Celebrating Black History keynote address

Decolonizing Sexualities: Exploring Alternative Conceptualizations of Sex, Sexuality and Gender in Africa

Godfried Asante, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Communication, Difference, and Disparities, School of Communication

San Diego State University

February 24, 2022

3:00 p.m.

Register in Cornerstone or Engage

Out in STEM for Professionals at ECU

Ledonia Wright Cultural Center

Dr. Jesse R. Peel LGBTQ Center

Women and Gender Office

Office for Equity and Diversity

The College of Health and Human Performance

The Department of Human Development and Family Science

About the keynote: Before the implementation of rigid binaries of gender and sexuality by European colonialists, several parts of the world had diverse conceptualizations of sex, gender and sexuality. Examples included: fa’afafine, two spirits, Sassoi, mahu, nádleehi among several others. Similarly, different configurations of same-sex relationships existed beyond what we categorize as LGBTQI+. Given the overwhelming evidence, there have been significant efforts by politicians and religious groups to criminalize LGBTQI+ identities and rights in parts of Africa through laws that seek to erase LGBTQI+ persons and rights from public memory and democratic participation. Collaborating with anti-LGBTQI+ U.S based Christian Fundamentalist Groups, these efforts are largely based on an unfounded claim that LGBTQI+ identities are Western and unAfrican. This talk will explore the emergence of such bills in Uganda, Nigeria and Ghana to make the case for the decolonization of sexuality in Africa and the Black diaspora.

About Dr. Godfried Asante

Assistant Professor of Communication, Difference, and Disparities, School of Communication

San Diego State University

Review Editor, Culture and Communication, Frontiers in Communication

Vice-Chair Elect, Intercultural Communication Division, WSCA

Publications Officer, Intercultural and International Communication Division, NCA

Core Faculty Institute for Dialogue and Social Justice

Black History Month Sources:

“African American History Month.” https://www.africanamericanhistorymonth.gov/

Association for the Study of African American Life and History. https://asalh.org/about-us/our-history/

Dr. Carter G. Woodson African American Museum. https://woodsonmuseum.org/about-us/

History.com. “Black History Month.” 2020. https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/black-history-month