THE CONSTRUCTION OF MASCULINITY IN SELECTED NIGERIAN CHILDREN’S LITERATURE

Abstract

Masculinity, a socially constructed set of qualities, behaviours and roles associated with boys and men, is entrenched in promoting patriarchal domination. Existing studies on masculinity in Nigerian literature have focused mostly on adult fiction, with little attention paid to how masculinity is constructed in Nigerian children’s literature. This study was, therefore, designed to examine the construction of masculinity in the selected narratives, with a view to establishing the portrayal of male dominance and gender inequality. Raewyn Connell’s Hegemonic Masculinity and Carl Jung’s Archetypal Theory were adopted as framework. The interpretative design was used. Six narratives: ChineloIfezulike’sChima Laughs Last (Chima), Essien Ako’sThe Adventures of Akpan Akan Uto(The Adventures), Ifeanyi Ifoegbuna’sFolake and Her Four Brothers (Folake), Anthonia Ekpa’sEdidemEyambaand the Edikang-Ikong Soup (Edidem), Ikechukwu Ebonogwu’sThe Champion of Echidime (The Champion) and Richard Osifo’sMurphy the Prankster (Murphy) were purposively selected due to their representation of masculinity. The texts were subjected to textual analysis. The texts portray hegemonic masculinity through oral traditions, images and symbols. Oral traditions such as praise poetry, war songs and dance, wrestling and drums in Edidem, The Champion, Folake and The Adventures are presented as recurrent archetypes embedded in the collective unconscious, reflecting dominant manly qualities, behaviours and roles within cultural context. Traditional manly qualities such as strength, toughness, competition and the projection of self-prideare reinforced as masculine values. In order to justify these qualities as necessary for men, women are portrayed as meek, weak, and constantly in need of protection. The texts also draw upon recurring literary archetypal images in order to portray prevailing sociocultural attitudes towards masculinity. Boys, presented through the hero archetype, exhibit qualities such as emotional control in Chima, stoicism in The Adventures, and toughness in Folake. Any indication of weakness is condemned, and directly linked to femininity. Men, in Folake and The Adventures, presented through the father archetype, portray husbands as domineering, and fathers as emotionally detached from their children. As a result of these negative images, men are given social importance, while women are relegated despite playing central roles in the narratives. This further constructs men in dominant positions. Male models such as friends, uncles and teachers in Chima and The Champion are also portrayed as archetypal father-figures who convey masculine standards for boys through teasing, bullying and masculine testing. This is the process of socializing boys into manhood. Symbols of the male body such as the physique and phallus; animals like lion and leopard, and agricultural products such as yam and cassava in Murphy, Folake, Chima and Edidem are also constructed to embody virility, procreation, wealth, strength, endurance and heroism. Masculinity, as portrayed through oral traditions, images and symbols in the selected narratives, establishes male dominance, female subjugation and gender inequality.