Institutional and Personal Homophobia in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Post-Materialist Explanation

Sub-Saharan Africa is currently the most homophobic place in the world in terms of both state institutions and public opinions. Many scholars have blamed this on the former colonial powers of Africa who imposed homophobic policies on their landholdings. In order to explain variations in African homophobia, this study conceptualizes homophobia in two forms: institutional, using a measure of the homophobic actions of African states, and personal, using a composite score of multiple opinion surveys regarding homosexuality. Using linear regression models, this paper contends that Inglehhart’s post-materialist framework does a much better job of explaining variation in homophobia within Sub-Saharan Africa than could be explained by colonial influence alone. While colonial influence seems to have had a lasting impact on the homophobic culture of many Sub-Saharan states, the reinforcement of religious norms through economic underdevelopment also appears to be crucial in explaining contemporary African homophobia. Introduction: Homophobia as a Contemporary Issue Walking home from a soccer game on an empty street in Cape Town, Mvuleni Fana was ambushed by several men. They jumped her in the back of an alley, each man beating and raping her one at a time. The perpetrators knew about her sexual orientation, and before leaving her unconscious told her, “After everything we're going to do to you, you're going to be a real woman, and you're never going to act like this again” (Strudwick 2014). A similar story was told by Lungile Dladla who was walking home one evening with her fellow gay companion when, out of the dark, an armed man approached them. He tied their hands and feet, telling them “Ja, today I want to show you that you’re girls,” and proceeded to rape them both. Dladla’s case was not taken seriously at the police station because of her “butch” appearance, and more tragically