Re-thinking Gender: A Yoruba Perspective

This collection of excerpts critically examines the imposition of Western gender binaries and societal structures onto Yoruba culture, arguing that traditional Yoruba society was not organized along gender lines. The author highlights how Yoruba language is inherently gender-neutral, lacking specific pronouns or kinship terms for male or female, and how this linguistic reality reflects a social system based on seniority, lineage, and social roles rather than biological sex. The text scrutinizes how colonialism, Western scholarship, and even some African intellectuals have historically misinterpreted and "gendered" Yoruba institutions, from religious practices and leadership to labor divisions and family structures, leading to the inaccurate portrayal of female subordination. It emphasizes that understandings of Yoruba history, art, and social practices should be grounded in indigenous frameworks to avoid perpetuating ethnocentric and imperialistic biases.

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