‘We don’t catwalk” Bisi Alimi says of homosexual; advocates for accurate portrayal by Nollywood

Bisi Alimi was the first Nigerian to come out of the closet on television.

 

An advocate for social justice including sexual orientation and gender identity, Bisi Alimi has issue with the way Nollywood portrays homosexuals and homosexuality. The activist who is also an actor recently shared this thoughts with Pulse Nigeria.

 

“We all don’t catwalk, we don’t call ourselves wives. It’s this kind of caricature that is very problematic because the power of film and television is huge,” he said. “And people see things, it stays in their memory. They go out and expect that thing to be the way they have seen it, the way it has been sold to them.”

And homosexuality is certainly not infections; this he said in reference to a movie that treated lesbianism as a demon that infects people.

“I mean if that’s the point and we were that powerful to be infecting people, we would have infected everybody in Nigeria with the level of hate we get. But that’s not how things work,” he said.

 

Read about Jordan wakes up to 21st Century, to punish men who rape women

 

Bisi Alimi will also think that the Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community should be emboldened and take charge of their story without reliance on others to do that for them.

“Film has a huge part and I also hope that the community starts tapping into how we also tell our stories because it is not just going to happen.”
“We have to take the lead as well and say how do we release our own movies that actually talk about our own story, but I hope it gets through the film censors board.”

 

Some recent Nollywood movies that have tried to address the LGBT question include “Hell or High Water” and “Everything in Between.”

 

Alimi got married to his lover, Anthony, on November 5, 2016 in the UK.

 

 

Sidomex

The Nigeria government in January 2014 signed into a law a ban against homosexuality following the passage of the law by the national assembly. Not surprisingly, the laws elicited condemnation from many quarters especially by western governments and human rights activists. Furthermore, there is no recognition for gay rights or protection of LGBT in the country, and that is not looking to change anytime soon. See the tweet by Femi Adesina, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity. The tweet was sent out while President Buhari was on a four-day official visit to the United States of America.

 

 

 

Related: India declares freedom of sexual orientation a fundamental right

 

So yes, Bisi Alimi is right. A proper interpretation of what it is like being a homosexual could help move forward the conversation; Nollywood can help in that regard. Just as the LGBT community should tell their own stories in their own words. A lot of open-mindedness is called for and there is always room for dialogue. But it’s not going to be easy – we regularly still read about homophobia against the LGBT community even in western world. Yet, we must start somewhere, and conversations such as this is a prelude to gaining awareness.

 

 

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