Richard Ammon. The government of Senegal has made it clear that homosexuality is un-African. Indeed, homosexuality has been a visible and well-known part of Wolof traditions, and only moralist opinions of the colonialists, later adopted by an increasingly dominant Muslim clergy, led to the suppression of this culture.
The old Wolof name for homosexual men is gor-digen, or men-women. In the s, European reports about the exotic gor-digen increase in numbers, reflecting their visibility in the streets of Dakar. British historian Michael Crowder, travelling West Africa in the s, was also puzzled by the visibility of the gor-digen and male prostitution in Dakar. Mr Davidson reports about brothels and nightclubs dominated by the gor-digen. They camped around like a pride of prima donnas. Raymond Schenkel was the first to present scientific research about the sexuality of the Senegalese in A non-random survey of Senegalese made by the researcher revealed that The researcher also noted the big visibility of homosexuality in Dakar.
But attitudes started changing during the s. Dutch anthropologist Niels Teunis in found that Dakar men engaging with men were changing their identity. Picked up by government and the clergy, influenced by homphobic trends in Africa, this connection should lead to the destruction of the gor-digen culture. Modern Times At the beginning of this milennium, homosexuality was becoming more taboo and less visible in Dakar. But still in the mids, gay meeting points were well known to Dakar inhabitants and gay men relatively openly could pick up equally oriented men in terrasses of the famous beach promenade Corniche Ouest in the centre at plain daylight.
Most parties, however, started going underground. Around , Dakar had become a more conservative city at large. While the city centre earlier had a saga-like nightlife with live music and heavy alcohol consumption, Dakar now is more in line with other Muslim cities.
Nightlife, alcohol and sex during the last decade have been widely sent to the domain of taboos. Homosexuality has turned into the greatest taboo. And during the past two years, government got tough on homosexuals. Anti-gay rhetoric in the media and by politicians against individuals believed to be gay or lesbian sharply increased.
