Queering Afrobeats
Gender, sexuality, and resistance in African popular music
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12255014 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Omotayo Jemiluyi (0000-0001-7573-1746, University of Missouri, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Pages | 1-25 |
| Publication date | 2026-02-20 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Gender Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0958-9236 • E-ISSN: 1465-3869 |
| Publisher | Routledge (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/09589236.2026.2633722 |
| OpenAlex | W7130695386 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 40 |
This study examines expressions of queerness, sexuality, and resistance in Afrobeats through a multimodal analysis of three significant contemporary songs; Angel Maxine’s ‘Wo Fie’ (2021), Teni’s ‘YBGFA’ (2023), and Amaarae’s ‘Co-Star’ (2023). Building on the foundational scholarship of Queer African Studies, the study conceptualizes the framework of African Queer Expressive Strategies, demonstrating how African artists employ music and visual representation as dynamic platforms for critiquing societal norms, asserting queer visibility, and celebrating non-normative identities within African contexts. In critically reading Angel Maxine’s deployment of direct political activism and critique of institutional homophobia and cultural hypocrisy in Ghana; Amaarae’s navigation of queerness through symbolic aesthetics, sensual metaphors, and unapologetic eroticism; and Teni’s articulation of defiant self-affirmation that confronts restrictive gender expectations through introspective lyrics and nuanced symbolism, the article contends that queer presence in African popular music is articulated through overlapping registers of overt confrontation, aesthetic transfiguration, and strategic opacity. Consequently, it posits multiplicity as a key modality of queer expression and highlights the importance of intersectional, culturally grounded frameworks that both decentre Western queer epistemologies, while recognizing the critical role of popular culture in theorizing and resisting normative regimes of gender and sexuality.
Popular culture · Popular music · Queer · Resistance (ecology · African Sexualities and LGBTQ+ Issues · Music History and Culture · Postcolonial and Cultural Literary Studies
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Introduction
A Note on ‘Woman Marriage’ in Dahomey
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Queer Studies African Studies
Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence
On Hybridity in African Popular Music
Popular Arts in Africa
Àjẹ́kùnrin
Frontiers and pioneers in (the study of) queer experiences in Africa Introduction
African Studies Keywords
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |