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.
The secret is that Junior is gay.
In this episode, Dakar-based journalist Marta Moreiras explores what it means to be gay in Senegal, where homosexual men here are targeted with the slur “Góor-jigéen” - a pejorative term which literally means “men-women” in the Wolof language, and is used to belittle their masculinity.
Is it true that the Góor-jigéen were once widely accepted and respected? Are there Senegalese who still remember this? In the next episode, we will investigate the origin of homophobia in Senegal.
Make sure you listen to our next episode, which will be published on Thursday, January 7th.
Podcast | Une vie dans l ombre : ce que signifie être homosexuel à Dakar euronews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from euronews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.