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A review by martha_is_reading
Queer Africa: Selected stories by Alistair Mackay, Karen Martin, Makhosazana Xaba
3.0
Originally two separate volumes, [b:Queer Africa|17936064|Queer Africa|Karen Martin|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1369029353s/17936064.jpg|25145501] and [b:Queer Africa 2|35701952|Queer Africa 2|Karen Martin|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1500416215s/35701952.jpg|57195443], this book contains 22 stories celebrating queer writers from across the continent, including Botswana, Uganda and South Africa.
In his introduction, [a:Chike Frankie Edozien|15254318|Chike Frankie Edozien|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] writes:
As always, there's a variety of stories within here, so I've rated them individually and the overall rating is an average:
Nine Pieces of Desire - 3 stars
Pampers - 4 stars
Sethunya Likes Girls Best - 4 stars
Pelican Driver - 3.5 stars
Jambula Tree - 4 stars
Going Home - 4 stars
Staying Afloat - 3 stars
Maimuna Doesn't Know - 4 stars
Iyawo - 4 stars
Chief of the Home - 4 stars
Leaving Civvy Street - 3 stars
Pyrrhic Victory - 3 stars
Pub 360 - 3.5 stars
Rock - 3 stars
This Tomorrow Was Christmas - 2.5 stars
The Day He Came - 2 stars
Chapter Thirteen - 3 stars
Awure Iferan - 3 stars
The Bath - 4 stars
My Dad Forgot My Name? - COULD NOT RATE...see below!
Chebor's Light - 2 stars
All Covered Up - 4.5 stars
I was taken aback at the inclusion of Victor Lewis's My Dad Forgot My Name? in this collection. In a nutshell, a young man is visiting a 'spa' where men can go to have sex with other men. He bumps into his father and the story begins with the two facing each other, frozen in shock. We cut back to previous years to learn more about the relationship between the two men (not especially close, and both are clearly closeted). I expected it to be a story about a pivotal moment between father and son, leading to a more honest and open relationship, releasing some of the pain that both of them have experienced trying to hide their true selves. I thought it would be a commentary on the generational difference, where the father's generation were even more expected to hide themselves, whereas there is a bit more openness for the son's generation (though I appreciate the African context puts a different layer on that).
NOPE.
What actually happens is father and son have graphic sex. With each other. Full on literal incest.
I tried researching this collection online and there were very few reviews, none of which mentioned this story. The original story was, I believe, in Queer Africa 2, and the one article I could find about that described how some of the stories, including this one, were included to challenge readers' moral preconceptions - is negative moral perception of incest something that needs to be challenged?!
What disturbed me the most about this was that this story was in a collection about the LGBTQ+ community. Having discussed it with a friend, she articulated it perfectly - its inclusion is a tacit approval, as if incest is a valid sexuality alongside the rest of the community. Worse still, a prevalent assumption by many homophobes is that queerness is akin to paedophilia and children must be protected from gay people. While this story was about two consenting adults (although the unequal power dynamic between father and son would challenge that), it's still close enough to perpetuate that abhorrent stereotype, so I was shocked that the editors would choose to include it when all of the other stories seemed to be seeking to normalise and celebrate queerness.
In the end I couldn't rate that story and excluded it from the average I took of the ratings. On the one hand, it was actually well-written and clearly provoked an extreme reaction in me; on the flip side - everything I've said above! What it did mean is that I had no qualms about rounding the average down to a 3 rather than up to a 4. I would have felt more generous towards it and wanted to recognise the importance of such a collection, but Lewis's story made me feel very uncomfortable and I don't know if I would recommend this collection to others.
In his introduction, [a:Chike Frankie Edozien|15254318|Chike Frankie Edozien|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] writes:
"African books - by Africans, for Africans - have broken through the walls of major markets in international publishing, reclaiming our narratives for generations to come...But while this was happening, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex Africans found themselves under sustained, ferocious and often brutal attacks y the state...This sparkling collection...means people all over the world will now have access to writing from across the continent that shows us as we really are, multidimensional and full of complexity."
As always, there's a variety of stories within here, so I've rated them individually and the overall rating is an average:
Nine Pieces of Desire - 3 stars
Pampers - 4 stars
Sethunya Likes Girls Best - 4 stars
Pelican Driver - 3.5 stars
Jambula Tree - 4 stars
Going Home - 4 stars
Staying Afloat - 3 stars
Maimuna Doesn't Know - 4 stars
Iyawo - 4 stars
Chief of the Home - 4 stars
Leaving Civvy Street - 3 stars
Pyrrhic Victory - 3 stars
Pub 360 - 3.5 stars
Rock - 3 stars
This Tomorrow Was Christmas - 2.5 stars
The Day He Came - 2 stars
Chapter Thirteen - 3 stars
Awure Iferan - 3 stars
The Bath - 4 stars
My Dad Forgot My Name? - COULD NOT RATE...see below!
Chebor's Light - 2 stars
All Covered Up - 4.5 stars
NOPE.
What actually happens is father and son have graphic sex. With each other. Full on literal incest.
I tried researching this collection online and there were very few reviews, none of which mentioned this story. The original story was, I believe, in Queer Africa 2, and the one article I could find about that described how some of the stories, including this one, were included to challenge readers' moral preconceptions - is negative moral perception of incest something that needs to be challenged?!
What disturbed me the most about this was that this story was in a collection about the LGBTQ+ community. Having discussed it with a friend, she articulated it perfectly - its inclusion is a tacit approval, as if incest is a valid sexuality alongside the rest of the community. Worse still, a prevalent assumption by many homophobes is that queerness is akin to paedophilia and children must be protected from gay people. While this story was about two consenting adults (although the unequal power dynamic between father and son would challenge that), it's still close enough to perpetuate that abhorrent stereotype, so I was shocked that the editors would choose to include it when all of the other stories seemed to be seeking to normalise and celebrate queerness.
In the end I couldn't rate that story and excluded it from the average I took of the ratings. On the one hand, it was actually well-written and clearly provoked an extreme reaction in me; on the flip side - everything I've said above! What it did mean is that I had no qualms about rounding the average down to a 3 rather than up to a 4. I would have felt more generous towards it and wanted to recognise the importance of such a collection, but Lewis's story made me feel very uncomfortable and I don't know if I would recommend this collection to others.