WHEN RAPE GOES UNNAMED Gay Malawian Mens Responses to Unwanted and Non-consensual Sex

By Ashley Currier and Rashida A. Manuel

Marshalling research about male rape and unwanted sex in contemporary African contexts, this article explores how cultural definitions of sex and sexuality affect African sexual minority men’s perceptions of rape, non-consensual sex and unwanted sex in Malawi, a country in which same-sex sexual practices are stigmatised and punished. We analyze two divergent accounts of unwanted sex offered by two gay Malawian men the first author 10 interviewed in 2012. Feminist and queer theoretical insights about representing the agency of African gender and sexual minorities guide our inquiry. Our analysis shows how activist socialisation can intervene in and reshape how African sexual minority men perceive and name unwanted and/or coercive sex.

Routledge 10th September 2014, 17p.