Images of women in Shona songs by Zimbabwean male singers

Abstract

This article explores the images of women as portrayed in Shona songs by Zimbabwean male singers. It examines how the singers construct and represent these images. The argument is that song is a popular medium of communication and its message affects people's view of the world around them, including gender relationships. It is therefore necessary to understand the messages that are embedded in the songs and the images they invoke because ultimately, song, like all literature, offers a platform to interrogate the images and reshape people's attitudes.The deconstruction of images of women in song is done through content analysis of selected Shona songs by male singers. The results reveal multifaceted and stereotyped images of women that are largely engrained in the cultural values and expectations of the Shona people.