The Góor-jigéen in Senegal: The Past

Cry Like a Boy

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.

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