Negotiating Sexualities

via Kubatana.net

In recent discussions with several colleagues, we floated the idea of organizing a conference in Harare on sexualities. I would emphasize the full stop. Not reproductive and sexual health. Not HIV/AIDS, gender, and sexuality. Not violence against women and sexuality. Those are topics worthy of attention as well as a conference. Yet, conversations have had a slightly different focus, more an interest in exploring sexuality itself by examining, for example: How Zimbabweans understand and negotiate their own sexual selves. The rich histories of sexual practices and meanings in Zimbabwe. The ways discourses around sexuality make their way into projects of nation-building. The blending of Western and African ideas and categories in expressions of sexual rights and sexual liberation. Such a conference would continue to open up discussions about sexualities. Additionally, a meeting of the minds might lend insights into the ways sexuality relates to how day-to-day life happens, and is interwoven into economic, political, and social issues informing advocacy and challenges to the status quo.

The play Loupe, by Mandisi Gobodi, which ran during HIFA, is a good example of the ways sexuality can be an entry point to examine the landscapes and dynamics of the environments we live in. Or in this case a loupe, which is a type of magnifying glass. In the play, two brothers are at odds. One brother (Kilem) is a party commissar; he’s a comrade who likes beer, women, and power. Kilem’s younger brother (Sizwe) reveals he’s gay. In part, the play is about family bonds, while portraying a possible reaction to a family member acknowledging same-sex attraction. But the play is much, much more than a play with a “homosexual” theme. To a degree, the fact that Sizwe wants an intimate relationship another man is irrelevant. The overarching message of the play could have worked if Kilem was reacting to Sizwe having any goal he (Kilem) perceived as wrong. The play astutely unpacks, through Kilem and through sexuality, a mindset that seems present in Zimbabwe, and all over the world. It’s a mind-set driven by the desire to hold extreme and forceful power over people, ideas, and behavior. To manipulate facts, diminish individual rights, and selectively control what is acceptable. All the while building a power base to pressure others to conform. It’s a mindset that might be described as masculine, but not necessarily practiced by men only.

Gobodi’s writing is nothing short of amazingly masterful, particularly in capturing the complicated nuances of life in Zimbabwe. The play is extremely well directed and produced. And the acting . . . the performances were so powerful that when I saw the young man who played Kilem wandering around HIFA I was scared of him. Scared of the ways desire for power is exerted. The play will live on beyond HIFA as the British Council is currently working out plans for another run. It’s a must see for anyone interested in the economic, political, and social dynamics of Zimbabwe.