Woubi Chéri

Woubi Chéri (English: Darling Woubi) is a 1998 French/Ivorian documentary that shows a few days in the life of various members of the queer community in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire. At the time of its release, it was one of the few films from Africa to deal with LGBT issues. While there is a sentiment held amongst indigenous Africans as a result of Western imperialism, colonialism, and Abrahamic imposition that queerness is foreign or non-African, this film argues against the heteronormative insistence within the continent.

Woubi Chéri
2013 region 2 PAL DVD cover
Directed by	Laurent Bocahut Philip Brooks
Edited by	Nadia Ben Rachid
Release date	1998 (1998)
Running time	62 minutes
Countries	France Côte d'Ivoire
Language	French

Film content

Featured Terminology*

Term	Definition
Woubi	A feminine gay man
Yossi	A masculine bisexual man
Toussou Bakari	A gay woman; a lesbian
Controus	Someone who is homophobic/transphobic

*As this film came out in the 90s, two terms that were also prominent were transvestite & transexual. While considered a largely outdated (some older generation gender-queer people still self-identifying as such), the documentary has active & reoccuring usage of said terms. This will be reflected when describing the people and things said in the community in this specific case of examining the film.

Cast

Each cast member is given their share of screentime dedication to tell their story, explain their relationship to their gender and/or sexuality, and how they place themselves in the community.

Barbara

Acting as the foremost spokesperson for majority of the documentary, Barbara is a self-proclaimed "transvestite" who is referred to by another cast members as “The singer, the star of Abidjan." While also making a distinction about not "[going] as far as being a transexual," she also notes that she is still called a woubi; she stated “...insofar as I’m a boy who behaves like a woman.” She describes experience with her gender is more fluid while in the realm of femininity; when referred to by others, they will use the she-series set of pronouns.

At a young age, Barbara thought her feminine nature would subside over time. As the years progressed, however, her desire and attraction to boys grew immensely, and it scared her. She stated, "It was really scary. You feel all alone, and you don't dare tell anyone. You've no one like you that you can turn to." It wasn't until she came across an organized group that she referred to as "queens" that a particular individual named Ferdinand inspired her to be just like them. Though, she had to put that exploration on hold as at that time she still lived with her parents. Her relationship with queerness extends far into the political connotation of the term; an active and deliberate rejection of the status quo to reach a personal state of authenticity. She even says through laughter, "I think if I'd been a woman, I'd have been a lesbian. I think so..."

Vincent

Vincent is a woubi that had left Burkina Faso due to the passing of his mother, as well as to earn money to take home; he “didn’t [leave home] for a life of pleasure in Abidjan, but in hope for a better life.” In Abidjan, Vincent was taken in and informally adopted by an elderly woman, with no other family, who acts as a mother figure to him. Vincent states, “If someone loves you and adopts you—like a son or a relation—it's because life is too tough, and what we say or do is not to everyone's liking." The elderly woman loves and cherishes Vincent as if he were her own blood kin, and even states, "We both support each other. I adopted him as my son...we will always be together. Only death can separate us."

Avelido

Avelido, a yossi, met Vincent through his sister when they had visited Koumassi. In explaining the things that made him fall for Vincent, he refers to Vincent as "my wife" despite referring to Vincent in the he-series set of pronouns. The full quote being, "What I liked about him was his way of speaking. I liked the way he teased me, I like to be teased by my wife." Despite them having faced many people's disapproval and aversion, they proudly continue to be together and express much love to each other without shame.

Laurent

Laurent is a woubi, and at the age of 12-13, he realized he was experiencing different feelings from the other boys around him. He states "I was born a boy. So how come I liked what girls liked?" After one day of him quitting school, Laurent's father told him he could work as an apprentice under his brother (Laurent's uncle) in a garage as a mechanic. Laurent expressed dissatisfaction with the idea to his father, as he didn't care for a job with a masculine connotation; he stated, "I thought I'd get all dirty. It was a man's job, I didn't want to." Laurent plainly tells his father that he enjoys hairdressing instead. Laurent is out to his family, and they have no opposition to his sexuality; they express fondness for his cooking abilities—when he has downtime from managing his own pastry shop—which challenges the applied gender essentialist standard that kitchen duties are "a woman's job."

Jean-Jacques

Jean-Jacques is a yossi who's Laurent's partner, and he goes into the public perception of them as a couple; Jean-Jacques talks about how people from his village will first-and-foremost see two men being affectionate with each other. Laurent is known to wear cosmetics while they both are out-and-about, which brings in scrutiny from passer-bys. Despite the aforementioned factors, Jean-Jacques's family still respects him. Laurent makes a point about Jean-Jacques, saying "...my yossi, he goes out with women because he needs to have a family for the future...And maybe I'll be able to live a family life through him."

Sostène

Sostène is a yossi that is asked—in the company of Laurent and Jean-Jacques—whether or not he is open about his identity and what his public perception is. Sostène then stated, "Me, personally, in my neighborhood, I refuse categorically to be labelled...I want secrecy." He goes on to describe how he's dating a woman and has a child with her, but desires to marry a woubi; he mentions how he's been with many woubis in the past. Although he isn't specific about who it is he is seeing on the side, he mentions that he has "occasional slips" with said person, having the woubi come to his home for meets. After introducing his woubi to a group of friends, they had picked up on the dynamic and Sostène says "The guys started labelling me, but I stopped them short. 'Fuck you!'...I said." He originally didn't like the idea of woubis, describing a sense of disgust he had against them, until he had his first casual encounter with a friend of his older brother who was a woubi.

Bibiche

Bibiche is a transvestite who made money through road-side prostitution. She was able to fund her housing through this means, and is grateful to have achieved that. She is quoted saying, "...thank God for whoring! I'm not complaining, not at all."

Tatiana

Tatiana is a transvestite who partners with Bibiche to also make money through road-side prostitution. Tatiana describes her identity as her "vice" and makes a point of only wanting to surround herself with people that "can handle my vice." She holds a great deal of pride for her identity and doesn't bother with incoming abrasiveness from others.

Organization and activism

Ivory Coast Transvestite Association (ICTA)

Among the transvestite community in Cote d'Ivoire, they arranged and set up an association. A proposition of what would become the Ivory Coast Transvestite Association (ICTA; also known as L’association des Travestis de Côte d’Ivoire in French). Barbara became appointed president of the ICTA and Tatiana became general secretary. They discussed amongst themselves where would be the best location to hold meetings that would be good for both partying conditions and safety from people who may cause them harm.

Parties and riots

The first party held on December 27th, 1997, didn't go well, as journalists intruded and exposed the association in the local papers. This, in turn, caused participants to fear attending more meetings. The members brought up complaints all the way up to the Minister of Communications about having their privacy exposed, but they were met with a lack of care for their situation. Despite this, their will for unapologetically living freely persisted in their efforts to be themselves openly. Barbara expresses a readiness to protect (physically and spiritually) the pursuit of happiness among the community, educates those who may have questions or don't fully understand, and offer persistent celebration of being able to live her truth everyday. In retaliation, community members of the ICTA would assault invasive journalists and damage the property of the offices the newspapers were developed.

Reception

The film won Best Documentary awards at the New York Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, & Transgender Film Festival, the Lovers Film Festival – Torino LGBTQI Visions, and the Transgender Festival in London.

See also

• Dakan — a 1997 Guinean drama film dealing with homosexuality
• Forbidden Fruit — a 2000 Zimbabwean film about a lesbian relationship

External links

• Woubi Chéri at IMDb