Obsidian

In the South where she was from, where nails dug water from the soil and women were unsung magicians and their daughters riddles, there, love was not simple. Love was not uncomplicated. The trouble, she found, was the insufficient warning signs on the streets, and the blamelessness in the light city air.

African Women Cultivating New Forms of Trust and Resistance in Activist Circles

On a crisp fall day, bundled up in an oversized sweater, riding boots and a toque, I set out to go apple picking with my colleagues. The apple orchard was vast and beautiful.

Giving Up On Love

I am writing this as I am about to lose something I love. I have lost many things that I have loved. I still can’t find the ring I bought from the Zimbabwean artist at Camden Market in London. What I am about to lose, my space, is something very important to me.

Bi Stander

It’s amazing how many different kinds of people live in this city. It’s amazing how blind we can be to this variety if we don’t pay attention …My final year on campus began in November 2010. I promised myself that when it was over I would have done something really significant for myself. It had to be something grand, and not for others to see but just for me.

Either female or criminal

So I’ve been a criminal for several years now. I have loved criminals, evolved in criminal spheres, befriended criminals, and finally found a criminal of my own; a criminal whose smile clears up all doubts and fears, whose eyes will be my final home. But, when I fall asleep at night in the arms of my beloved, I cannot help but think that

Naming Homosexuality in Francophone Africa

The language system of young gay men in Côte d’Ivoire is based on slang they call “nouchi” lively mixture of French and Negro local languages. Homosexuality is also told here through the split passive / active, which is derived from a heteronormative model. The insertive or active partner is “yossi” while the receptive or passive partner is “woubi.” These two expressions are deformations of Senegalese Wolof words “Yossi” and “Oubi” which reflect the same in the homosexual community in Senegal.