Male daughters, female husbands : gender and sex in African society

Author(s)

Bibliographic Information

Male daughters, female husbands : gender and sex in African society

Ifi Amadiume

Zed Books, 1987

  • : pbk

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Note

Bibliography: p. 211-216

Includes index

Description and Table of Contents

Volume

ISBN 9780862325947

Description

Challenging the received orthodoxies of social anthropology, Ifi Amadiume argues that in precolonial society, sex and gender did not necessarily coincide. Examining the structures that enabled women to achieve power, she shows that roles were neither rigidly masculinized nor feminized. Economic changes in colonial times undermined women’s status and reduced their political role and Dr Amadiume maintains, patriarchal tendencies introduced by colonialism persist today, to the detriment of women. Critical of the chauvinist stereotypes established by colonial anthropology, the author stresses the importance of recognizing women’s economic activities as an essential basis of their power. She is also critical of those western feminists who, when relating to African women, tend to accept the same outmoded projections.

Table of Contents

Preface Acknowledgements Introduction Part 1: The 19th Century 1. Gender and Economy 2. Women, Wealth, Titles and power 3. Gender and Political Organization 4. The Politics of Motherhood: Women and the Ideology-Making Process 5. The Ideology of Gender 6. Ritual and Gender Part 2: The Colonial Period 7. Colonialism and the Erosion of Women's Power 8. The Erosion of Women's Power Part 3: The Post-Independence Period 9. The Marginalisation of women's Position 10. Wealth, Titles and Motherhood 11. The Female Element in Other Igbo Societies 12. Gender, Class and Female Solidarity 13. Conclusion Appendixes Bibliography Glassary Index
Volume

: pbk ISBN 9780862325954

Description

Challenging the received orthodoxies of social anthropology, Ifi Amadiume argues that in precolonial society, sex and gender did not necessarily coincide. Examining the structures that enabled women to achieve power, she shows that roles were neither rigidly masculinized nor feminized. Economic changes in colonial times undermined women's status and reduced their political role and Dr Amadiume maintains, patriarchal tendencies introduced by colonialism persist today, to the detriment of women. Critical of the chauvinist stereotypes established by colonial anthropology, the author stresses the importance of recognizing women's economic activities as as essential basis of their power. She is also critical of those western feminists who, when relating to African women, tend to accept the same outmoded projections.

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