The “I” in “Othered” Sexualities: Queer Intimacies in Chinelo Okparanta’s Under The Udala Trees And Zukiswa Wanner’s Men Of The South

Abstract

Knowledge about queer Africans is largely not just erroneous, but also mythical. The labyrinth of existent scholarship on the queer African is mainly factored on the hypothesis of anti-queer. While a number of African writers do not disclose specified embodiments of the incontrovertible same-sex erotic acts, one could apprehend traces of such acts in some African literary works. Studies on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual, queer, asexual and intersex (LGBTQAI+) have on the whole elicited considerable attention. Critics mostly contend that the consciousness of an individual’s sexuality and sexual orientation remains their inherent individual experiences. This study underpins the emerging presentation of queerness by some African writers. The research further demonstrates how contemporary works of fiction generate space and language with their narratives for the experiences of queer individuals within the African culture. Drawing on the influential queer theory, the study explores ways in which characters in Chinelo Okparanta’s Under the Udala Trees (2015) and Zukiswa Wanner’s Men of the South (2010) contribute to the conversation about the body and sexuality. The thesis further examined some literary roles queer sexualities play in the texts one of which is: the use of metaphor to justify some significant decisions and actions taken by the queer protagonists.