Objectification of Women in Esan Proverbs and Folksongs: Wither Cultural Sexism

Abstract

This paper contributes to the discourse by relating female objectification to oral traditions and folklore, focusing on the content of indigenous proverbs and folksongs of the Esan people of Edo State, Nigeria, as manifestations of cultural sexism.  The study adopted an ethnographic approach, using observation and interviews to collect primary data. Added to this was the examination of proverbs and folksongs using Risdianto's three-dimensional model for analyzing folksongs, comprising the contextual, grammatical, and semantic dimensions. The study's findings reveal, amongst others, that the selected Esan proverbs, which have evolved immemorially, are still in use. These artistic works portray images that tend to objectify women, their reproductive parts, sexual functions, and general essence for many reasons; namely, to evoke hilarity, pass across indigenous knowledge, mock the female in comic parlance, and counsel for didactic purposes. Women have accepted it as part of their culture and even participate in it.