Queer and West African Temporalities in Bernardine Evaristo's Girl, Woman, Other

Abstract: Bernardine Evaristo’s novel Girl, Woman, Other (2019) explores the life stories of twelve mainly Black and female, and some queer, characters. West African culture is represented not only through some of the characters’ identities but also through paratextual symbolism of Adinkra signs accompanying the protagonists’ names. The Akan concept of Sankofa, or ‘going back in time to learn for the future’, resonates through the characters’ construction of identity rooted in memories and continuous hope for a utopian future. Queer temporality provides another fruitful framework for interpreting non-normative and resistant performances of time. Looking forward while feeling backwards (Love) and striving towards a utopian future (Muñoz) are the focal points of a queer performance of time in this analysis. The need for an intersectional approach to interrogations of queer and West African temporality in the novel thus becomes apparent: Queer temporality must be thought in conjunction with Wes.... https://journals.ub.uni-koeln.de/index.php/genderforum/article/view/2266

Object Details

• Location: Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Frankfurt am Main
• Extent: Online-Ressource
• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Queer and West African Temporalities in Bernardine Evaristo's Girl, Woman, Other ; volume:23 ; number:1 ; year:2024 ; Gender forum ; 23, Heft 1 (2024)

Contributors, Places and Time

• Creator: Grosch, Nele

Further information

• DOI: 10.18716/ojs/gefo/2024.2266
• URN: urn:nbn:de:101:1-2502060015057.993878303884
• Rights: Open Access; Der Zugriff auf das Objekt ist unbeschränkt möglich.
• Last update: 15.08.2025, 7:32 AM CEST