That is what my grandmother told my mother: The story of Nigerian and South African women subordinate position

Abstract

This paper presents the narrative voice of Nigerian and South African women religious (including men) in expressing that societal socialization processes produce gender-based discrimination which position women as subordinate. As a result, women become navigators of their own gender subordination. Therefore, this paper using thematic analysis through Foucault discursive lens presents gender dilemmas of identity construction based on a qualitative doctoral research design and postdoctoral findings which aimed at exploring identity construction of Nigerian Catholic religious sisters. These identity dilemmas emerged as a result of the complexity involved in unlearning lifelong socialization processes which continually ascribe conflicting gender positions to men and women. Accordingly, this paper presents the participants’ dominant discursive claim that gender subordinate position is: What their grandmothers told their mothers, and their mothers in turn taught them; that to be a woman means to accept a responsible caring position for others, particularly for men. Consequently, this paper recommends that women who are salient stakeholders in family, Church and school socialization ought to act as counter-force in challenging gender discriminating discourse which position girls as second to boys and vice versa. In addition, this paper recommends further research towards exploring women’s contribution to their own victimization of gender discrimination.

Keywords

• african catholic religious men and women
• gender discourse/discrimination
• societal socialization
• subordinate
• counter-force