Portrayal of Women in Male Authored Plays in Nigeria

Abstract

The paper analyzed select male authored plays in Nigeria, foregrounding in the process, how women are portrayed. The methodology adopted is descriptive and in the main deductive arising from the analyses of the play-texts. The plays authored by male dramatists reveal a multi-focal thrust in the portrayal of women. They foreground a bias for and against strong female characterization. In most contemporary male authored texts, women are poorly represented. The overriding focal thrust of male playwrights has always been to foreground the physical, prurient negative nature of women. There are a few male playwrights however who portray women in their plays as talented and capable of achieving great things. These playwrights are termed gynacritics and they include among others, Femi Osofisan, Olu Obafemi, Iyorwuese Hagher and Bode Sowande. Women’s portrayal as sex objects and mostly as docile mothers and wives forecloses their other capabilities. There should therefore be a fundamental change in gender relations so as to recognize the role of women as complementary partners in the process of development.

Keywords: Contemporary, Male Authored, Gynacritics, Select, Nigeria