The Góor-jigéen in Senegal: The Past

01/07/21 • 15 min

A few decades ago, some Senegalese men openly identified themselves as not male or female, but as an alternative gender - the “Góor-jigéen” or “men-women”. Senegalese society accepted them, and they moved about freely in the streets of Dakar and other towns, dressed as women. Today, in those very same streets, men seen as behaving effeminately in any way are often harassed or attacked.

Do any Senegalese still remember the time when this didn’t happen? Why did things change?

In this episode, we investigate the colonial roots of homophobia in Senegal. To do this, we travel back in time to when Dakar was known as the “gay capital” of West Africa.

Hosted by Danielle Olavario; with original reporting and editing by Marta Moreiras in Dakar, Senegal; Naira Davlashyan, Marta Rodríguez Martínez and Lillo Montalto Monella in Lyon, and Lory Martinez in Paris, France; Clizia Sala in London, United Kingdom. Production Design by Studio Ochenta. Theme music by Gabriel Dalmasso. Music curation for this episode is by Natalia Oelsner. Graphic Design by Alexis Caddeo & Alois Bombardier. With editorial and production assistance from: Ignatius Annor, Tokunbo Salako, Paul Hackett and Sylvain Dutang. Our editor in chief is Yasir Khan.

In this episode, we used music by Sahad Sarr, a Senegalese artist and songwriter, involved in the development of rural populations. You can check out his work at sahadpatchwork.com.

This episode features extracts from Friends (The One With Joey's Bag, 1999) and Lambe, La lutte sénégalaise (Paulin Soumana Vieira, 1963). You can check more information about his work and buy the film in www.psv-films.fr.

Like this episode? Share your thoughts on how you have challenged your view on what it means to be a man with Euronews using the hashtag #CryLikeaBoy. And if you are a French speaker, this podcast is also available in French: Dans la tête des hommes.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Do any Senegalese still remember the time when this didn’t happen? Why did things change?

In this episode, we investigate the colonial roots of homophobia in Senegal. To do this, we travel back in time to when Dakar was known as the “gay capital” of West Africa.

In this episode, we used music by Sahad Sarr, a Senegalese artist and songwriter, involved in the development of rural populations. You can check out his work at sahadpatchwork.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Previous Episode

The Góor-jigéen in Senegal: The Secret

Junior is a young Senegalese man who lives with a secret about who he is. He’s kept it from his family and even his childhood friends, because he’s afraid of not only rejection, but persecution, and even imprisonment. The secret is that Junior is gay.

In this episode, Dakar-based journalist Marta Moreiras explores what it means to be gay in Senegal, where homosexual men here are targeted with the slur “Góor-jigéen” - a pejorative term which literally means “men-women” in the Wolof language, and is used to belittle their masculinity.

This episode features extracts from Milk (2008), Rocketman (2019) and Moonlight (2016).

In this episode, we used music by Sahad Sarr, a Senegalese artist and songwriter, involved in the development of rural populations. You can check out his work at sahadpatchwork.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Next Episode

The Góor-jigéen in Senegal: Coming out

In this episode of Cry Like a Boy, South-African activist Khopotso Bodibe speaks to Youssef Belghmaidi, the organizer of the first pride march in the multicultural neighbourhood of Saint-Denis in Paris. She is a Moroccan trans woman activist based in Aubervilliers near the French capital.

Our second guest, Sheba Akpokli, is an LGTBIQ+ rights activist from Togo. She represents the African region on the World Board of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association.

They will talk about being queer in Africa and in Europe. Does coming out affect the way people see you as a man? Does it change your daily lifestyle? Why do some immigrants continue to live in the closet when they move to Europe?

Hosted by Khopotso Bodibe; with original reporting and editing by Marta Moreiras in Dakar, Senegal; Naira Davlashyan, Marta Rodríguez Martínez and Lillo Montalto Monella in Lyon, and Lory Martinez in Paris, France; Clizia Sala in London, United Kingdom. Production Design by Studio Ochenta. Theme music by Gabriel Dalmasso. Music curation for this episode is by Natalia Oelsner. Graphic Design by Alexis Caddeo & Alois Bombardier. Our executive producer is Yasir Khan.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.