CHAPTER FOUR: EVOLUTION OF FEMINIST GENDER THEORIES

Muhammad Alkali

4.0    Introduction

For quite some time now, there has been impressive fiction in English, in Africa, the ethics of female-submissive dynamics was being seriously debated, the traditional privilege given men was being eroded. A strong consensus headed by Western feminists holds apologists of patriarchy to be morally, intellectually, and socially inferior, and saw patriarchs’ ostensible inferiority as a justification for exploitation of male ego, hence, what can be termed another form of domination. Increasingly, there is a noticeable shift of position that is stemming the tide, and various theories are used to explain the discovery today that the overheated challenge of assumptions by either the (fe)male ego is no longer the issue.

Conflicts are not avoidable and in fact, healthy for people and organisations to move to higher levels (see Bao, Y. et al., 2016; Bodtker and Jameson, 2001; DeChurch and Marks, 2001; Alper, Tjosvold, and Law, 2000; Khun and Poole, 2000; Rahim and Bonoma, 1979), but should not degenerate to break down of harmony; they must be managed through strategies that limit inhibiting negativities. Many African novels have used many theories and approaches to show case how it is about time people tone down the rhetoric of anti-masculinity, stressing that the option is in anti-masculinity and anti-femininity.

4.1    Nigerian Experience in Capturing Gender Issues: Suppression

The deliberate murder of women’s rights and privileges everywhere across the nation of Nigeria and the flirt of dangerous women who do not know their true feminine duties but therefore, insist on women as dangerous second-class materials to men haunt women’s opportunities. These are always brought together in a hugely imaginative exploration in literary texts, in literary criticisms, in journalism, in vision fiction (filming) and in various groups of discussions amongst western educated women in Nigeria. In this category is Ifeoma Okoye’s Behind the Clouds (2007) which steps up the social construct of blaming women for their inability to procreate in the family life. Such women suffer untold psychological hardship. Ironically, Okoye in her novel challenges men on grounds that they equally need to be tested for virility. This, she believes is significant in considering the virility of women in marriages. When men are tested medically, it would justify whether it is women that are at fault.

Regretfully however, the matter is further compounded by mother-in-law syndrome. They, who are women themselves, always insist in having grandchildren in the family thereby torturing the gentle life of the new bride. But this is simply courtesy of patriarchal society, which has blinded these women, and therefore, a second wife is suggested for men. This, precisely, is what happens in Ije and Dozie’s case in Okoye’s Behind the Clouds. It is this same crisis that befalls Beatrice as she gives in to the antics of the false prophet, Apostle Joseph, to make her pregnant so that she could gain security in her home. Today, the seeds of the prophets, herbalists, and ‘babalawos’ (as they are called in Nigeria) are used in women. Incidentally, she cannot refuse this crazy remedy because her security in her home would be on the line.

Buchi Emecheta’s the Bride Price (1976) is, as well, a heart-touchingtale of childlessness that tortures the mother of the protagonist, Aku-nna. At just 13 years of age, she noticesher village women spite her mother through song for her barrenness. In order to escape from this, the mother relocates to her village to recharge her fertility. Sadly, the mother recollects her plight going from one native doctor to even joining the Cherubim and Seraphim sect and returned to their hometown, Ibuza, with the intention of appeasing their Oboshi river deity in order to receive blessing of offspring (2).

Mrs Osaigbovo in Grace Okafor’s He Wants to Marry Me Again (1996) is in stiff opposition with, unfortunately, her mother-in-law in her patriarchal trance over Mrs Osaigbovo’s inability to give the grandmother a grandchild. The husband, Mr Osaigbovo, further complicates the challenge by being hedonistic with girls and his wife lives by comparison!

The soldier husband succeeds in ruining the marriage by up-staging a housemaid, Odion, as co-wife. When peace turns to pieces in the home, Mrs Osaigbovo had to fall back on furthering her education. As a late starter, a personalised adult education class with her children as her teachers, she endures and her brother pays her school fees for formal examination. She rose from that scratch to acquire university education. She was no longer suppressed.

4.2    Power and Gender

To understand power and gender as it affects women empowerment is to firstly understand the theory of power itself. Power consideration shows the powerlessness of people, in our case, women; and how that they might emerge out of the doldrums. Hence, this section will facilitate a deeper comprehension of states characterised by practices of disempowerment, powerlessness, and the various methods employed by individuals and communities to assert control over their lives and surroundings.

