 146, 163
Queer African Studies, 25
Queer African Youth Networking Centre (QAYN), 27
queer family networks, 219, 252–264, see also networks
queer globalization, 60–63, 275–277
queer kinship, 41–42, 46, see also kinship
queer postcolonial scholars, 42
queer theory, 43, 253
queer, use of term, 24, 37
queer-feminist theory, 31, 36–39, 275
Q-zine, 24
racialized bodies, 28–32, 33, 277
radical participation, 6
radio stations, 65, 93
private, 55, 59–60, 103
Rao, Rahul, 36
Rattray, Robert S., 140, 242, 243
Rawlings, Jerry J., 50, 54–55, 59, 182
reciprocity, 113, 122, 168, 207, 218, 269, 271
conjugal, 206
lack of, 199
siblinghood and, 240
relatedness
forms of, 230, 251, 264–266
gender and, 272–273
queer forms of, 216
relational manhood, 154–160
religion, 54, 181, 184, 247, see also charismatic Christianity
reproductive practices, 40–41, 200, 258, see also motherhood
research methodology, 1–17
resistance, 42
respectability, 143, 200, 245, 250
Rita (pseudonym), 223
rivalries, 18, see also jealousies, love triangles
Robertson, Claire, 176, 192, 202–203
Roman Catholic Girls Schools, 82
romance, 46, 89, 105, 160, 221, 230, 231, 236, 237, 238, 240, 267
romantic courtship, 237
romantic friendships, 43
romantic love, 121, 160, 267
Rose Asuku (pseudonym), 84–85, 249
Rosenthal, Gabriele, 11
Ruby (pseudonym), 186–199, 208, 215
rumors, 183
Sackey, Brigid, 96
sadness, 117–118
Safo, Socrates, 94, 183
sameness, 252
same-sex desiring women. see also sexual identity, lesbianism, homosexuality, erotic subjectivity, siblinghood, “doing everything together”; doing, indirection, gender, sugar motherhood, butch-femme discourse, supi girlfriendships, friendship, sexual activity, “knowing women”; knowing
research on, 1–17, 23–27, 28–32, 267–279
visibility of, 72, 232, 261
same-sex marriage, 236–237, 253, 266, see also marriage
Sandra (pseudonym), 165
Sarpong, Peter, 106, 114, 239
saso (same-sex desiring men), 27, 71
Schneider, David, 228
Scottish Mission Sisters, 83
secondary schools. see Senior Secondary School (SSS), Junior Secondary School (JSS), boarding schools
secrecy, 51, 80, 198, 217
Sedgwick, Eve, Epistemology of the Closet, 38
seduction, 147, 163
self-identity, 20–21, 33, 76 see also identity
semen, 140, 177, 235
Senegal, 77
Senior Secondary School (SSS), 83, 86, 107
seniority, 168–169
erotic age and, 157–158, 170
gender and, 45, 131, 272–273
language and, 128–129
social age and, 112, 157–158, 168, 271
senior-junior hierarchies, 90–91, 97, 107, 111–116, 120–121, 268, see also hierarchies, sugar motherhood
female footballers and, 90, 181
in girls’ boarding schools, 111–116, 120–121, 173
in social networks, 218
sugar motherhood, 186, 213–214, 271
sensationalism, 58–60, 76
Serwa Asiedu (pseudonym), 225–226
sex work, 5, 27, 195, 199
sexual activity. see also pleasure
attitudes toward, 40–41, 67–68
expressions of interest in, 8–10, see also romance
friendship and, 39
oral sex, 235
pleasure and, 197–198
power dynamics in, 206–207, 231
sexual identity and, 37, 274, see also sexual identity
sexual appetite, 67
sexual deviants, 48, see also homophobic discourse
sexual difference, 251, see also gender roles
sexual experience. see also erotic age
seniority and, 151
sexual fluids, 235, 243, 249, 265
sexual health, 197
sexual identity, 8, 14, 19–21, 25, 270, see also identity
as category, 3, 32, 36, 37
as distinct from sexual practice, 33, 47
community and, 253
gender and, 125, 147–154, 201–202
global media and, 61–62
labels and, 71–76
verbal discretion and, 52
visibility and, 110, 117–119
sexual modernity, 275–276
sexual rights politics, 19, 26, 198, see also LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) activist politics
in Ghana, 48, 50, 61
in North Atlantic, 117
sexualization of public sphere, 51, 56, 68, 77
sexualized African bodies. see African bodies, as sexualized and racialized Others
sharing, 266, see also substance, materiality of love, siblinghood, gift exchanges
siblinghood and, 260–264
Sharing the same bowl (Robertson), 22
Shipley, Jesse, 55
Living the Hiplife, 162
siblinghood, 46
“doing everything together” and, 220–222
equality in, 226
hostilities in, 226–228
in Euro-American contexts, 253
love and, 239–241
metaphorical, 252
seniority and, 112, 225, see also seniority
sharing and, 260–264, 269
sharing substance and, 234–236
terminology, 222–223
Signorini, Italo, 39
Sika, Varyanne, 77, 276
silence, 49, 51
similitude, 252
sin, 92
sisterhood, 221–222, see also siblinghood
situational homosexuality, 73
“small girls,” 187, 232
as domestic helpers, 208
“big men” and, 189
masculinity and, 214
schoolteachers and, 202–203
Smith-Rosenberg, Carrol, 87–88
social age. see also age, seniority
seniority and, 112, 157–158, 168, 271
social kinship, 223, see also kinship terminology
social networks. see networks
social status, 162, 261
socio-economic status, 271
sodomy, 77, 205
sotadism, 28
South Africa, 24, 26, 77, 88
boarding school crushes, 80
migrant workers in, 213
Southern Africa, 25–26
romantic love in, 121
sovereignty, 62
speech norms, 49, 51, 270, see also language, allusion, indirection, verbal discretion
spirits, 57–58, 94, 101–103, 118, see also occult forces, Mami Wata
blood friendship and, 198
spiritual, 55, 56, 77, 87, 102–103, 117, 140–141, 198, 275