Kevin Mwachiro

A short book containing a collection of stories about being gay in Africa. The experiences are those of people from different areas in Kenya, but they have a common thread which is the search for acceptance and the true self. Although I found the book interesting, there were no earth-shattering truths or details of traumatic experiences. Most of these people came out with reasonable amounts of controversy. The harsh treatments and corrective rape some are exposed to is only mentioned in passing. It is still a very brave look at the invisible LGBTI minority in Africa, and their struggle to live normally.… (mehr)

Content Note: (reference to) homomisia, transmisia, queermisia, sexal violence, rape

I’m not sure how much Mwachiro was an editor and how much he actually wrote himself, but the stories, letters and poems collected here are all (auto)biographical accounts of queer people living in Kenya. They are queer in different ways and come from all walks of life, opening a kaleidoscope of queer experiences in Kenya – where until recently it has been publically debated whether such a thing as queerness actually exists at all. Reading it as a queer, white European, it is striking how many things are the same for all of us, even if the book is very much aimed at a Kenyan public.

Read more on my blog: https://kalafudra.com/2020/05/06/invisible-stories-from-kenyas-queer-community-k...… (mehr)