JournalTOCs

Journal of Gender and Power
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This is an Open Access Journal

Open Access journal
ISSN (Online) 2657-9170
Published by Sciendo

[389 journals]

Mobility Trope: Travelling as a Signature of the Afropolitan Female Quest
for Existential Subjectivity in Chika Unigwe’s
- Abstract: The mobility trope is a key aesthetic feature in Afropolitan fiction and it crystalizes as the act of travelling which has become an important subject-matter in postnationalist African fictions by women such as Chimamanda Adichie, Noviolet Bulawayo or Chika Unigwe as a way of intervention on the debate of the Afropolitan female quest for existential subjectivity in 21st century African fiction. This is against the backdrop of negative essentialism and the exertions of patriarchy evident in the representation of African women’s in 20th century African fiction. Drawing from the foregoing, this paper interrogates Chika Unigwe’s On Black Sisters’ Street (Hence OBSS) to demonstrate how the writer deploys mobility trope which manifest as travelling as a signature of the Afropolitan female quest for existential subjectivity. I argue in this paper that, though existing studies on OBSS portray Efe, Sisi, Ama and Joyce as exported commodities in neoliberal sex market, their relocation however opens up a new vista to understanding their motivation and quest for new subjectivity, empowered fluid agency, individual autonomy and translation into Afropolitans. This is within Achille Mbembe’s phenomenological criticism of Afropolitanism and a methology that is based on qualitative content analysis of the text—OBSS. On the long run, the identity which travelling confers on the female characters is fluid, as they represent an African being in a globalized world and a strong sense of cultural mobility.
  PubDate: Sat, 08 May 2021 00:00:00 GMT
Gender, Productive Resources and Agricultural Development in the Urban
Area
- Abstract: The Nigerian society is a patriarchy society where men dominate over women most especially in access and control over productive resources and decision-making process. This limitation often has negative impacts on food security; most especially in urban areas where more than half of the world’s population now dwells. This study aimed at documenting the experiences of urban women farmers in accessing critical agricultural productive resources. The study engaged both quantitative and qualitative methods in designing the research. Multistage sampling technique was used to select 250 respondents, and information was elicited through the use of questionnaire, Key Informant Interview (KII), and Focus Group Discussion (FGD). The study revealed that the urban female farmers in the study area have inadequate access to critical agricultural productive resources and are still making use of crude and traditional implements in their various agricultural activities. Likewise, through usufructuary rights, in reference to access to land the urban status quo is gradually weakening the patriarchal nature of the society.
  PubDate: Sat, 08 May 2021 00:00:00 GMT
Towards a Research Agenda on Individual Differences in ELT in Nigeria
- Abstract: There are a variety of individual differences that English language teaching (ELT) professionals cannot afford to ignore. This essay is based on a premise that teaching and learning English in Nigeria’s multilingual background of 526 languages (Ethnologue, 2018) present an extraordinary context of multiculturalism and individual differences in the language classroom. ELT professionals in such a context require significant expertise in the application of inclusive practices. The essay identified gaps in the praxis and policy dimensions of Nigerian ELT practice relating to individual differences and suggested a research focus on these two areas. It concluded that teachers should adopt clear, empirically tested methodologies to cater for the different students in the class, create good relationships in the classroom to develop learner self-confidence, integrate activities and tasks that clearly appeal to different learning styles and personalities, personalize learning as much as possible, create learner autonomy, and pay attention to cultural variations among L2 learners.
  PubDate: Sat, 08 May 2021 00:00:00 GMT
Book-Review: Susan W. Woolley, Lee Airton (eds.). . Toronto 2020: Canadian
Scholars. Pp. 334
- PubDate: Sat, 08 May 2021 00:00:00 GMT
Digitized technology and evolving selfie obsession among University of
Port Harcourt students: A gendered culture'
- Abstract: Digitization is a prime globalized ideology in the 21st century high tech revolution. It essentially deals with automation of manual process to make room for easy documentation and sustainable data regime. Africa is an emerging digital domain with many of its young generation becoming keen lovers of Information Technology (IT), and many of the youth population fast becoming internet devotees, social and new media addicts. One of the trending fantasies, among the numerous exploitations and innovations of the new technology is selfie. Selfie is simply a selfphotograph of a person’s portrait by himself. This is possible by the use of smartphone or digital camera held out at arm’s length by the person taking the snapshot. Presently, there is craze for digital identity among African youths. It is against this background that undergraduate students at the University of Port Harcourt were sampled purposively for deployment in this study. This study utilizes questionnaire and Focus Group Discussion (FGD) as instruments for data gathering in order to determine whether the use of selfies is more common to the male or female members of the African digital society. Finally, the study is guided by Uses and Gratification theory and Symbolic Interactionism Theory.
