Black lives and bodywork matters: A postcolonial critique of gender and embodiment in Nigeria

Abstract

Drawing on the theories of “Womanism” and “African feminism,” this paper explores the concept of embodiment within an African context. More specifically, we focus on exploring the lived experiences of Nigerian women in male‐dominated organizations (sector) to provide an in‐depth understanding of the dynamics of how the Nigerian society marginalizes qualities and aspects of embodiment and disembodiment of women. Based on 39 interviews, our findings reveal that cultural and social practices significantly influence the concept of gendered embodiment in the Nigerian context. We further highlight the spatialized dynamic of the religious, ethical, and classed identity formations, and the multiplicities of violence experienced on African women's bodies every day. Using a feminist standpoint as a lens, we highlight the practice and relevance of social constructivism in understanding the concept of spatialized embodiment in a Nigerian context. We emphasize the complexity and diversity in African feminisms as we highlight the multiplicities of difference in understanding African experiences. Additionally, we emphasize that men are part of the social construct, and hence cannot be left out of the story, given that their influence and perceptions provide further insight into the concept of gendered embodiment and existing marginalization of and discrimination against women.

The production of difference and “becoming Black”: The experiences of female Nigerian doctors and nurses working in the National Health Service

“…In this way, our work also speaks to a wider organizational literature highlighting othering (e.g., Collins, 1986) and which theorizes identity as a dynamic, contextualized process that may include flows of advantage and disadvantage in relation to intersecting positionalities (Kagher et al., 2021). For example, Atewologun, Sealy and Vinnicombe (2016, p. 223) showed that British Black and Asian women and men experience their intersecting identities in ways that can be advantageous as well as restrictive.…”