PATRIARCHY AND THE TRAP OF MASCULINITY: A POST-COLONIAL ANALYSIS OF VIOLENCE AGAINST SEXUAL MINORITIES

This theoretical study examines the causes and socio-historical factors behind male-perpetrated violence against sexual minorities in Uganda. Violence against sexual minorities is a widely overlooked societal problem in Uganda, as it is in many areas of the world where homosexual acts are criminalized. As sexual minorities gain visibility and seek basic human rights in their country, they are met with a violent backlash fueled by homophobia and heterosexist ideology. Most of these acts of violence are committed by males, and many go unreported. While various theorists have explored how homophobia, heterosexism and patriarchy play a role in violence against sexual minorities, I believe there is much more to the picture, especially in a country like Uganda with a complicated colonial past. In this study I examine factors that may cause this homophobic violence through two theoretical lenses: studies of masculinity, and studies of violence. Through both lenses I analyze why males are conditioned in patriarchal societies to commit acts of violence, why these acts of violence are often directed at sexual minorities, and how the long history of colonialism and the continued influences of neo-colonialism and international power dynamics continue to shape the situation in Uganda today