GYNOCRITICISM AND SEXUAL REVOLUTION IN MONA ELTAHAWY’S HEADSCARVES AND HYMENS AND KOPANO MALTWA’S PERIOD PAIN

Abstract

This study examines the representation of female sexuality, bodily
autonomy, and resistance in Mona Eltahawy’s Headscarves and
Hymens and Kopano Matlwa’s Period Pain. It positions these works
within the framework of gynocriticism and the sexual revolution,
with resonance to Nigerian feminist concerns about gender, culture,
and postcoloniality. The study investigates how both authors
challenge patriarchal constraints, religious orthodoxy, and sociocultural norms. It explores how these factors regulate women’s
bodies and sexual agency in African and Middle Eastern contexts,
mirroring Nigerian struggles against gendered violence and colonial
legacies. The study draws on Elaine Showalter’s gynocriticism,
Kimberlé Crenshaw’s intersectional feminism, and postcolonial
feminist perspectives to analyse how these texts construct femalecentred narratives that subvert dominant gender ideologies. It
further aligns these frameworks with Nigerian calls for culturally
specific agency. A qualitative textual analysis is employed to explore
the language, themes, and characterisation that articulate women’s
struggles for self-definition and liberation. Findings reveal that both
texts serve as feminist interventions that reclaim the female body as
a site of resistance by advocating for sexual autonomy and gender
equality. Thus, it addresses Nigerian feminist priorities of bodily
integrity and cultural reclamation. This research contributes to
feminist literary discourse by demonstrating how literature
functions as a platform for challenging and reshaping gendered
power structures.