Lesbian Dilemma in Confronting Heterosexual Hegemony: An Analysis of Societal Responses to Lesbianism

Abstract

Homosexuality in African countries has been hashed down by homophobia, where many African governments try to hegemonise heterosexuality through the Repressive State Apparatus and Ideological State Apparatus. However, lesbians have tried coming out as the ‘other’ sexuality. This paper specifically focuses on how marriage and religion have been used to repress the discourse on lesbianism. Heterosexual marriage is seen as a necessity in upholding the patriarchal structure of dominance and is forced upon lesbians, while religion is viewed through the prism of literalism and used to instigate homophobia. Using evidence from Chinelo Okaparanta’s Under the Udala Trees, Reclaiming the L-word: Sappho’s Daughters Out in Africa by Allyne Diesel and Monica Arac De Nyeko’s “Jambula Tree,” this study examines how lesbian characters’ attempt for space is countered by the societies they inhabit. Using notions of Queer theory through the prism of Structural Marxism, the article interrogates the heterosexual foundation laid by patriarchal African societies and deconstructs the manner in which the minority suffer through the repressive hypothesis where power is seen as unilateral.  Ultimately, the paper aims at articulating the prejudice upheld by heterosexual society in regards to lesbianism by scrutinising the institutions that propagate and shun any ‘other’ sexuality from existence through stringent ideologies.