Lesbian Identity and Sexual Rights in the South - Saskia Wieringa

An Exploration

Lesbian women, or women in same-sex relations as I commonly call them, are among the
most abjected people in the South. Their histories are frequently denied them, under the
pretext that lesbianism is a western invention. Their citizenship is at times virtually suspended,
as in cases where it is said that homosexuality is un-African. Their sexuality is variously
classified as unnatural, sick (so psychiatric treatment is prescribed) or deviant. Yet women’s
same-sex relations have existed in many places of this world, as far as we know, and there
are many ways in which present-day women live their relations with other women. In this
article I will give an historic example of a community of women in same-sex relations before
discussing various forms of present-day communities.