Male daughters, female husbands : gender and sex in an African society / Ifi Amadiume.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Amadiume, Ifi, 1947- author.

Series:

Amadiume, Ifi, 1947- Essential Amadiume

Essential Amadiume

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Women, Igbo.

Sex role--Nigeria.

Sex role.

Igbo (African people)--Social life and customs.

Igbo (African people).

Woman-to-woman marriage--Nigeria.

Woman-to-woman marriage.

Gender identity.

Physical Description:

xvi, 223 pages : maps ; 23 cm.

Edition:

[Second edition].

Essential Amadiume edition.

Place of Publication:

London ; New York : Zed Books, 2026.

Summary:

"In 1987, more than a decade before the dawn of queer theory, Ifi Amadiume wrote Male Daughters, Female Husbands to critical acclaim. Boldly arguing that the notion of gender, as constructed in Western feminist discourse, did not exist in Africa before the colonial imposition of a dichotomous understanding of sexual difference, this highly original book examines the structures in African society that enabled people to achieve power, showing that roles were not rigidly masculinized nor feminized. This new Essential Amadiume edition features a new foreword by the author"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Foreword / Pat Caplan

Preface to the critique influence change edition

Introduction

Part 1 The 19th Century

Gender and the Economy

Women, Wealth, Titles and Power

Gender and Political Organization

The Politics of Motherhood: Women and the Ideology-Making Process

The Ideology of Gender

Ritual and Gender

Part 2 The Colonial Period

Colonialism and the Erosion of Women's Power

The Erosion of Women's Power

Part 3 The Post-Independence Period

The Marginalization of Women's Position

Wealth, Titles and Motherhood

The Female Element in Other Igbo Societies

Gender, Class and Female Solidarity

Conclusion.

Notes:

"First published in Great Britain 1987. This edition published 2026."

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

Online version: Amadiume, Ifi, 1947- Male daughters, female husbands

ISBN:

9781350507784

1350507784

9781350507791

1350507792

OCLC:

1535256205