Globalization of Same Sex Marriage: A Sociological Analysis of the Implications for Traditional African Societies

Abstract

With the exception of South Africa, homosexuality and, to a large extent, same-sex marriage are now common in many African communities and are receiving more attention than in the past. In many traditional African societies, homosexuality has evolved into a homophobia that is progressively becoming the norm. As a result, African traditional beliefs and morality around marriage and sexual relationships are gradually but consistently becoming aberrated. Even though same-sex marriage and homosexuality are seen as un-African and unnatural in many African societies, it is well known that the spread and legalization of same-sex marriages in the developed world is having a drastic effect on the spread and gradual acceptance of same-sex marriages in traditional African societies. Despite pressure from the West, laws prohibiting same-sex marriages have been strengthened in several African nations, and those who engage in them are viewed with contempt. South Africa is the only nation in Africa to have permitted same-sex unions and marriages since 2006. Using sociological and historical methods, the paper argues that the prevalence of same-sex relationships and unions in traditional African societies is largely due to globalization (cultural globalization), which is influenced by the African mindset that views the African way of life as inferior and backward and blindly accepts or adheres to anything that is European or western in nature. Therefore, this paper aims to examine the implications of the globalization of same-sex marriage on traditional African societies.

Keywords: Globalization, Same-sex Marriage, Traditional African Societies, Homosexuality