Across these intertwined narratives, Aidoo reveals how deeply language shapes gender and power in African societies. Patriarchy speaks in both whispers and commands, glorifying women’s sacrifice through idioms, and romanticising their suffering through proverbs, as seen in Esi’s conversation with her grandmother, Nana. Also, through casual conversations, patriarchal language is used to reduce women’s ambitions to “Western” delusions.
Throughout the film, gendered language serves as a weapon of subjugation. When Patrick says Irene is “good for nothing,” and Appiah praises another woman as “a woman of virtue” because she “knows how to cook, wash, and [work] like a woman,” language becomes a tool for erasure and female subjugation. Each insult and “compliment” reinforces a hierarchy where womanhood is synonymous with servitude. As Nigerian critic Obododimma Oha notes, female subjugation thrives through symbolic violence—through everyday words that strip women of dignity while elevating men.
Despite strides in education, leadership, and activism, research shows that women make up only about a quarter of all people featured as news sources and subjects in global news. Even when they appear as the subjects of news stories, women’s stories are underreported and often underrepresented. To put it matter-of-factly, female sources and subjects are usually underquoted and mostly relegated to the sidelines.
Cover Image Courtesy: Thought Catalog // Unsplash Derek Walcott’s “Love after Love” masterfully explores the inner journey of self-discovery, where patience, compassion, and slow revelation converge to awaken the self. The poem begins with a gentle cadence of patience, compassion, and empathy, as the narrator tenderly assures the other, “The time will come.” This reassuring phrase precedes an intimate invitation…
Cover Image Courtesy: Alvin Balemesa // Unsplash The recent explosive growth of the global beauty industry reflects society’s intensifying obsession with beauty. Surging from $100 billion in 2021 to over $1.1 trillion in revenue between 2022 and 2023, the industry generated $528.59 billion in 2022 and $579.20 billion in 2023, with projections indicating continued expansion to $648.60 billion in 2024…
Cover Image Courtesy: Vladmir Yelizarov // Unsplash Life’s complexities through adulthood and times of hardships often mask an individual’s genuine identity. Yet, no one can shy away from the moment of truth when we have to pull back the layers of inauthenticity birthed by societal expectations to stand face-to-face with our inner self, to unveil our true essence. For millennial…