HOMOSEXUALITY IN CHINELO OKPARANTA’S UNDER THE UDALA TREES

ABSTRACT

This essay is a literary investigation of homosexuality in Chinelo Okparanta’s novel. The essence of this essay is to underscore the war against the LGBT community in Nigeria society. The essay employs queer theory to highlight the phenomenon of lesbianism in Okparanta’s Under the Udala Trees. Equipped with this theoretical insight, this essay accesses the novelists’ use of stereotypes to expose how African society at large views same – sex relationship. The essay concludes that Okparanta in dealing with homosexuality in her novel, identifies biblical and tribal stereotypes as stumbling blocks to the practice of homosexuality while feminism boosts the acceptance of homosexuality in the African context.

Keywords: Homosexuality, Stereotype, Queer, Biblical, Tribal and Feminist.