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Ghana: Gay sex is banned - so Ghanaians dance against homophobia

Nellie Peyton

DAKAR (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Gay sex may be illegal in Ghana - dancing isn’t. So rappers and singers are using music videos to embrace LGBT+ life and fight homophobia in this conservative West African nation.

“Definitely this is the strongest way to create change,” said Emmanuel Owusu-Bonsu, part of the rap duo FOKN Bois. “The main thing the youth consume is music videos.”

In one new video, young men dance provocatively in a gay club. In another, a singer wanders through a wonderland populated by scantily clad women and drag queens. Same-sex relations are illegal in the West African country, and it’s too dangerous for celebrities to come out as gay.

Hence the stealth attack on homophobia. Although the colonial-era law is rarely enforced, activists say it means that violence and abuse against the LGBT+ community are condoned and that attacks often go unreported. Read more via Reuters