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AEGIS European Conference on African Studies
11 - 14 July 2007
African Studies Centre, Leiden, The Netherlands
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Sexuality Codes in Nigerian Language, Literature and Video
| Panel |
31. Sexuality and Politics in Africa
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| Paper ID | 434 |
| Author(s) |
Oloruntoba-Oju, Taiwo
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| Paper |
No paper submitted
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| Abstract | Recent focus on colonial representations of African sexuality and apparent post-colonial continuities tends to black out indigenous (pre-colonial) African perspectives on sexuality. While colonial continuities do inevitably manifest in contemporary, postcolonial, African gender relations, and can legitimately be factored into theoretical postulates, the corresponding danger of fusing aspects of colonial narratives with contemporary situations to produce dubious sexuality imaginaries on behalf of Africa is equally real. This paper demonstrates that certain dimensions of African sexuality (or sexuality in Africa) will be found within core linguistic items and extant culture communication codes dating back to pre-colonial times. Using the Yoruba of West Africa as example we find in African language and usage suggestions of a deep structure linguistic coding of female sexuality orientation, and expectation, that may not be replicated in western languages and cultures. The differentiation in female/male sexuality expectation embodied in these codes may well be a pointer to African understanding and construction of sexuality at a time when “identity” was not a matter of dispute, and cultural representation was as close as possible to the culture itself. More importantly, it may be a key to understanding, and perhaps resolving, some of the more problematic sex/gender role fixations and cleavages in contemporary African politics. The paper examines relevant sexuality representations in Nigerian language, literature and Video.
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