  PubDate: Sat, 08 May 2021 00:00:00 GMT
Desired Traits in Mate Selection: A Survey of Hispanic-American Female
Students
- Abstract: Previous research on mate selection has primarily focused on long-term relationships, i.e. spouse selection. Literature suggests that factors and traits playing a significant role in choosing a short-term partner have been mostly overlooked in mate-selection research. The present study, with a sample of 115 Hispanic-American females attending a public university, attempts to determine if there are significant differences in reported preferences when looking for short-term partners versus when looking for a long-term partner. The subjects individually listed their preferences for short-term partners from a list of traits generated by previous research. The participants were then put into groups consisting of five females in each group. Group members discuss their preferences among themselves and generate a list of desirable traits in a long-term partner. This paper reports the findings of the survey in two specific categories. It separates the desired traits for short-term and long-term partners, and it presents the differences in preferences based on relational status, i.e., single or in a relationship.
  PubDate: Sat, 08 May 2021 00:00:00 GMT
(Husband is the dignity of a woman): Reimagining the Validity of an Igbo
Aphorism in Contemporary Society
- Abstract: Cultural aphorisms tend to sustain gender disparity. There are certain cultural expressions which tend to sustain gender disparity and oppression among the Igbo of Nigeria. One of such is di bụ ugwu nwanyị, literally translated ‘husband is a woman’s dignity’. This Igbo maxim tends to foster gendered marginalization and oppression in contemporary Igboland. The saying reinforces the status of the husband as requisite for the visibility and pride of the woman. Perhaps this may explain why some marital issues such as husband infidelity, wife-battering, are culturally underplayed for protection of the man. Thus women are forced to endure abuses in their marriages. There exist a plethora of other gender related issues that are rooted in the di bụ ugwu nwanyị metaphor. This paper engages the implications of this Igbo cultural expression amidst the advocacy of gender justice and inclusivity in Igbo land. As qualitative study that adopts the phenomenological approach, this paper, draws insight from interviews, observations, oral histories and extant Igbo literature. Akachi Ezeigbo’s snail-sense feminism and Obioma Nnaemeka’s negofeminism undergird the theoretical framework. The paper advocates for the obliteration, or reinterpretation of di bụ ugwu nwanyị that honours dignity for gender equity and inclusivity so as to valorize the status of women in Igboland.
  PubDate: Sat, 08 May 2021 00:00:00 GMT
Exploring the Overrepresentation of Black Male Students in Special
Education: Causes and Recommendations
- Abstract: An overrepresentation of Black male students identified as having disabilities is pervasive in American schools. This troubling reality may be the result of disconnects between Black males and their White teachers. Racial differences likely contribute to the high number of Black males referred for programs for students with disabilities. This paper explores the overrepresentation of Black male students identified as having disabilities and recommendations for supporting their success.
  PubDate: Sat, 08 May 2021 00:00:00 GMT
Directing gender equality in Ahmed Yerima’s
- Abstract: One of the functions of the theatre director is to develop a concept that would appeal to the audience in the process of his interpretation. This paper textually evaluates the issue of gender equality as the directorial concept in Ahmed Yerima’s Altine’s Wrath. The paper adopts the sociological, literary and artistic methods to interrogate the directorial implications of the text as it will be demonstrated in the performance. The paper notes that a thorough understanding of gender theories and principles would guide a director’s realization of the identified concept. The paper, therefore, calls on directors to support the issue of gender equality by developing concepts in this regard and as such promote a peaceful society.
  PubDate: Sat, 08 May 2021 00:00:00 GMT
Torturing the helpless: A review of PCOS induced infertility from a gender
perspective
- Abstract: This paper reviewed the abuse of infertile women suffering from Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) from a gender perspective. Infertility is a prevalent, presenting feature of PCOS with 75% of women experiencing infertility due to anovulation, making PCOS the most common cause of anovulatory infertility. Increased awareness of PCOS, its causes, and its symptoms may help the process of early diagnosis, appropriate care and mitigation of violence arising from infertility hence, this study. In many countries’ infertility among married couples especially for women is a sentence to stigmatization, loss of social status, marital conflicts and violence. All this stems from prevailing socio-cultural norms and gender inequalities inimical to women. PCOS is a syndrome without much public awareness and PCOS patients often do not seek care. Where they seek care, they are often not immediately diagnosed with PCOS. Due to some prevailing cultural norms and general lack of awareness they are often tortured and abused. Outcomes from this study shows that there is need to intensify public awareness on the various factors contributing to infertility such as PCOS which has been identified as a major contributing factor. Also, harmful socio-cultural norms and practices that encourages gender inequalities and violence against infertile women should be eradicated with strong policies put in place and perpetrators severely punished. Early diagnosis and a multidisciplinary approach to the treatment of PCOS is also crucial. Finally, proactiveness by implementing working strategies that will help improve treatment and mitigate violence against women suffering from PCOS should be embrace by all.
