Title: Characterization and the Construction of Gender Identity in John Habwe’s Maumbile si Huja
Abstract: ‘Gender’ is an all-round term referring to the relations between women and men that are determined by social interactions. This is as opposed to sex which is determined by biological make-up or nature and is rarely alterable. Roles and functions that women and men perform are mostly inculcated in them through the socialization process. Being a social construct, the concept of gender has to be used cautiously. Oyewumi (1997:10) is of the view that gender being a “social construction then we must examine the various cultural/architectural sites where it was constructed.’’ She argues further that, the different sites in which gender is constructed is affected by the various interested parties which were in the first place, part of that construction. The term ‘identity’ according to Cabral (1973:64), refers to the shared characteristics and aspirations which affirm or deny other characteristics defining an individual or a group sharing historical, biological or sociological factors at any given moment of development. In essence, its definition would view gender as being a concept which is affected by both time and social context. This paper uses a conceptual approach combining gender criticism and stylistics. Gender criticism is a branch of the broader ideology of feminism. Feminism itself is a product of the feminist movement which was concerned with the social, economic and political empowerment of women. Its dynamism is the reason it has the many branches and continuously - changing and multiplying branches. Moi (1985) summarizes its characteristics, despite the many branches and approaches as “a specific kind of political discourse. A critical and theoretical practice committed to the struggle against patriarchy and sexism; not simply a concern for gender in literature. “(p204). In general, feminist criticism entails an interrogation of patriarchy and exposing the manner in which male domination of females constitutes perhaps the most pervasive ideology of culture and provides it with immeasurable power. Showalter (1977) delineates the phases of the development of the women’s movement in her theorization of feminism. She explains that the feminine phase (1840-1880), is the phase when women imitated the masculine tradition and used pseudonyms in their writing. Feminist and female phases – (1880-1920) and (1970 onwards) respectively –refer to the periods when women start protesting against standards imposed on them by men and hence start to aggressively assert female perspectives, identities and literary canons. This history of the evolution of feminist criticism leaves out the gender phase. We contend that feminist literary theory would undoubtedly have made a complete circle only when both male and female members of society do away with gender stereotyping and interact equally without fear of a unilateral sexual domination. This is the reason
Publication Year: 2013
Publication Date: 2013-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
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