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ABSTRACT
Understanding how The Hairdresser of Harare is viewed by critics and how it fits into the literary canon of Zimbabwe is essential to understanding how homosexuality is handled in the book. Political propaganda has a tendency to skew our perception of the situation, which partly explains the difference in readers' perceptions from Zimbabwe and the West. Dumisani has been referred to as invisible because he conceals his sexual preferences and Vimbai is unaware he is gay until she receives a written confession. It might be more accurate to say that he is inaudible because the discussion of homosexuality is developed through a variety of discourses and dialogues. The diary gives the reader access to the young man's intimacy, in contrast to the pastor's sermon and Fungai's philosophical approach, which both deal with an abstraction. The gay protagonist is silenced once more as he is forced into exile, leaving the main narrator, Vimbai, to interpret his tale. If the book is not a "activist tract," as Tendai Huchu suggested (Huchu 2017), the Dumisani character does serve as a catalyst to reveal submerged issues. The book also depicts the Class Divide. It highlights the wide gap that existed between the poor and the rich. The book demonstrates how societal concerns affect people's live.