  PubDate: Sat, 08 May 2021 00:00:00 GMT
Male homosexuality and homophobia in contemporary Slovakia: A qualitative
inquiry into personal online narratives
- Abstract: Homosexuality in Slovakia is covered in a veil of secrecy. With constant attacks by the Catholic Church and populist, traditionalist politicians, it is barely visible in society and politics, unless when discursively attacked. Similarly, homosexuality in Slovakia has failed to become a topic in the contemporary academia, with the exception of a few local works. This article, aiming to fill that gap, confronts a selection of online narratives of Slovak homosexuals via Qualitative Data Analysis through the qualitative tool, QDA Miner, including narrative analysis. Additionally, having in mind the strong propaganda of the Catholic Church against homosexuality, select homophobic narratives are analyzed via the same means.
  PubDate: Tue, 06 Oct 2020 00:00:00 GMT
“OMO T’O MO ‘YA’RE LOJU” (A child that despises his mother)
narratives cultural value of motherhood in Jimi Solanke’s music
- Abstract: Within the traditional African setting, the values of an African mother in the domestic and societal ambience have called for great concerns. Akinjobi (2011, p. 2) examines African Motherhood as a sacred as well as a powerful spiritual component in the nurturing and development of an African child. The scope of this paper therefore, is to examine the position of Jimi Solanke on the values of African mothers as advocated in some of his purposively selected songs which address the values and position of motherhood as caretakers of children and strongholds in African homes. The paper adopts oral interview, the theory of Womanism and Feminism as rightly observed by Sotunsa (2008, pp. 227–234) as its methodological approaches and largely concentrates on the experience of an African mother, the family relationship as well as the importance of motherhood in her role as an African child nurturer and developer. The paper finds out that Jimi Solanke has not only appraised the values of African mothers, but also expressed severe consequences on any African child who despised or despoiled an African mother.
  PubDate: Tue, 06 Oct 2020 00:00:00 GMT
Transparency dilemma in interpersonal relationships
- Abstract: Humans as social animals move from being strangers to becoming intimate by taking risks of engaging in self-disclosure—from sharing insignificant bits of information to details about their beliefs, opinions, lifestyles, prejudices, and values. Romantic and intimate relationships come about when players peel away their outer layers and allow others to get closer to their core. However, as couples become more familiar, they experience certain tensions known as relational dialectics. These are autonomy versus connection, novelty versus predictability, and openness versus transparency (openness). This paper presents the findings of a survey of the perceptions about these tensions among the Hispanic-America college students (N=108). The subjects rank-order these tensions in terms of their importance, and the level of difficulty in dealing with the tensions.
  PubDate: Tue, 06 Oct 2020 00:00:00 GMT
Women in antiquity through the eyes of Plutarch
- Abstract: This article deals with the writings of Plutarch and some of his radical views regarding women. Excerpts from Plutarch’s texts referring to female nature are studied and presented. The main issue that occupied Plutarch and many other authors of his era was the question of virtue, a purely philosophical concept deeply rooted in the ancient Greek culture. For this reason, some of Plutarch’s writings focus on the place of virtue in women’s society. Plutarch tries to prove that virtue exists equally in women, that women are dynamic, lawful wives who have the power to take matters into their own hands and who can perceive also the ultimate matter of friendship. This paper, therefore, seeks to show the other side of the coin regarding the position of women in antiquity, among Plutarch’s ethical essays, the Moralia.
  PubDate: Tue, 06 Oct 2020 00:00:00 GMT
Agnieszka Gromkowska-Melosik. Poznan 2020: Adam Mickiewicz University
Press. Pp. 181.
