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Kuchu Counterpublic on Facebook: Gay Men’s Challenge to Heterosexist Policies in Uganda
Author(s) -
Amoedo Luiz Henrique
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
anthropology and humanism
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.153
H-Index - 17
eISSN - 1548-1409
pISSN - 1559-9167
DOI - 10.1111/anhu.12318
Subject(s) - queer , ethnography , opposition (politics) , sociology , gender studies , government (linguistics) , space (punctuation) , political science , social psychology , public relations , media studies , criminology , psychology , politics , computer science , law , linguistics , philosophy , anthropology , operating system
Summary How do queer counterpublics online function as spaces where stigmatized individuals can gather to advocate for their interests and share their needs? Based on an online ethnography of gay cisgender men in Uganda, I offer three main conclusions. First, the popular and widely accessible social medium Facebook allows space for a visible queer opposition to the anti‐LGBTQ movement and for the realities of the Ugandan LGBTQ community—locally known as kuchu—to emerge through individuals’ sexual self‐expression and self‐knowledge. Second, to avoid identification, arrests, and punishments through state surveillance, kuchus use Facebook to create a list of safe virtual friends. Finally, the rise of a virtual queer counterpublic and its global discourse has deepened transnational stereotypes and encouraged vigorous attacks by the Ugandan government, including indiscriminate arrests. Despite these risks and challenges, kuchus ’ use of Facebook demonstrates its value for creating a counterpublic.