Paper short abstract:

Male-born geis in Dar es Salaam have one avenue of social status: women’s life-cycle celebrations. Data: 103 interviews with geis (2021-2022). While geis are shunned for not reproducing, in exchange for social inclusion they invest in multiple ways in the social reproduction of female party hosts.

Paper long abstract:

The queer identities of the 103 male-born persons I interviewed known as geis (also shoga, kuchu) defy Western labels (1% homosexual, 34% transgendered, and 60 % ‘in between male and female’). The city of Dar es Salaam needs the cheap labour of the very poor but does not need to pay for their social reproduction due to continual in-migration from rural areas. Many city residents can barely survive and reproduce themselves. Most geis live in poverty and obtain their income from sex work. Of those I spoke with, 90% did not use money for their own biological reproduction and did not expect to live past their mid-30s due to HIV/AIDS. They were excluded from jobs, housing, mistreated by medical practitioners and police, and seen to bring ‘bad luck’. Yet they had one avenue of social inclusion and status: attending local life-cycle celebrations organized by women. Why do women invite geis to their celebrations? Supplementary data: 59 interviews with non-geis and participant observation (2021-2022). I found that, by joking openly of sexual matters as MCs, by performing as titillating novelties who ‘danced better than women’ and attracted more gift-giving attendees, by giving gifts and mobilizing other geis in their networks to bring gifts, by participating in ‘destruction committees’ aimed at destroying a female rival’s celebration, and through gift exchanges that doubled in amount each celebration, geis brought in money that funded the social reproduction of the female hostess’ families. I introduce two new analytical concepts: social value niche and rivalrous incorporation.