- PubDate: Tue, 06 Oct 2020 00:00:00 GMT
Justice Development and Peace Commission (JDPC) on women empowerment
- Abstract: The need to empower women seems to center on the fact that women have potentials to contribute to the development process but are constrained by some factors that render them powerless. For this reason, this study examined the impact of justice development and peace commission on women empowerment by assessing the empowerment initiatives, women participation and identifying factors that militate against full empowerment and participation of women. The theoretical background for this study is structural functionalism and the study is descriptive in nature. The study was conducted in JDPC, Ijebu-Ode and data was collected from primary and secondary sources. For primary data, IDI was conducted for 12 beneficiaries of the empowerment programmes and 6 employees of JDPC while secondary data were collected through extensive review of literature. The data collected were content analyzed. The findings revealed that not until recent empowerment programmes organized for women, women do not have the zeal for the programmes which has limited their consciousness and strength in the society. Also, awkward spending of women contributed to their failure from receiving further loans from JDPC. Equally, low level of education, tradition and belief that men are better than women affected the slow rate of empowerment of women.
  PubDate: Tue, 06 Oct 2020 00:00:00 GMT
Symbols in traditional dance: A study of Nkwanwite dance
- Abstract: The use of iconic symbols during traditional performances (dance) has remained an indispensable tool. The major problem facing the use of signifying symbols during performances is because they are seen as mere performative enhancer. These assumptions might be generally accepted, but in core dance scholarship it can be argued for or against, but this paper stands against its wrong perceived nature as mere performative enhancer. The aim of this paper is to interpret some of the signifying symbols used in dance in order to understanding their socio-cultural essence. This paper would analyze the signifying symbols used in Nkwanwite traditional dance for the following reasons: (a) To acknowledge the use of cultural symbols as part of people’s mythology belief. (b) To interpret, analyze and document the signifying symbols as a socio-communicative tool. (c) To give each of the signifying symbols relevance and interpretation in dance. In order to achieve this Sense Making Theory would be used as theoretical frame work to interrogate the essence of the signifying symbols. Findings show that, due to lack of interpretation and documentation on the use of signifying symbols in dance. It is gradually going into extinction as mere props. The paper concludes that non dance scholars should cherish and appreciate the use of symbols in dance as communicative tool.
  PubDate: Tue, 06 Oct 2020 00:00:00 GMT
Subject-predicate-inversion of Gender-neutral-language: An emancipatory
confusion
- Abstract: In this paper, I proposed a paradigm shift in Gender-Neutral-Language. The claim, which Gender-Neutral-Language can account for reality grasping and, thus, enable its actualization, is challenged; in place of an abstract reach towards social change, a more concrete emancipatory praxis must arise. Its current emancipatory prerogatives are not confronted from the standpoint of its already-established arguments but a more comprehensive standpoint of language, more specifically, of the philosophy of language.
  PubDate: Tue, 06 Oct 2020 00:00:00 GMT
African women in search of global identity: An exploration of feminism and
Afropolitanism in Chimamanda Adichie’s works
- Abstract: Many variants of feminism have been branded over time and that has given feminism a multiple identity. One of the new revelations of feminism in recent times is “Afropolitan Feminism”, a branch of African feminism conceived in this research to deal with the story of African women in the homeland and the Diaspora trying to assume the status of world citizens (Metropolites) to de-emphasize their origins. What is the nature of Afropolitan Feminism' What is the link between Feminism and Afropolitanism' To what extent do Adichie’s characters show the attributes of Afropolitans' This paper illuminates the concepts of feminism and Afropolitanism and the latter’s traits in Adichie’s characters in Americanah and The Thing Around Your Neck. It deals with Diaspora issues and the way African women in literary fictions try to stem the effects of global maladies like African patriarchy, Western racism and sexism. The paper further discusses social awareness and feminist tendencies displayed by the characters. It ends by noting that feminism which assumes the dimension of Afropolitanism in Adichie’s works is a becoming trend rather than a fixed norm.
  PubDate: Tue, 06 Oct 2020 00:00:00 GMT
Does abuse depend on gender' Men as a victim of women’s violence
- Abstract: The aim of this article is an attempt to reflect on what violence is and what effects it can cause. The conventional wisdom has been that women are victims and men are perpetrators of violence and abuse. Social schemes describe women as fragile and vulnerable. However, women can be equally aggressive, dominating and use violence. Each year acts of violence against men increase and it is very important to be aware of this phenomenon. Usually men hide the fact of being abused out of fear of public stigma, felling bashful, being laughed or losing respect of their family. This paper aims to show how important this problem is and explore new ideas and possible solutions for victims of violence, as well as to improve preventive measures for abused men.
  PubDate: Tue, 06 Oct 2020 00:00:00 GMT