Paper short abstract:

In this paper I aim to explore the nightlife scene of Nairobi, Kenya, and specifically the nightlife practices of young urban adults. I will focus on the nexus between cosmopolitan knowledge and the production of sexualized space.

Paper long abstract:

'This is Nairobi! If there is a miracle in the idea of life it is this: that we are able to exist for a time, in defiance of chaos. … For us, life is about having a fluid disposition. Nairobi is a shot of whisky.'

I aim to relate Binyavanga Wainaina's quote to the nightlife practices of young urban adults in Nairobi, Kenya. Young professionals see themselves as the avant garde of Kenya and their ensuing lifestyles testify to the reconfiguration of culture, gender and sexuality that has been taking place in postcolonial Kenya. Their desire to act out a present day lifestyle often coincides with what is commonly understood as certain western modes, while they also react against this so-called 'westernisation' (to adopt a western attitude and lifestyle) as new imperialism, thereby living a reality that is inherently contradictory. Sexuality plays a salient role herein. By studying their sexuality as an embodied practice where eroticism stands central, rather than viewing sexuality as an effect of discourse only, I aim to focus on the realising capacity of sexuality. In this paper I will follow young professionals' nightly trajectories searching for the 'hottest' place through Nairobi. As a result of their dating practices they create webs of knowing and being in the world that they call "being modern the African way". I will, eventually, discuss why sexuality is crucial in the study of cosmopolitanism by comparing the ephemeral character of both sex(uality) and metropolitan life in Nairobi.

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