4.3    Theories of Power: A Brief History

Doubtless, this section makes no pretence to having adequately made a comprehensive examination of the available body of literature concerning power theories. What it does is a beginning with the history of the thought about power in the social sciences in general and narrows it down to gender aspects by relating only to the most prominent theories as they grow. It exploits relevant elements conducive to formulating a theory of empowerment, including the examination of women’s empowerment or its negation within a patriarchal society. The modern thought on power can be agreed to have begun with Thomas Hobbes’ Leviathan and Nicollò Machiavelli’s The Prince in the early 16th century, of the following century, precisely the mid-17th century. These constitute the timeless masterpieces of political literature yesterday, today and perhaps, for a long time to come. As Stewart Clegg puts it, these two contrasting books form the foundation for the two primary streams of thought on power that have persisted from their inception until now. Machiavelli embodies the decentralised and strategic perspective on organisation and power, while Hobbes emphasises centralisation. From this perspective, Machiavelli views power as a means rather a resource, seeking strategic advantages, such as military considerations in relation to his ‘objective’ and the objectification of women who are consistently positioned as the ‘other’. On the other hand, Hobbes represents a causal approach to power as hegemony. In Hobbes framework, power is, therefore, centralised and focussed on sovereignty. In this regard, Machiavelli perceives power as a tool rather than a possession and strives to gain strategic advantages, such as leveraging military factors, in relation to his goal and the objectification that takes place, in our case, the women who are objectified, who are the ’other’ (in the object position always).

So, in Hobbes’ fundamental proposition, we can observe the existence of a complete political community, the society or a state. This possesses continuity of time and place, from which the power stems. Machiavelli asserts that total power is an esteemed and ultimate objective because, it is the end that has been solely achieved, importantly, it is rare. It won’t be a wonder that it is difficult for women to achieve, because it is the final arbiter of unbalancing gender constructs.

In the mid-twentieth century, we see Hobbes’ views on centralised power as the language and image of the world order. This power, it should not be forgotten, is heavily concentrated on the male, transcending to the homes of women naturally. The primary tradition of inquiry in the social sciences aimed for and continues to pursue precision and logic, focusing on the methods of observing, measuring, and quantifying power. Power was portrayed as a manifestation of will a dominant force that shapes the actions of others. However, in the 1970s, Machiavelli’s contingent and strategic experienced resurgence in France, leading to the rediscovery of power across various fields of study. Figures like Karl Marx, contributed to an enhanced understanding of power in the social sciences, while Alfred Adler, inspired by Marx, initiated discussions on power within the realm of psychology. Friedrich Nietzsche also influenced philosophical perspectives on power. This section will not go into details as it has been done severally by other writers. The reader is encouraged to seek them, if only to sustain the understanding of power politics vis-à-vis gender considerations.

The social sciences began to recognise the significance of power politics during the Second World War. During that time, Max Weber (1947) emerged as a prominent figure in understanding power dynamics. While building upon Hobbesian principles, Max Weber introduced a fresh perspective on organisational thinking, particularly focusing on bureaucracy in institutions. Authority and rule play crucial roles in power, enabling individuals in a particular social position to enforce their will despite resistance. Even when women attempt to resist men in their homes, it is often the men who ultimately prevail. Weber’s interest lies in power in power as a means of domination, driven by authoritarian or economic interests. He conducted historical research to explore the sources of legitimate power, identifying three key types of legitimisations: traditional, charismatic, and the rational-legal (see Weber, 1947).

Conversely, while Weber studied the legitimisation of power, new theories sought to investigate the legitimisation of it (see Merton, 1957). Weber is critiqued for his idealisation of the bureaucratic organisation. It was discovered that Weber’s organisational power of the bureaucracy hinged on mechanisation and routine of human life is wrong, and indeed, a threat to the freedom of the human spirit. Clegg’s book Frameworks of Power faults Weber’s prediction that organisational form as a power instrument only sabotages human freedom. Similarly, while Weber sees power in the context of the organisation and its structures, Dahl sees it through the boundaries of an actual community, but hinged in understanding of the ruling elites, which came to the fore after the Second World War (Wright C. Mills, 1956; Floyd Hunter, 1953). According to his theory of Community Power, power is vested in a concrete individual in the community of people, while the ‘others’ are prevented from doing what they prefer to do.

Power makes the followership to have no choice than to abide by the dictates of the power holders. Dahl’s definition is still relevant today. Women would want to be free in the same shape of men, but are undermined by the society, they cannot. Where they do, they are laughed at and in so other cases, Charlotte Raven (2010) calls such freedoms, ‘guilty pleasures’, what Tasker and Dianne (2010) call “marked limits.” To this day, most writers dealing with organisational behaviour make do with Dahl’s definition of power is based on the premise that power is the ability to make someone do something that s/he would not have done.

