Discursive Constructions Of Homosexuality In Kenya: A Corpus-Driven Discourse Analysis Of The German Press

Abstract

(Recent) legislations surrounding LGBTQ+ discourses in Kenya and beyond have invited visibility and coverage from both local and international media outlets. Building on studies that examine LGBTQ+ social justice and human rights, this study analyzes how German Newspapers in particular frame news surrounding homosexuality in Kenya. In this study, I use LexisNexis, a corpus data source to source newspapers that thematize Homosexualität in Kenia between 2014 to 2024 and then I apply Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) by Van Dijk, to interpret and analyze the results through a macrostructural perspective. The study quantitatively employs a corpus-based analysis, in which Sketch engine, a corpus linguistic tool is used to determine concordances, collocations, and keyword analysis. The study borrows from qualitative theories in which the concepts of Representation by Stuart Hall and the Frankfurt school theory by Theodore Adorno are applied. The results highlight the dominance and intersection of discourses such as the prevalence of homophobia, Western influence, the discursive positioning of Uganda and South Africa, and the reporting of a collective Africa. The study is relevant in unraveling the discursive strategies that inform and shape how the state of homosexuality in Kenya is reported about from a German newspaper perspective. It is necessary to examine German media perspectives of homosexuality in Kenya to gain a more nuanced and historical understanding of how these discursive patterns of German witnessing about Africa get made/remade in media contexts.