"Human Beings Have a Hard Time Relating to That Which Does Not Resemble Them": Queering Normativity in Nnedi Okorafor's Lagoon. (3rd May 2020)
- Record Type:
- Journal Article
- Title:
- "Human Beings Have a Hard Time Relating to That Which Does Not Resemble Them": Queering Normativity in Nnedi Okorafor's Lagoon. (3rd May 2020)
- Main Title:
- "Human Beings Have a Hard Time Relating to That Which Does Not Resemble Them": Queering Normativity in Nnedi Okorafor's Lagoon
- Authors:
- Ncube, Gibson
- Abstract:
- Abstract: In this article, I analyse the ways in which Nnedi Okorafor's Afrofuturist novel Lagoon (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 2014) challenges stable and so-called normative identities and ways of being. Lagoon narrates the story of aliens landing in Lagos, Nigeria. Through its presentation of shapeshifting aliens, as well as the use of a plurivocal narrative technique enmeshed with Nigerian folktales and myths, the novel destabilises the notions of stable and fixed identities upon which heteropatriarchy rests. Drawing largely on queer and Afrofuturist theories, I argue that Okorafor's novel imagines alternative futures in which identities and desires are liberated from the rigidity of what is idealised and considered normal. I also argue that Lagoon 's Afrofuturist perspective is unequivocally invested in undoing and working against Western hegemony, especially relating to imagining African realities. I highlight, ultimately, that the reader is integral in the process of creating new African realities.
- Is Part Of:
- Scrutiny2. Volume 25:Number 2(2020)
- Journal:
- Scrutiny2
- Issue:
- Volume 25:Number 2(2020)
- Issue Display:
- Volume 25, Issue 2 (2020)
- Year:
- 2020
- Volume:
- 25
- Issue:
- 2
- Issue Sort Value:
- 2020-0025-0002-0000
- Page Start:
- 69
- Page End:
- 81
- Publication Date:
- 2020-05-03
- Subjects:
- queer -- Afrofuturism -- shapeshifting -- gender identity -- futurity
English philology -- Study and teaching (Higher) -- South Africa -- Periodicals
South African literature (English) -- Study and teaching (Higher) -- South Africa -- Periodicals
428 - Journal URLs:
- http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/titles/18125441.asp ↗
http://www.unisa.ac.za/default.asp?Cmd=ViewContent&ContentID=943 ↗
http://www.tandfonline.com/ ↗ - DOI:
- 10.1080/18125441.2020.1826568 ↗
- Languages:
- English
- ISSNs:
- 1812-5441
- Deposit Type:
- Legaldeposit
- View Content:
- Available online (eLD content is only available in our Reading Rooms) ↗
- Physical Locations:
- British Library DSC - 8213.282750
British Library DSC - BLDSS-3PM
British Library HMNTS - ELD Digital store - Ingest File:
- 22720.xml