Can’t Let Nairo-body Know I’m Queer: Security Concerns

Get it? Instead of “Can’t Let Nobody Know I’m Queer,” I said, “Can’t Let Nairo-body Know I’m Queer.” That’s comedy gold right there. 

I’ll get to other parts of orientation a little later, but there was something I wanted to talk about first. When I first told people that I was studying abroad in Kenya, I was met with a wide variety of reactions. Here’s a taste of just some of the reactions:

• Watch out for AIDS!
• What about those kidnapped girls in Nigeria? Aren’t you scared?
• EBOLA!
• They have schools in Africa?
• Are you going to be living in a hut?
• Why aren’t you going some place civilized?
• Will you even have access to electricity?
• But you’re gay, why would you go there when you can’t be open and “homosexuality” is a crime?
• Don’t get shot.
• What about malaria?
• Why?

As you can see, I faced a wide variety of reactions. Some were reasonable, some were ignorant, some were insulting and some were just downright offensive. So I will use this post to address each of those concerns.

• “Watch out for Aids!” Are you fucking serious? Really? Do you have any idea how HIV and AIDS are even transmitted? If you did, you would know that is pretty much statistically impossible that I would ever be at risk. Having sex with a man is a crime in Kenya for me, so that’ll sort of act as my chastity belt. Also, HIV and AIDS are not just something that is a danger within Kenya and the rest of Africa. In 2012, roughly 3% of the people living in Washington, D.C. were HIV positive. Let’s stop assuming that HIV and AIDS don’t exist in the U.S. anymore and let’s start talking openly and honestly about sexual health.
• “What about those kidnapped girls in Nigeria? Aren’t you scared?” Look at a map, you doofus.
• “EBOLA!” Ebola is, as the World Health Organization said, an international public health emergency. With such a high mortality rate and its ability to spread quickly without showing symptoms, it is going to have devastating long-term and short-term effects on the affected communities. But, as of right now, the affected countries are still very far from Kenya. While Kenya is still at a risk of being affected by Ebola, it is unlikely that myself or AU Abroad will get caught off guard. Plus, I’m a pretty sanitary guy so yeah.
• “They have schools in Africa?” Seriously, shut up. Whatever image you have of Africa is totally wrong. First off, have you ever seen a picture of Africa? It’s huge. Like, really huge. While many areas are in need of schools and educators, there are many schools and colleges in Kenya and the rest of Africa. I will be attending classes at the University of Nairobi and my professors, who are Kenyan, seem just as if not more educated and experienced as their AU peers. But I think I’m going to go more in-depth comparing the U.S. education system to Kenya’s in a later post (when I actually know more and am not talking out of my ass).
• 

  It’s bigger than you think.

   

• “Are you going to be living in a hut?” Just stop. Please.
• “Why aren’t you going someplace civilized?” Just cause it isn’t the U.S., doesn’t mean it isn’t civilized. You’re right though, a country that puts roughly 1% of its adult population into prisons is terrible and uncivilized. Oh lol jk that’s the U.S. 
• “Will you even have access to electricity?” Please, do you honestly think I’d go anywhere if I didn’t have electricity and wi-fi?
• “But you’re gay, why would you go there when you can’t be open and “homosexuality” is a crime?” If I only went to the places where my identity was 100% accepted, my movement across the world would be extremely limited. And being gay isn’t in and of itself a crime in Kenya. “Homosexual acts” are illegal, which basically means having sex with the same gender. Despite the fact that my tall, skinny, pasty body tends to attract all sorts of male suitors, I will be resisting all sexual temptations this trip. The hardest part of this semester as it relates to my amazing gay-ness is having to listen to people tell me on a daily basis how “homosexuality is unnatural,” “homosexuals are pedophiles,” and other similar cheery topics, all while trying not to draw too much attention to myself. In the short week I’ve been here, I’ve already talked passionately about LGBTQ issues on a few occasions (more on that in a later post). But I really need to pull the reins in and recognize that no matter how much I want to talk about some of the issues that really matter to me, I’m rarely going to get the reactions I would like. During orientation, we had the opportunity to speak with a gay Kenyan man who talked about life in Nairobi. He mentioned that while most people disapprove, the conversation is just getting started. His coming out experiences have been mostly positive and he lives here in Nairobi with his partner. Right now (or at least the last time I checked) there was a law being proposed that would make the punishment for a foreigner (me) accused of “homosexuality” death by stoning. While that sounded a bit extreme even to me, it did trouble me a bit before I flew to Kenya. But as he pointed out, the group that proposed that law is super radical and it is almost definitely not going to gain any traction. I’m sure I’ll talk more about my experiences as a gay U.S. man in Nairobi, but I’ll stop here for now.
• “Don’t get shot.” Go away.
• “What about malaria?” Nairobi is at a very high elevation (6,000ft) which makes it an unwelcome environment for mosquito and malaria. When I do travel to areas outside of Nairobi, I will be taking anti-malarial drugs.
• “Why?” BECAUSE WHY THE HELL NOT! Seriously, I’m not sure when I’m ever going to get the chance to travel to Nairobi again with this much security and safety. And plus, I picked Nairobi, Kenya because I wanted to feel uncomfortable at points. I wanted to be forced out of my comfort zone. And I feel like this semester will not only allow me to learn more about the Public Health field, but allow me to make a meaningful contribution to Seeds of Peace Africa (the organization I’m interning for), learn more about Kenya, its people and its history, and to help me grow as a human being. Plus I’m really looking forward to making people who go around perpetuating harmful stereotypes about THE ENTIRE CONTINENT OF AFRICA and making them shut the fuck up. Okay, that’s it!

 

The song of the day is “Everyday” from High School Musical.