YANNIS DAVY GUIBINGA
BOY WIVES & FEMALE HUSBANDS
Boy Wives and Female Husbands highlights the queer and non-binary communities that have existed throughout the African continent for centuries. Presented in four parts, the chapters explore modern interpretations of either an historical figure or a community of folks performing gender outside of the binary norms. Guibinga’s Boy Wives and Female Husbands aims to look at the place these communities occupied in traditional African societies in relation to the place queer and non-binary folks occupy today on the continent and across the globe.
The Queen and her Boy Wives
Queen warrior Nzinga ruled over the Ndongo and Matamba kingdoms for decades. Considered to be King of her people, she surrounded herself by young men who dressed as women and were her wives. Wherever she appeared, her subjects fell to their knees and kissed the ground.
The Swahili’s Drag Queen
A third gender on the east African coast, the Mashoga typically wore women’s clothes at particular social and ritual events. In many ways, they appeared to be the Swahili-speaking society’s equivalent of drag queens.
The Shaman
Ganga Ya-Chibanda was a spiritual figure in the central African region which ordinarily dressed as a woman and required of his subordinates to refer to him as Grandmother. In the west and central African regions, spiritual figures dressing up as women was common practice.
The “Men-Women” of Senegal
Gor-digen, translated man-woman in wolof, was a third gender in traditional Senegalese societies, by which folks who emulated womanhood through their behaviour and appearance identified. While certain elders condemned them, the gor-digen did not suffer in any way socially.
BOY WIVES & FEMALE HUSBANDS
CREDITS
Photography / Creative Direction: Yannis Davy Guibinga (@yannisdavy)
Assistant: Kano Kano (@kanokano_o)
Styling: Tinashe Musara (@tinashemusara) assisted by Haji May (@ssssecondsight)
HMUA: Jess Cohen (@jdcmua)
Models: Efia, Atlas Hapy, Obakeng Ndebele, Mukendi, Chivengi, Toshiro Kam, Grapes Mars, Haji Maa, Elvira Georgine, Uwayo Dushime, Chris Marlot, Arnaud Rose
ABOUT
Yannis Davy Guibinga, born 1995 Libreville, Gabon, is a photographer currently based in Montréal, Canada. In order to contribute to a change in the narrative about the continent, Yannis Davy Guibinga has found in photography a strength and a tool allowing him to not only celebrate but also to document and represent the many cultures and identities on the African continent and its diaspora.
Yannis has worked with clients such as Apple and Nikon and has exhibited works internationally in Switzerland, South Africa, Nigeria, France, Russia, United States, Switzerland and more, as well as featured on platforms such as CNN Africa, Document Journal, I-D, Harper’s Bazaar Russia, Condé Nast Traveler and more.
MISSION STATEMENT
The negative stereotypes ascribed to the African continent before, during and after colonial times are still considered factual by many today, and the idea that the continent remains primitive and underdeveloped has always informed the way people think about and interact with Africa. In order to contribute to a change in the narrative about the continent, Yannis Davy Guibinga has found in photography a strength and a tool allowing him to not only celebrate but also to document and represent the many cultures and identities on the African continent and its diaspora.
His portrait photography is a documentation of a new generation of Africans, unapologetically embracing their many identities and cultures in the face of globalization and Western cultural imperialism. His work also focuses on highlighting the diversity of African identities, as well as how these identities are created through the intersection of different factors such as gender, culture and socioeconomic status. By letting each image tell a different story and illustrate a unique experience, point of view and perspective, Yannis Davy Guibinga with colours, shapes and shadows creates a world of powerful, beautiful and dignified Africans regardless of gender performance, class, or sexual orientation.