Femininity vs Masculinity: Re-Defining (Gender) Roles in Alobwed’ Epie’s The Lady with a Beard

Abstract

Gender bias has remained a pervasive problem worldwide, till this era. In line with the recent “UNDP Gender Inequality Index” which ranks Cameroon 141st among a total of 162 classified world countries, Cameroon is determined a heavily patriarchal society. Developing gender as a social construction rather than a biological attribute is a powerful achievement that determines roles being awarded accordingly and not based on genetic traits. The foregoing declarations put this paper in perspective. Gender can grow beyond any limit if it is not tied down to sex. Therefore, gender should be redefined as a process of activity and not a static label. However, this paper aims to show that in spite of the position which Cameroon occupies, Cameroonian writers like Alobwed’ Epie in his novel, The Lady with a Beard, redefines male and female stereotypes and roles. With a remarkable representation of his heroine in an evolving Cameroon, Emade surges her femininity through freedom of choice. The qualitative research method has been employed through document analysis, and in re-defining both gender roles, this study has adopted the Postmodern theory to debunk perspectives of a grand narrative, universality and stability in the novel to enhance gender configurations. In all, this paper confirms a radically budding change in stereotypical notions of gender, especially the female, in the Cameroonian and Bakossi setting.