Chapter 15: Final Words: Unveiling in a Time of Backlash

The concluding chapter offers a comment on the relevance of the volume, Unveiling Identities, and the necessity for continuing Pan-African research to excavate hidden stories of the past and present. It refers to everyday challenges and state discourses that impact the lives of sexually diverse communities and the importance of sustaining sites for critical scholarship that is intersectional, reflexive, and anti-homophobic. Whilst there is acceptance of diverse sexualities in several Southern African spaces, frequent setbacks must be grappled with across the continent. Efforts to challenge heteronormativity, cultural conservatism, and politico-legal frameworks that oppress and invisibilise LGBTQ+ people in African countries are occurring within a wider context of global backlashes and right-wing extremism, further marginalising LGBTQ+ individuals. The current moment represents valuable time for networking, driving new research agendas, and disrupting heterosexist power structures and narratives. The chapter ends with a tribute to Dr Susan Holland-Muter, who passed away before the book was finalised.