Old Wineskins, New Wine: Readings in Sexuality in sub-Saharan Africa

A draft working definition of sexuality, developed by the World Health Organization (WHO), lent some clarity to the fuzzy concept. The WHO draft definition conceptualises sexuality as ‘a central aspect of being human throughout life [which] encompasses sex, gender identities and roles, sexual orientation, eroticism, pleasure, intimacy and reproduction. Questions about human sexuality have also begun to be asked in very imaginative ways, forcing the field of sexuality to spill over the margins of academic legitimacy and to increasingly hold its own as a valid field of intellectual inquiry. However, in many ways, in sub-Saharan Africa, sexuality as an academic field has been obligated to ‘piggy-back’ on public health in order to receive serious attention. The consideration of sexuality in the region without some connection with disease has often been perceived as a rather frivolous academic endeavour. Modifying this notion has been a slow but sure venture.