In 1962, Peter Bachrach and Morton Baratz presented an alternative model in response to Dahl’s perspective. They named it ‘the two faces of power’. Their model raises skepticism about true democratic and transparent nature of the decision-making process, which Dahl advocated. Bachrach and Baratz primarily focus on examining the relationship between the overt face of power – the way decisions are made – and which encompasses the decision-making procedures, which involves the capacity of decision-making altogether. They highlight the utilisation of biased tactics, known as mobilising bias, to suppress discussions on specific issues and thus influence the determination of what is deemed (un)important. They based their findings on the organisation of what is ‘important’ and accepted and ‘unimportant’ and thrown out (i.e. the non-decision-making process involves determining what issues or conflicts remain excluded, as they do not reach beyond the public display of power. This display is often limited to specific rituals, beliefs, or values that favour the interests of a certain group(s) over others (Stewart Clegg, 1989).

Bachrach and Baratz’s approach was, in turn, further developed by Steven Lukes in 1974. He adds a third dimension to the ‘overt and covert’ dimension, which he calls ‘the latent’ dimension. The overt dimension of power pertains to explicit political preferences that are evident in public political activities, while the covert dimension involves political preferences that manifest through complaints regarding non-issues. However, there is a third dimension that concerns the relations between political preferences and genuine interests. To Lukes, power can be measured by the ability to manipulate people’s perceptions and implanting interest that are contrary to their own well-being. This latent dimension is particularly challenging to identity, as those influenced by it may struggle to recognise its presence. Lukes argues that the analysis of power should encompass not only open decisions (as addressed by Dahl’s overt face) but also the entire political agenda. This expanded analysis aims to assess its alignment with the true interests of different groups.

The writings of Michel Foucault (Foucault, 1979, 1980, 1996) have broadened the discussion on the notion of power, encompassing various disciplines within the social sciences and the humanities. Foucault’s influence has led to a shift away from the empirical task of identifying power holders and pinpointing power structures, rendering it less significant. His approach systematically challenges the belief in a structured and hierarchical power system, and regulating power. Now the question is, how do all these lead into gender and power? Let us begin with Sigmund Freud, often tagged ‘the criminal Freud’ for his anti-feminist aspects.

4.4    Criminal Freud

Mythopoeia rules by the day, yesterday, today, and tomorrow all over the world in matters of fetishism, superstition, voodooism, and women as second-class materials. The woman conveniently became the underdog. And the man was provided with arguments for his ‘superior’ sex over her. And it became too frequent to contend with questions like: Is not the male stronger than the female biologically? Is not the he-goat the one that is after the she-goat, or the cock the hen? Health experts have not helped either in easing off this male chauvinism. They have nearly irrefutably argued that societal blunder has made men to enjoy sex than women, since every sex is predicated on men’s orgasm and many women, as only “About one woman in three reaches an orgasm while the man is through sting in her vagina, either before he ejaculates, simultaneously with his orgasm, or very soon after” (Llewellyn-Jones 55). In consequence, Llewellyn-Jones, a gynaecologist, frantically appeals to men to delay their orgasm so as not to be selfish in the game. Further, Sigmund Freud in 1914, we are always reminded, is instructive in arguments for the ‘superior’ sex. Isabelle Alfandary re-presents what Freud postulation that after a little girl sees,

Her lack of a penis as being a punishment personal to herself and has realised that the sexual character is a universal one, she begins to share the contempt felt by men for a sex which is the lesser in so important a respect, and, at least, in holding that opinion, insists on being like a man (Alfandary 25).

But this carelessness has been well and energetically put by some feminist critics that the Freudian phallic theory is a culprit of feminism. In consequence, Freud deserves to be dismissed and I hereby do so.

Freudianism has been successfully carried into the novel industry in Nigeria. Nigeria’s first class story teller, Achebe, who is a first-generation writer in Africa, is most guilty in his classic novel, Things Fall Apart. ‘No matter how prosperous a man was, if he was unable to rule his women and his children (and especially his women) he was not really a man", Ch. 7. In his Arrow of God, he would create characters that would arrogate to themselves some incredible power just because of the thing that dangles between their legs. He made a character, Ezeulu, to arrogate to himself the ownership of his son, Oduche.

