Botswana’s homosexual history is more than just a sociological aspect of the subcontinent.
The politics of sexual identities in Botswana is in need of exploration not just because of the
closeted nature, but its treatment in mainstream culture. Locating lesbian, bisexual and
women who have sex with women (LBWSW) identities is extremely difficult to access. On
one hand, the general community tries to marginalize a group of people from the so called
normative structure of society due to their alternative sexual orientation. On the other, we call
this a western influence when cases of violence and marginalization because of alternative
sexual orientation come from areas where a touch of western thought is still most negligible.
The law makers are left in a conundrum where they do not know whether to pass off this
‘aberration’ as a perverse human fetish or, to dismiss it as a black mark of globalization.
LBWSW persons struggle to receive direct reproductive health services as their sexuality
remains ignored due to cultural differences, religious misinterpretations and ignorance.
This study’s vision has been to investigate whether the LBWSW community is a society free
from sexuality-based discrimination where their legal rights are concerned.
Through the research, I critically examine aspects of LBWSW sexuality, gender roles and
hierarchies, the kind of information they seek, the underlying factors of marginalization, their
concerns and their views pertaining to these issues. I seek to unearth if LBWSW persons
themselves feel marginalized, and if so, how, when, why and what makes them feel as such.