Gender Power Dynamics: Male Marginalization in the Works of John Nkemngong Nkengasong
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14738/assrj.107.15138Keywords:
Gender, Marginalization, Power, Patriarchy, SexualityAbstract
Contrary to the general tendency in critical literary circles which, since the rise of feminism and gender studies, has interrogated the female condition under the yoke of patriarchy, this paper examines the extent to which the female gender dominates and marginalizes the male gender (in patriarchal societies) thereby creating the necessity to (re)examine feminine power and the way it operates socially and sexually. Using ideas from Chinweizu (1990) as theoretical positions for the analysis of selected works by the Cameroonian scholar, novelist, playwright and poet, John Nkemngong Nkengasong, this paper investigates the power dynamics amongst female and male gender from two perspectives: the manipulation of male instinct and the exploitation of male inadequacies. It shows that in the selected works of Nkengsaong the females control power that formally belong men to the extent that power becomes not just a mechanism for getting what they want but also for making males to feel insignificant, irrelevant, and helpless.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 Mary Louisa Lum, Oscar C. Labang
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors wishing to include figures, tables, or text passages that have already been published elsewhere are required to obtain permission from the copyright owner(s) for both the print and online format and to include evidence that such permission has been granted when submitting their papers. Any material received without such evidence will be assumed to originate from the authors.