Homosexuality Not Natural? Ghanaian Writer Blasts Homophobia in Africa.
Phones aren’t natural either. What’s your point?
The way this woman stared at me, you’d think I’d just told her I ate babies for breakfast. We were in the bank at the time. She was the professional, and I was the client inquiring about a life insurance policy for my parents.
“Is it for both your mum and dad?” she asked, a dazzling smile on her face.
“My two mums,” I said without hesitation.
“Two mums?” Then her smile froze, the light completely gone from her eyes.
Wait, what? Had I said something wrong? After wondering what the issue could be, it suddenly dawned on me. The way I had worded my sentence implied that my two mums were a couple.
Suppressing the urge to grin like an idiot, I quickly clarified, “My two mums are my biological mother and my stepmom. My dad’s already passed.”
It was only then that she seemed relieved, and the rest of our interaction went on smoothly without any incident.
But later, while returning home, I couldn’t stop thinking about the whole thing. Perhaps, I had misunderstood the woman. But recalling her expression, a mixture of shock and disgust, it was pretty clear what she thought of me. No, this was no misunderstanding. This woman thought my parents were lesbians and instantly hated me for it.
She was just one woman, but she was an accurate representation of my entire country.
In Ghana, being gay is akin to being the devil himself. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve heard Ghanaians recount in gory details the things they would do to their own children if they ever came out as gay. And it’s not only Ghanaians. Most Africans are like that.
“Gay people deserve to be stoned to death,” they would say. “Gay people should be stripped naked and paraded on the streets like the animals they are. They don’t deserve to live. They are less than filth. Kill them all.”
Most people nod in agreement while quoting verses in the Bible to support their argument.
I see this all the time, sometimes even from people close to me.
Due to their strong religiosity, they genuinely believe gay people are evil, the very scum of the earth. To them, dehumanizing their fellow humans, simply because of who they love, is a service to god. You know, because god has nothing better to do, so he’s all up in the sex lives of consenting adults.
Most Ghanaians you’ll meet are incredibly friendly and kind, ready to lend a helping hand. Yet, these same Ghanaians won’t hesitate to beat you to death once they know you’re gay.
Service to god, remember?
Back in 2021, a so-called anti-gay bill became the hottest topic in Ghana.
Homosexuality was already criminalized in the country, however, this anti-gay bill, if passed into law, would take things further by banning all kinds of creative works that depicted same-sex relations. Writers, filmmakers, artists, musicians, and all kinds of creatives who had any LGBTQ+ content would be prosecuted. It didn’t even matter if they weren’t gay themselves.
Amid all that political chaos, I was writing my first novel, Vanquisher: Awakening. To be honest, I seriously considered giving up on the book out of fear. Why? Because my protagonist was a badass demon-vanquishing lesbian.
Given how homophobic Ghana was, it was likely that the bill would pass into law. If that happened, I could be arrested and prosecuted for writing gay characters. For days, I wrestled with myself. Would I have to give up on writing?
But a few days later, after profound discussions with myself, I came to a solemn conclusion: Fuck them all.
I would write whatever stories I wanted. If no one could read it because of the law, then I would read it my damn self.
I’ve never looked back since.
Thankfully, the bill never passed. But the discourse surrounding it showed me that homophobia was alive and well in Ghana.
I genuinely wanted to understand why Ghanaians hated gay people so much. Every single argument they came up with was pretty much the most illogical thing I’d ever heard.
“Homosexuality is not natural.”
This is one of the most common arguments against same-sex relationships. Being gay is not natural, they say. It’s against the nature of human beings to want love and sex from someone of the same sex. After all, not even animals do this.
I laugh every single time I hear this argument. “Not even animals do this?” Are we living on two different planets or something?
Homosexuality is everywhere in nature. Insects, fishes, birds, and mammals, across thousands of species, it’s so darn common. So why should human beings be any different?
But, fine, let’s say homosexuality is indeed not natural. So fucking what? Phones aren’t natural. Yet here we are, scrolling mindlessly, as though our thumbs specifically evolved to slide along a flat screen.
Where’s all the rage from homophobes about what an abomination phones and TVs and cars are? Clothes are as sinful as homosexuality, thus says the lord. Thou shall be naked, for that is natural.
Listen, just because something is unnatural doesn’t mean it’s bad. It certainly doesn’t automatically become good either just because it’s natural. I can list forty things off the top of my head that are natural yet wouldn’t wish them on my worst enemy. Cancer, congenital disorders, hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis, shall I go on?
On the opposite side of the spectrum are those who say that only animals sleep with the same sex, not people. “Why will you engage in an act that clearly is done by animals?”
“Why not?” I argue right back.
Do these people mean to tell me that they don’t eat, sleep, breathe, or have sex? Is that what they’re telling me? Animals do all these things too. Just like them. Where’s their disgust? Where is their rage?
Don’t even get me started on those who say it’s unnatural because two men or two women can’t have kids. As if the only purpose of having a life partner is to reproduce.
So if a husband and a wife are infertile and can’t have children, does that also count as unnatural? No, really, I’m genuinely curious.
“Homosexuality is not our culture.”
Ghanaians, and Africans in general, love to talk about how their oh-so-pure culture is superior to Western culture. Everything immoral is from the West, they say. Homosexuality is one of the many cultures we imported from the white man, and then wham, Africans suddenly became gay.
I’ve heard a lot of ridiculous shit, but this certainly takes the cake.
Gay people have existed for as long as humans have existed. They’ve only been a tiny minority of the population. You know, like how left-handed people are only about ten percent of the world’s population. Then again, just like gay people, lefties have also been persecuted throughout history.
