HOMOSEXUALITY IN NIGERIA; A STUDY OF FOUR SHORT STORIES
Abstract
This research investigates the representation of homosexuality in contemporary Nigerian literature through a critical analysis of selected short stories from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's The Thing Around Your Neck and Halima Aliyu's Fire on the Tip of Ice. In a context marked with socio-cultural and legal hostility towards LGBTQ+ identities in Nigeria, this research interrogates how literature function as a reflective and a resistant space to heteronormative ideologies. Adichie's understated narrative strategies, most especially in "Jumping Monkey Hill," lampoon silencing queer stories on the pretext of cultural authenticity; Aliyu on her part has audaciously created queer characters and navigated state repression, societal rejection, and emotional resilience. Applying Queer Theory and Social Constructivism as analytical frameworks, the study discusses home-themed themes in the short stories like homophobia, erasure of identity, narrative resistance, and politics of visibility. The qualitative and interpretive research design adopts close textual reading and thematic analysis to evaluate the two authors' contestation of the hegemonic discourse that frames homosexuality as "un-African." Research findings reveal that literature takes a defining action in establishing queer subjectivity while resisting institutionalization discrimination. It also allots the scope within which fictional narratives could humanize marginalized identities and sustain progressive dialogue. This study enriches the growing canon of queer African literary criticism and presents new conclusions regarding the nexus among literature, identity, and social justice in Nigeria.
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