Abstract:
This study explores the forms of masculinity which occur in a crisis situation as
represented in Sembene Ousmane’s colonial text God’s Bits of Wood. The study relies
on the theories of Robert Connell, Judith Butler, Judith Halberstam, and Ifi
Amadiume amongst others in identifying the masculinities in the novel. The
introduction discusses issues of masculinity and looks at how different types of
masculinity have been defined, especially in relation to power. Chapter one focuses
on the white hegemonic masculinities. Chapter two looks at black workers’
masculinities which were marked by opposition, complicity, and cowardice. The third
chapter analyses the female masculinities and the violent boyhood masculinity that
were forged during the crisis. The conclusion summarizes the arguments in the
preceding chapters and indicates how Sembene Ousmane’s novel dispels certain
stereotypes of black masculinity.