In fit of temper, Ezeulu shouts down his bed mate who only correctly asks why her son was the one chosen to go to Christian missionary school as sacrifice to the white man. ‘How does it concern you what I do with my sons (4)’ was Ezeulu’s response, a very appalling statement in feminism, if you ask me. Ownership of children, I believe, is a cooperative venture. Achebe fails to understand this concept and merely fuels the dissipated issue of ownership of children. When his attention was drawn to his lack of addressing female issues appropriately, he deliberately responds that issues of ‘fundamental theme’ would be disposed of first (see, Achebe, 1964:8). To him, therefore, the ‘subject position’ of women is not an issue. With people like him, women must continue to bear with the corrupted gender roles, perhaps, for eternity? But we digress.

The presence of a penis in men, which is absent in women, does not in any way indicate any form of superiority of men over women. Mythopoeia has implanted this bomb logic in societies so much so that everyone believes superiority of men over women because of the thing that dangles between their legs. To dispel this, would it be any wonder if a counter approach is named? Correspondingly, ‘womb envy’ rose to challenge the concept of ‘penis envy’?

Stephanie Buck in 2017 analyses that the psychologist Sigmund Freud’s ‘penis envy’ came under severe attack by the matchmaking ‘womb envy’ theorists who argue that it is men that are in apparent jealousy of women's pregnancy, vagina, breastfeeding, parturition, childbearing and nurturing. Karen Horney, Buck says, is Freud’s first attacker. Her strong base is in her exemplary self where her father favoured her brother over her. Where then is the male versus female preference? she questions. Most often, she openly rejects Freud's theory on ‘penis envy’ arguing justifiably, that men’s envy regarding women's wombs was an apparent possibility because men are always concerned about success and carrying on their names. Men’s inability to perform women’s natural roles pushes them to outdo women unreservedly in areas like workplace, elected office, etc. Men even insist that a man must not be a woman. This statement by implication justifies envy. Why the insistence if not for the inherent envy, unexpressed anxiety? This shoulder-to-shoulder matchmaking analyses the intuition that compels men’s notice of their subordination to women. Consequently, men’s failure on women’s natural roles further leads them to guilty pleasures of masturbation. Not surprising, this matchmaking is taken into the novel industry in Africa.

Because the woman’s second position is emphasised too easily and therefore, lost in anonymity to the benefit and enhancement of the household, supporters of ‘womb envy’ theory, in highly but justifiable anger, disgust and total disillusionment, rewrite the woman’s history by creating, for example in African novel industry, female characters who excessively tower over their men in mental and material achievements. Works in this category include Buchi Emecheta’s The Second Class Citizen, Flora Nwapa’s One is Enough, wherein there is role reversal as men are regarded (in apparent revenge, it would appear) no more than instruments for procreation, and her Efuru wherein men are total nonentities; I refer to two of Efuru’s husbands here. There is also, Ifeoma Okoye’s Behind the Clouds who goes further than anger by noting a morality conclusion on wrongful blame of women for inability to procreate, while not at the same time testing the man’s wasteful seeds.

By another implication, this matchmaking in the novel industry is a revelation of the fact universality practice of the theory. There is no world of difference between the western and African practice of men’s subordination to women, or vice versa. Why is it then, that it is the woman that is blamed? It has always been a story of unbalanced assessment, judgement, and acceptance of the norm. This, by the instrument of an ought needs to be checked. Women are likely to face relief when such reversal games are pushed forward; ‘womb envy’ is a good match for ‘penis envy’.

4.5    Gender Power

First, the term ‘patriarchy’ should be understood. To the Oxford English Dictionary, it is ‘[t]he predominance of men in positions of power and influence in society, with cultural values and norms being seen as favouring men’. Thus, patriarchy is deeply rooted and flourishes based on the logic that men possess greater capacities, centrality, and importance than women, thereby justifying their social, economic, and political dominance over society. It actively promotes the exclusion of women from decision-making processes and marginalises them when it comes to resource allocation.

Within patriarchal societies, lineage is frequently traced through the male lineage, and men exclusively hold positions of authority. Women, on the other hand, are limited to a supportive role in decision-making processes by providing relevant information. The term patriarchy encompasses the dominance of male hegemony in the majority of societies. In certain societies where lineage and kinship are predominantly determined by the male lineage, there can still be variations in the extent of male dominance, particularly concerning significant matters such as decision-making within households, economic matters, and land ownership (Florence Stratton 14). But if you watch this observation carefully, what has been given to women is still on the back seat. Their powers are in the home only.

The functions of patriarchy are further distinguished in a critical manner based on factors including age, class, sex orientation, and race. For example, Achebe’s novels reveal that societies are ruled by a group of elders in the Igbo societies, just as women serve on information power only. Rulership is distanced from women.

