Emasculated byt the crisis: Representations of the struggling fathers in selected contemporary Zimbabwean literature.
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Date
2010
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
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Publisher
NUST, Department of Communication
Abstract
The political turmoil and socio-economic comatose of the past decade in Zimbabwe has had a toll on the social transformation of the Zimbabwean society. The astronomical inflation, the incessant shortages of basic consumer goods, jobs etc. has changed the face of the evolution of culture masculinities, exposed the vulnerability of the male father figure and consigned him to the fringes of the everyday struggle to provide for his family. The gap between the traditional male breadwinner and the hopelessly inept father figure produced by the extraordinary constraints of the last decade in Zimbabwe has over the years created a fertile ground for creative imagination as writers grapple with the nature of the "Zimbabwean problem", the multifarious forces shaping the humanitarian crisis and the human responses to the dystopian situation. This paper looks at the destabilising impact of the problematicpolitical and economic situation on the male father figure's capacity to effectively deliver on his traditional and cultural responsibility to sustain a family. We contend that the contemporary Zimbabwean narrative particularly in the short story genre reflects and refracts on the complexities of negotiating a crisis situation and represents the "emasculated" state of the male father figure rendered helpless by forces beyond his influence.
Description
Keywords
Zimbabwe - Political aspects, Zimbabwe - Social aspects, Politics - Zimbabwe, Socio-economic issues - Zimbabwe, Masculinities - Zimbabwe, Male father figures - Zimbabwe, Father figures - Zimbabwe
Citation
Nyambi, O., & Mlambo, N. (2010-2011). Emasculated by the crisis: Representations of the struggling fathers in selected contemporary Zimbabwean literature. Nawa Journal of Communication, 4-5(2 & 1), 199-210.