Drawing from the diverse fields of postcolonial studies, literary studies, history, anthropology, sociology, political science, environmental studies, and development studies, among others, Gender and Sexuality in Senegalese Societies demonstrates the urgency and necessity of new research in gender and queer studies in and on Senegalese societies. By focusing on subjects that have thus far been largely neglected in national and scholarly debates, the chapters are subversive, complex, and inclusive, centering within Senegalese studies themes and elements of alternative, nonbinary, variant, and nonheteronormative gender identities, sexualities, and voices. Contributors demonstrate that nationalist and anticolonial discourses propelled by deep and lingering socioeconomic inequalities have led, in postcolonial Senegal, to vitriolic scapegoating of individuals and communities with variant sexual and gender identities. The chapters in this volume look inward to the voices and experiences of the Senegalese people to challenge nationalist representations of advocacy for the liberation of gender and sexual minorities in Senegal as a function of a Western neocolonialist agenda.

In Gender and Sexuality in Kenyan Societies: Centering the Human and the Humane in Critical Studies, edited by Besi Brillian Muhonja and Babacar M’Baye, contributors explore the application of ubuntu/utu responsive perspectives and methods to critical studies. Through the lens of ubuntu/utu, the contributors to this Kenya-focused volume draw from the diverse fields of postcolonial studies, literary studies, history, anthropology, sociology, political science, environmental studies, media studies, and development studies, among others, to demonstrate the urgency and necessity of humane scholarship/research in gender and queer studies. By centering decolonial approaches and the human and humane, concentrating on subjects and identities that have been largely neglected in national and scholarly debates, the chapters are subversive, complex, and inclusive. They advance within Kenyan studies themes and elements of alternative, non-binary, variant, and non-heteronormative gender identities, sexualities, and voices, as well as approaches to doing knowledge. Underscoring the timeliness of such a text is evidence rendered in sections of the collection highlighting the significance of ubuntu/utu-centric scholarship. Challenging the erasure of the human in academic works, the chapters in this volume look inward and locate the voices and experiences of Kenyan peoples as the pivotal locus of analysis and epistemological derivation.

Gender and Sexuality in Ghanaian Societies explores cultural dynamics embedded in the interstices of agency, vulnerability, and power within patriarchal structures that seek to regulate the sexual lives of women in Ghana. Emphasizing the centrality of gender as a motive force for sexual expression, the book stresses that contemporary Ghanaian women's sexual expressions are caught at the intersection of traditional gender expectations of heteronormativity and women’s perceptions of how heteronormativity should operate in their lives. The book's emphasis on women's agency is significant because it highlights a flaw in earlier, Western accounts of African women's lives under Africa's special brand of patriarchy that held women in total subjection to men. Gender and Sexuality debunks that trope and presents Ghanaian women's dynamism, resilience, and vulnerabilities embedded in the diverse cultures in which they live.

This book provides a timely contribution to the field of gender and development in the face of the looming failure of international development targets, the deepening HIV/AIDS pandemic and the increased incidence of civil conflict in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Across West Africa, Senegalese women enjoy the reputation of being good at the unique ways they take care of themselves, their households, and romantic partners through their enactment of jongé. This dissertation explores the cultural practices involved in jongé, including both discursive and embodied practices around womanhood, femininity, and sexuality. Practicing jongé includes, among other elements, cooking fancy meals, showcasing an idealized feminine identity, and performing eroticized sexuality through the consumption of various erotic paraphernalia. As a practice that permeates the daily lives of Senegalese women, the digital world, and popular culture, jongé has become a binding place to understand Senegalese women's identities.Through close reading, feminist ethnography, and critical discourse analysis, this dissertation shows how Senegalese women negotiate agency, power, and pleasure as they engage with jongé in their daily lives to find ways through the gendered expectations of their society. To make sense of this cultural practice among contemporary Senegalese women, the dissertation aims to think through the language and theories that emanate from it. Ultimately, the research explores the aesthetics of jongé and its significance in the Senegalese cultural imaginary as an agentive practice enabling women to gain power and pleasure and navigate their socio-economic marginalization through different bodily performances. Second, the dissertation brings forward diasporic women's narrative of jongé and demonstrates that the practice is an important place of construction and transmission of Senegalese notions about gender and sexuality and a discursive space where diasporic women negotiate its meaning while performing their transnational subjectivities. Lastly, women's performance of jonge̹ through the consumption of erotic paraphernalia exposes the cosmopolitanism of the practice. It reveals the liberatoriness, pleasurability, and intimacy of women's interactions and discussions about jongé as they navigate the various facets of their sexuality and explore erotic technologies while engaging in confidence with daily social issues that mark their lives as women.

This state-of-the-art Research Handbook provides a challenging and critical examination of the complex issues surrounding sports in contemporary societies. Featuring contributions from world-leading scholars, it focuses upon the impact of their research, together with significant social issues and controversies in sport.

"Dazzling... the tone is hopeful, resilient and accepting. Marked by the diversity of experiences shared, the wealth of intimate details, and the total lack of sensationalism, this is an astonishing report on the quest for sexual liberation." —Publishers Weekly, Starred Review "Touching, joyful, defiant -- and honest." —The Economist, a best book of the year Celebrate African women’s unique journeys toward sexual pleasure and liberation in this empowering, subversive collection of intimate stories. In these confessional pages, women control their own bodies and desires, work toward healing their painful pasts, and learn to assert their sexual power. Weaving a rich tapestry of experiences with a sex positive outlook, The Sex Lives of African Women is an empowering, subversive book that celebrates the liberation, individuality, and joy of African women's multifaceted sexuality. From a queer community in Egypt, to polyamorous life in Senegal, and a reflection on the intersection of religion and pleasure in Cameroon, feminist author Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah explores the many layers of love and desire, its expression, and how it defines who we are. Sekyiamah has spent decades talking openly and intimately to African women around the world about sex for her blog, “Adventures from the Bedrooms of African Women.” For this book she spoke to over 30 African women across the globe while chronicling her own journey toward sexual freedom.