LGBTQI+ Regulation and Implications for Transgender Rights in Africa: A Feminist Queer Inquiry

Abstract

Against the backdrop of dominant narratives and state legislation that criminalize people based on gender identity and sexual orientation across many African contexts, this study documents key LGBTI+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex) regulations and foregrounds transgender (trans) experiences in particular. Using a mixed-methods design and a feminist queer standpoint, it first conducts a scoping review to map regional patterns in LGBTI+ regulation, tracing trajectories of decriminalization and the interplay between law, public opinion, and activism. It then analyzes narrative data from young people in Ghana concerning their understandings of transness, their tendency to conflate transness with specific sexual acts, and their views on how trans individuals might position themselves vis-à-vis anti-gay and anti-LGBTI+ legislation. By placing broad legal and policy trends alongside grounded accounts from Ghanaian youth, the study illuminates how structural conditions and everyday meanings co-produce trans experiences in Africa. It argues that sustained, trans-specific research and storytelling—rooted in feminist and queer scholarship—are crucial for disaggregating the category “LGBTI+,” illuminating the distinct vulnerabilities and contributions of trans persons, and informing gender-responsive policies and interventions that harness Africa’s demographic dividend through the full inclusion and protection of all young people, regardless of gender identity.