Greetings from Ghana!

Being in Peace Corps is all about sharing information, whether it be recipes, dance steps, or language. I am sure many of you have seen pictures of me stirring banku, wearing an oversized kente smock, and attending baby naming ceremonies. However, this exchange is not one way. A big portion of my service has been me explaining the United States and its culture to the people I meet here in Ghana. Explaining, you might ask? Doesn’t the world already know about the U.S. from TV, movies, and the news? After all, we are one of the most powerful countries in the world (and express that in many ways, from military “might” to cultural hegemony to unequal trade laws). While it is true that Ghana has received a lot of information about the United States from TV, movies, and the news, it is easy to see just how limited in scope that glimpse into American culture is. For one, whenever I have a conversation about my home country with a Ghanaian, they always think that everyone there is w

Image credit In honor of National Coming Out Day, I want to take some time to take a look at the experience of LGBTQ+ PCVs and Ghanaians. Many who fall outside of the "straight" norm are often forced to hide their identity to avoid persecution and, in some cases, death. But why should these folks hide a major part of their identities? For one, being queer is seen as going against religion, which is a major part of the Ghanaian way of life. Ghanaians are very religious and believe that everything in the Bible and the hadith (sayings attributed to Mohammad) is law and should be strictly followed. Various passages in both of these sources explicitly declare homosexual acts to be abominable, and thus to be avoided. Thus, if one engaged in a same-sex relationship, he would be sinning against God and carrying out the “work of the devil.” However, sinning against God is often not the first argument Ghanaians make as to why homosexuality is wrong. Most point to the