'A Nasty Boy' Creator, Richard Akuson, Opens Up About Homophobic Attack that Led Him to Flee Nigeria
The creator of the gender-nonconforming magazine says the incident brought him "even closer to the harsh realities of LGBTQ + people in Nigeria and across the world."
When the Nigerian lawyer, journalist and publisher Richard Akuson decided to create the gender-nonconforming magazine A Nasty Boy in 2017, he knew he'd be taking a risk in a country where toxic masculinity is rampant and homosexuality is punishable by law. He did it anyway.
To him the stories of people and ideas that challenged rigid notions of gender and sexuality were too important to go untold—especially in Nigeria.
The very dangerous threat of homophobia that the publisher sought to challenge with A Nasty Boy, reared its ugly head last year in Nigeria when Akuson was ambushed and beaten in a targeted attack that he claims was in response to his work. This led him to flee the country for the United States where Akuson feels safer.