Kamene Okonjo and Zulu Sofola’s works shift attention to another section of women in regional Nigeria. They (Kamene Okonjo and Zulu Sofola’s works) shift similar information power of women among Yorubas from the West of Nigeria but also importantly add recognition of the ascension of women to the seat of total power itself, unlike the Igbo communities. Memorable stories of ‘Moremi’ are rich in people’s ears. Sofola goes further by crossing the boundary to the Hausa city states in the North, where, for example, Queen Amina of Zazzau, held an exceptional position as the supreme ruler of the Hausas in the Zazzau Kingdom (this is, however, reported to be larger than life; see Ndagi, Abdullahi. Nupe The Origin). Renowned for her exceptional military strategy, she successfully engaged in numerous battles, achieving victories within the remarkable span of 1588 and 1589. Today, the famous Zaria city wall is known to have been built by her as a military strategy. The wall is still standing as an edifice today. Chukwu (2005) re-presents Adelaide Maame Akua Boadi who sees total power in women in matters of spirits and divinities which can be (fe)male. She observes that although

… Nigerian societies are patriarchal; women also have very strong informal roles and a whole spectrum of recognisable titles that run somewhat parallel to the male-dominated political structure … These parallels may be viewed in the ways in which divinities are presented within most cultures in Africa. Ancestral spirits and the divinities of most societies can be male or female. However, the earth and water deities in Nigeria are mostly female (see, Chukwu 13).

Hoppe (2016) believes that in contradiction to Achebe who relegates women to the background, Ifi Amadiume in Male Daughters, Female Husbands: Gender and Sex in an African Society sees power sharing formula among the Igbo men and women because women certainly had independent economic power. Boadi (2005) in ‘Engaging Patriarchy: Pentecostal Gender Ideology and Practices in Nigeria’ uses the culture of the Igbos noticeable in proverbiums, folklores, folksongs, riddles, and jokes, etc. to point to patriarchal dominance over women even when African myths do not differentiate between human beings (p.174). Societal norms are built on the expectation that women are to be compliant, and they are complacent indeed. But Boadi wants it to be strongly noted that,

While most Igbo women had their own socially accepted way of addressing pertinent societal issues. Igbo political institutions, according to Judith Van Allen, embraced every adult — female or male — who chose to be present at the village assembly. Since status was ascribed rather than achieved, there were virtually ‘no limits to women’s political power’ (174-75).

Building on the concept of this book chapter, Boadi reiterates the fact of religion in empowering women and liberating them from the constraints of patriarchy (179). Despite advancements in society, patriarchy remains prevalent even in contemporary times. Escalated by colonialism, which weakened the traditional structures that once acknowledged the power of women in Hausa city states and the Yoruba Kingdom, patriarchy persists, shaping various aspects of communal African societies, including life philosophies. Belief systems, rituals, taboos, cooperative norms, and more importantly, in Islamic religious practices enable them to live a more fulfilling life and make substantial contributions to their society.

Gimba, I had observed in the beginning is a male feminist writer whose empowerment efforts for women have no parallel among male writers of Northern Nigeria. He has had to project the correct Islamic woman in full agreeable control of her world, the world of complementarity with her bedmate, her husband; not the injurious equality seeker. His novels have consistently stressed the need for women's emancipation. His Sacred Apples is a case in point. This sacred impetus serves as a vital form of resistance and a survival mechanism within a patriarchal society. Particularly for African women, this impetus generates alternative models that challenge the patriarchal monopoly over literary subjects. African women’s heightened sensitivity to historical, spiritual, cultural, and sociological values and realities within in their societies enables them to create distinct literary perspectives. The spiritual space nurtured within the community has also influenced the creativity of accomplished Nigerian writers, offering the promise of unity, collaboration, and the increase in both the quantity and quality of literature within their societies.

To comprehensively explore the involvement of African and Nigerian male and female feminist writers with spirituality as a means of creative empowerment, it is crucial to delve into gender issues within African societies, cosmologies, literature, languages. Nigerian feminists, by reclaiming what has always been intrinsic to women through creative empowerment, offer compelling evidence of the interconnectedness between community, religion, gender, creativity. By reconnecting with African roots and origins, it becomes evident that there are no inherent traditional principles that justify discrimination against women, or confine them solely to the physical realm. Despite cultural complexities that simultaneously recognise the importance of women in society while marginalising them, the future of African women holds the potential for development and freedom. Within certain African societies, there are openings and opportunities that enable African women to negotiate for their rights and challenge the existing disparities. I talk of Obioma Nnaemeka’s Nego-feminism.

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