Queering the Internet. Perspectives from Cameroon
Queering the Internet. Perspectives from Cameroon
Thu 9 June 2022, 12-14, Raum S 122, GW I and Zoom 914 8611 6606, passcode: 711811
This article analyzes the different uses of the digital tools that minority groups operate for visibility purposes in Cameroon. It is based on a field survey conducted in Yaoundé and Douala, between 2018 and 2019. It begins with a description of gender relations in Cameroon, relations in which gender and sexuality norms are strictly defined, where women are assigned to exemplary sexual behaviors and where same sex sexualities are forbidden. The survey shows that for people who try to escape these conventions, the internet and mobile phones offer a space of liberation per se. However, the perception of the Internet as a source of greater danger challenges this openness. Paying attention to online digital strategies queer people use allows us to grasp the depth of the transformations of gender and sexual relations in the era of digital (r)evolutions in Cameroon, and to see how different sexual and gendered orders coexist online, between daring extraversion and renewed conservatism.
Key-Words: Internet, Digital cultures, queer, gender, sexuality, Cameroon