Góor-jigéens” used to move about freely in the streets of Dakar and other towns, dressed as women.
A few decades ago, some Senegalese men openly identified themselves as neither male nor female, but as an alternative gender - the “Góor-jigéen” or “men-women”.
Dakar is now West Africa’s center of gay oppression as it is seen as un-African. This is the story of the colonial roots of homophobia in Senegal.
If you haven’t listened to our previous episodes about the Abatangamuco, a group of men in rural Burundi who decided to stop beating their wives, please, do so in the player below.
A few decades ago, some Senegalese men openly identified themselves as not male or female, but as an alternative gender - the “Góor-jigéen” or “men-women”. Senegalese society accepted them, and they moved about freely in the streets of Dakar and other towns, dressed as women.
Today, in those very same streets, men seen as behaving effeminately in any way are often harassed or attacked. Nowadays ‘Góor-jigéen’ has become a pejorative term targeting gay men.
Do any Senegalese still remember the time when this didn’t happen? Why did things change?
In this episode, we investigate the colonial roots of homophobia in Senegal. To do this, we travel back in time to when Dakar was known as the “gay capital” of West Africa.