Lesbianism in Nigerian literature: An appraisal of Ozioma Nduka’s “caught in the act”

Abstract

Lesbianism was until recently identified as a taboo in Nigeria and also an ignominious act which no one ever dared to mention or extol in a literary work. The public identified it as queer or obscene behaviour in writing but with the advent of post colonialism, with such movements as feminism and psychoanalysis, the reasoning pattern among Nigerian female writers changed culminating in writings discussing lesbian life and problems. This study explores lesbianism in the short story as a subgenre that delved into the lesbian life, prospects and problems. It observes that lesbianism has started manifesting in Nigerian literature even though there are still major challenges facing this subgenre of literature.

Key Words: Lesbianism, lesbian literature, Nigerian literature, post colonialism