The Promise of Double Living. Understanding Young People with Same-Sex Desires in Contemporary Kampala.

Ugandan urban same-sex desiring individuals frequently encounter and navigate competing understandings of sexuality and sexual identity. Western essentialist understanding of sexual identity introduced by international development partners and transnational LGBT+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bi- and Transsexual) activism, as well as media, offer an alternative to Ugandan non-essentialist and fluid subject positions. This article seeks to understand how young individuals with same-sex -desires in Kampala navigate tensions between Western and local understandings concerning sexuality. We have interviewed 24 young individuals with same-sex desires (unaffiliated and individuals working in LGBT+ organizations) and asked how they approach their sexuality and experiences living with same-sex desires in contemporary Kampala. The results reveal how interview participants engaged in a complex navigation between local community expectations, their own same-sex desires, and embeddedness in a global LGBT+ culture. Although the participants engaged in what Westerners would label as a "double life," the article problematizes the prescriptive norms of authenticity and "coming out." The conclusion is that the fluid vs essentialist dichotomy is too simplistic to be helpful when trying to understand the lives and aspirations of young people with same-sex desires.

Towards a Situated Understanding of Vulnerability - An Analysis of Ugandan LGBT+ Exposure to Hate Crimes in Digital Spaces.

This study maps Uganda LGBT+ experiences of online hate crime and analyzes how preexisting vulnerability morph in digital spaces. Based on field notes, workshop material, and interviews with 13 LGBT+ individuals, the study finds that digital presences in contexts where users are vulnerable due to state-sanctioned discrimination and social exclusion, digital arenas exacerbate users' vulnerability to hate crimes through their digital footprints. The longing for community and intimacy, together with in some cases an unfamiliarity with how digital media can be misused, appear to facilitate both the ideologically driven perpetrators hunting LGBT+, and Crime passionnel, where an (ex)partner miscalculates the implications of publishing private material. This study thus illustrates how digital spaces are not safe(r) spaces, where LGBT+ are free to playfully explore sexual orientation and gender non-conformity, away from society's abhorring gaze. Furthermore, contrary to what could be expected, LGBT+ individuals' vulnerability was most often not the result of an outside intruder hunting LGBT+ online. The article reiterates the importance of a situated approach, acknowledging the environmental influences when studying and addressing LGBT+ vulnerabilities in digital spaces.

Homophobia as a barrier to comprehensive media coverage of the Ugandan anti-homosexual bill.

The Ugandan Anti-Homosexuality Bill of October 2009 caused an international outcry and sparked intense debate in the local media. This article explores to what degree a discriminatory social environment manifests itself in the Ugandan print media and discusses the potential implications for media's coverage of contentious policy options such as the Anti-Homosexuality Bill. A content analysis of 115 items from two daily newspapers (the government-owned New Vision and the privately owned the Daily Monitor, between October and December 2009) indicates the existence of two separate house styles; this is in spite of the fact that both newspapers reproduce the surrounding society's homophobia, albeit with different frequency. Unlike the New Vision, the Daily Monitor includes coverage on homophobia and discrimination, as well as provides space for criticism of the Bill. By acknowledging discrimination and its negative impact, the newspaper de-legitimizes homophobia and problematizes the proposed Anti-homosexuality Bill for their readers.

Kill Bill! Ugandan human rights organizations' attempts to influence the media's coverage of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill.

The Ugandan Anti-Homosexuality Bill of October 2009 caused an international outcry and sparked intense debate in the local and international media. Particularly contentious was its proposal to impose the death penalty for acts of 'aggravated homosexuality'. Through a quantitative content analysis of 176 items from two main daily newspapers, the government-owned New Vision and the privately-owned Daily Monitor, over the period October 2009-June 2010, combined with qualitative interviews with human rights defenders in Uganda, this study explores attempts made by local human rights advocates to influence the media's coverage of the Bill and the extent to which these attempts were successful. The study finds that while there are significant differences between the frequency of reporting on the Bill in the two newspapers, both papers devoted little editorial space to the public health and human rights concerns put forward by local human rights organizations. Despite Uganda's recent and often lauded history of openly addressing HIV/AIDS, human right organizations' attempts to highlight the Bill's potentially adverse effects on the country's ability to tackle the epidemic effectively were only partially successful and, interestingly, awarded much less attention than the potential human rights implications of the proposed change in legislation.

Factors associated with high media coverage of the HIV epidemic in Lesotho.

Regional studies show that Lesotho outperforms other countries in southern Africa in terms of awarding coverage to HIV and AIDS. Through qualitative interviews, this study examines the motivations, experiences, and perceived challenges among media workers, which could explain the high coverage. While a high level of personal commitment seems to be the outcome of interrelated factors-such as media workers' personal experience of the country's high HIV prevalence and high mortality rate-Lesotho's political leadership and various government initiatives, notably the unique 'Know Your Status' campaign, were singled out as a key factor behind the high coverage. Moreover, journalists and editors are often consciously exploiting the mass media's potential agenda-setting function in order to raise attention to HIV and AIDS. Although covering the HIV epidemic has become significantly easier in Lesotho because of government efforts, government and public officials are simultaneously identified as the main obstacle to more comprehensive coverage.