our white fathers: patriarchy and shifting gender roles in colonial nigeria, 1900-1961 senior thesis...

Our White Fathers:Patriarchy and Shifting Gender Rolesin Colonial Nigeria, 1900-1961Senior Thesis Presented to Dr. Li on December 2nd, 2014

What, When, & Why★Frame &

TerminologyConstructs

● Gender, Patriarchy Narrative

● Colonial, Post-Colonial

★Thesis

★Three Societies● Black Women● Black Men● White Women

★Connection● Disconnect

★Conclusion

The White Man’s Burden“Take up the White Man's burden, The savage wars of peace--Fill full the mouth of Famine And bid the sickness cease;And when your goal is nearest The end for others sought,Watch sloth and heathen Folly Bring all your hopes to nought.”

Some Definitions

Construct: “an idea or theory containing various conceptual elements, typically one considered to be subjective and not based on empirical evidence.”

• A vehicle to maintain Imperial validity

Imperial Constructs

Colony - “Dual Mandate”● Mutually Beneficial

Empire - “White Man’s Burden”● Bring Modernity

Patriarchy - “Metaphor of the Family”● Father as Civilizer

Imperial Constructs

Gender:● European Binary -- Separate, not Equal

o Public/Private, Political/Domestic

● “the range of characteristics pertaining to, and differentiating between, masculinity and femininity”

Nigerian Gender Roles

How We Remember

Narrative:● Human beings tend to understand events when

organized as a coherent story or “narrative” explaining how we believe the event was generated.

o Historiography is an analysis of our “historical narrative”

● (e.g. How & why colonialism happened)

Colonial Narratives

Colonial - Bringing Civilization

Post-Colonial - Africa Under-developed

Gender & Colonialism - Women, Agency

So What?Even though Nigerian men and women had unique gender norms before the colonial era, ● they were altered by their contact with British

colonialism.

However, Nigerian gender norms are not alone ● European women experienced the constraints of

white patriarchy alongside them.

And How?

Through outlining these three societies, we find they share many similarities,● their agency despite the limitations of

patriarchy

● their dissimilarity to the common narrative

Prevailing NarrativeBlack Women -

● Hyper Sexualized● Victimized● Tokenized● “Doubly

Colonized”

Sources -

● Literature● Film● Memoirs● Historiography

● Pre-Colonialo Politics & Market

● Colonialo Uprisings, Strikes

● Post-Colonialo Loss of Power

Nigerian WomenSources● Chuku

● Jeffries-Johnson

● Johnson-Odim

Feminine Power

Prevailing NarrativeBlack Men - ● Objectified

● Commodified

● Feminized

Sources - ● Colonial Histories● Science● Film & Literature● Anti-Colonial Text

o Fanon, Memmi

Nigerian Men● Pre-Colonial

o Power Shared● Colonial

o Solidify Power● Post-

Independenceo New Patriarchy

Sources - ● Amadiume

o Gender Roles● Lindsay

o “Breadwinner”o Nationalism

Masculinity Cemented

Prevailing NarrativeWhite Women -● Idle, Lazy,

Exploitiveo White Reserves

● Miscegenationo Risk of Assault

● “Mother” Figure

Sources -● Literature

o Colonialo & Anti-Colonial

● Film● Colonial Histories

British Women in NigeriaIn England -● “White Woman’s

Burden”● Path to SuffrageIn Nigeria -● Hospitals● Schools

Sources - ● Callaway

o Active Participants● Memoirs

o Fear of “Drunken White Men,” not Africans

Essential & Influential

Connecting the Framework

Nigerian Men, Nigerian Women, & British Women Intersect● Defined by Framework

of Patriarchal Authority● Lived within “White Man’s World”

of Colonial Nigeria

Disconnecting the Narrative● Nigerian Women

o Public, Economic, & Political Agents● Nigerian Men

o Strengthened & Consolidated● British Women in Nigeria

o Essential & Influential

Conclusions

● Despite interest in “Gender & Colonialism” o Academia perpetuates narrative of

difference● Three societies connected

o Limitations of Patriarchyo Agency despite those limitations

Thank You!