Third Space of Gender and Sexual Orientation. Queer African Voices – A Comparative Perspective

Abstract

The idea of ​​Third Space in the context of the colonial and postcolonial clash of cultures is part of the concept of cultural hybridization portrayed by Homi K. Bhabha in his most famous book, Location of Culture (1998). In Bhabha's conception, Third Space is a cultural "no man's land" that leads the individual out of the trap of binary oppositions and helps them navigate between colliding cultures, customs, and world views. It allows him to regain, at least partially, the balance in the disturbances of the division forces he experiences. This can be observed in different contexts: the Third Space concept involves categories like classes, gender, race, and other. In the proposed paper, I would like to examine novels of African and black diasporic writers such as Akwaeke Emezi (Freshwater, The Death of Vivek Oji), Chinelo Okparanta (Under the Udala Trees), K. Sello Duiker (The Quiet Violence of Dreams), Paul Mendez (Rainbow Milk) and Uzodinma Iweala (Speak No Evil) to compare different approaches of creating "Queer Third Space" in African and black diasporic context.