African Women's Life History Project.

Format:

Book

Series:

Archives of Sexuality and Gender: International Perspectives on LGBTQ Activism and Culture.

Archives of Sexuality and Gender: International Perspectives on LGBTQ Activism and Culture

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Lesbianism--Africa.

Lesbianism.

Lesbians--Africa--Social life and customs.

Lesbians.

Lesbians--Africa--Social conditions.

Tommy boys, lesbian men and ancestral wives.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (37 manuscripts (4,161 pages)) : photographs.

Summary:

This collection is comprised mainly of documents relating to the African Women's Life History Project and the resulting book Tommy Boys, Lesbian Men & Ancestral Wives: Female same-sex practices in Africa. The oral history project involved training a selection of women from various African countries (in a workshop in Johannesburg from 10-13 March 2003) to conduct oral history interviews on female same-sex practices in Africa. These women then presented at the 'Special session: Women's Same Sex Practices' at the 'Sex & Secrecy Conference', hosted by the University of the Witwatersrand in June 2003. The conference was the initiative of the International Association for the Study of Sexuality, Culture & Society (IASSCS), and took place from 22-25 June 2003. A second, pre-conference, workshop took place with the group of women from the first workshop (ahead of their conference presentation) from 19-21 June 2003. GALA was involved in organizing the conference and the special session, as well as the two workshops. This oral history project (OHP) then formed the basis of the book Tommy Boys, Lesbian Men & Ancestral Wives: Female same-sex practices in Africa, published in 2005. The OHP, conference presentation and book were all projects led by Ruth Morgan (then Director of GALA) and Saskia Wieringa. The collection consists mainly of documents relating to the African Women's Life History Project and include workshop and conference planning documents, interview transcripts and reports and articles on the project, as well as photographs. The materials relating to the resulting Tommy Boys book include correspondence, book drafts, records documenting the relationship with the publisher, Jacana Media, (book proposal, contract and correspondence) as well as materials relating to the book launch and book distribution, and book reviews. Photocopied academic articles, book chapters, conference papers and press clippings around gender, sexuality, oral histories and female same-sex relationships in various African countries are contained in the research series. The last series contains material on the formation and launch of Coalition of African Lesbians (CAL) which stemmed from the partnerships and relationships forged during the African Women's Life History Project.

Notes:

Date range of documents: 2002-2005.

Reproduction of the originals from Gay and Lesbian Memory in Action (GALA).

Includes the following subcollections: Formation & launch of the Coalition of African Lesbians (CAL) -- Oral history project, workshops and conference -- Research -- Tommy Boys book.

OCLC:

1164134348