Ghana--Culture Smart! by Culture Smart!

Author:Culture Smart!
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kuperard
Published: 2021-03-15T00:00:00+00:00

DATING

Ghana is in some ways a very sexually liberated country, although this is not immediately noticeable, because of secretiveness and the taboo against being openly affectionate in public. Before (and very often during!) married life, dating is common between Ghanaians. The word used for boyfriend or girlfriend is alomo. A popular alcoholic drink purported to boost a man’s sexual potency before a visit to his girlfriend is Alomo Bitters.

More often than not, it will be the man who initiates a relationship. As well as the many women they meet through work, church, college, neighbors, and so on, Ghanaian men seem to have no qualms about approaching an unknown woman in the street or bar and declaring their love for her. “I love you” has a slightly different connotation from the Western meaning, and is more akin to “I fancy you.” Nonsmoking and moderate-drinking men with nice clothes, cars, and money are the most likely to have their proposals accepted. Meetings tend to be furtive affairs, often in spots (bars), at home, or hotels. “Going out on a date,” for instance to the cinema, a walk on the beach, a cruise on Lake Volta, or a museum visit, is less common.

Apart from the “scammers” mentioned later, and those who (and whose families) see a Western partner simply as a source of money and a visa, relationships and marriages between Ghanaians and foreigners are commonplace and widely accepted.

Homosexuality in Ghana is illegal, and in general, extremely frowned upon. Where it does exist, it is very well hidden, for obvious reasons. Lesbianism is also commonly viewed with abhorrence, although it is less hidden, especially the practice known as supi, which is apparently going on up and down the country in the dormitories of girls’ schools.

Underage girls, as well as being targeted by the wrong kind of tourist, are also regularly in the news as victims of predatory Ghanaian males who often go unpunished. This serious problem is humorously addressed in Mzbel’s hit song “16 Years.”

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