The moral of the story, people are assholes.
Anyway, back to the “homosexuality is not our culture” nonsense.
I don’t know all African cultures, nor do I speak for the whole of Africa. Hell, I don’t even speak for Ghana. But I am well-versed in my own culture, so I’ll talk about that; the Ga Culture.
In Ga tradition, it’s common to see male priestesses (not a typo) who live as women and female priests who live as men. According to their beliefs, the male priestesses have been possessed by goddesses, while female priests have been possessed by gods. So they take on the gender qualities of these gods and goddesses.
You see it in their mannerisms and everyday way of life. Like men, the female priests walk around topless, with only a cloth around the lower half of their bodies. The men on the other hand wrap the cloth around their entire torso, covering their chests like women.
The men behave in the stereotypical feminine way while the women are a lot more masculine. I have seen this with my very own eyes.
This is Ga culture. Long before the first Europeans set foot on our shores in 1471, such was our tradition. And now, what, 500 years later, a man wearing a dress is suddenly a vile Western thing? Are you fucking kidding me?
If anything, Western culture, under the guise of Christianity, condemned all these practices and abolished homosexuality.
Today, more than 70% of all Ghanaians are Christians. The Abrahamic god is not a member of the indigenous Ghanaian pantheon of gods, so why are you worshiping him?
Pizza isn’t your culture either. It’s Italian. Neither are noodles. They’re Asian.
Suits are Western, yet you swaddle yourself in layers of clothing despite the scorching hell that is the African sun.
You perm your hair, use European names and languages, and even want to live in Europe or North America, the very places you claim to be immoral.
Do people not see their own hypocrisy?
“Homosexuality is against our religion.”
This is actually the most hilarious one to me. Hahaha… excuse me while I go laugh some more. Hahaha…
Wait oo, something is against your religion, so what should I do? No, serious question. What should I do about your religious beliefs? I’m not even trying to disrespect religious people. I just want to know what you want me to do about your beliefs. They are yours, not mine.
What should I do about them?
If it’s against your religion, then you the adherent shouldn’t practice it. Why are you telling me, who isn’t part of your religion, to do the same?
What should I do about it?
If I aggressively told you to stop eating chicken because it’s against the rules of the one true God, the Holy Feathers, what will you do? You’ll tell me to fuck off, and rightfully so.
What have my religious beliefs got to do with you? Not a damn thing. I have no business telling you how to live your life according to my beliefs.
Yet this is how a lot of religious people are. Since homosexuality is considered a sin in their religion, they want everyone to accept it. I hate to sound like a broken record, but what should we do about your beliefs? Not a damn thing.
Your religious doctrines are not universal. If you want to follow them, do so. It’s your right. But don’t impose it on other people. Whatever your holy books say only apply to those who choose to believe it.
I’ve met so many Christians who aggressively push their beliefs on others. Yet, they get offended when you do the same to them.
Years ago, this guy would always disturb my peace with the ‘Good News.’ I would tell him I wasn’t interested, but he would keep coming. Over and over, he tested my patience.
I may be agnostic, but I am a champion of religious rights.
But, and this is a big BUT, I have zero patience for people who shove their religious opinions on me. So yes, I got tired of his bullshit, and like Thanos, I snapped.
I told him I would believe in Jesus if he accepted Krishna as the supreme lord of the universe. Was he ready for that? If he didn’t accept Krishna, karma would come knocking.
“Samsara is a bitch,” I said, not exactly in these words. We were speaking Ga, not English. “You don’t accept Krishna, you’ll end up as a mosquito in your next life, and I’ll make sure to clap your mosquito ass to death.”
That was the last time he tried to evangelize to me.
People want to shove their religious doctrines down your throat. Their religion says homosexuality is a sin. So, everyone must accept that as law. God is the standard for morality, they say.
Here’s the thing, organized religion tends to have a disturbing perspective on morality. According to the two biggest religions in the world, killing an entire city in the name of god is righteous. There’s no mercy for men, women, children, the sick, the old, and even livestock.
Forgive me if I don’t take religious ethics seriously.
Without religion, we have a basic sense of morality rooted in empathy. Treat people as you want to be treated. Basically, actions that harm another individual, the environment, or yourself, are wrong… or sinful, as religious folks say.
Vices like stealing, rape, abuse, murder, and environmental pollution directly harm people or the environment. That’s the very definition of sin.
How is the love life of two (or more) consenting adults of the same sex harming anyone? How is it any of your business? Why does it bother you so much?
I wish these religious folks had the same energy to condemn adulterous men or pedophilic religious leaders. No, they don’t talk about those.
But by all means, let’s threaten a loving gay couple with the fiery pits of hell, shall we?
Final thoughts
There is no gay agenda, for fuck’s sake. No one is forcing you or your children to be gay. On the contrary, straight people are forcing gay people to be straight. As far as I can tell, there is a Straight Agenda.
Legalizing ‘gay marriage’ doesn’t mean you’ll be forced to marry someone of the same sex. It’s not about you. So what’s your problem?
If the sexual orientation of characters in books and movies can change your own sexuality, then everyone would be straight. Heterosexual relationships have dominated the media from the very beginning. Yet, it hasn’t turned all of us straight, has it?
Gay parents shouldn’t adopt kids because they’ll turn their kids gay? Really? Who birthed and raised all these gay people on earth? Aliens?
Homophobes can believe whatever they want but gay people will continue to exist. We will live our best lives. If we go to hell because of how we were born, we’ll meet 90% of religious folks there anyway.
So see you in hell, I guess.
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