‘The time has come for re-thinking sexualities in Africa’(Arnfred, 2004: 7). This special issue arose from conversations between the editors and other scholars re-thinking and re-imagining African sexualities during and after two conferences–‘Writing African Women–Poetics and Politics of African Gender Research’; and ‘From Boys to Men: Masculinities and Risk Conference’–both held at the University of Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa, in January 2005. This was followed by a ‘Call for Papers’ and reviewing in the usual way. The issue comprises seven articles and four book reviews, along with, sadly, the obituary of Ronald Louw, a pioneering figure in the South African gay movement and in gay scholarship.

In this introduction we provide a framework for and an overview of the seven articles included in this special issue. We begin by discussing the history and historiography of sexuality in Southern Africa. We then examine some of the theoretical approaches used in the study of sexuality in Southern Africa. Finally, we summarize the contributions, drawing connections between them.