An exploratory study of the representation of lesbian subjectivities in the contemporary Kenyan film Rafiki

Abstract

This research analyzes the depiction of black Kenyan lesbians in contemporary Kenyan films. In order to do so, I focus on the film Rafiki by Wanuri Kahiu, a 2018 Kenyan drama film that documents the story of romance that grows between two young women amidst family and political pressure around lesbian gay bisexual trans intersex and queer (LGBTIQ+) rights in Kenya. The film speaks to issues of intersectional subjectivity and diverse ways of what it is to identify across different social categories, a woman, a lesbian, a Kenyan and specifically black Kenyan.