THE SEMANTICS OF FEMALE REPRESENTATION AND GENDER CONSTRUCTION IN YORUBA PROVERBS AND IDIOMS

Abstract

This paper interrogates female representation and gender
construction in selected Yoruba proverbs and idioms, which serve as
influential vehicles of oral tradition and cultural transmission.
Drawing on Yoruba belief systems, social institutions, and customary
practices that shape gendered identities, the study examines how
proverbs function as repositories of communal values while
simultaneously reproducing patriarchal ideologies. Anchored in
African feminist theory, which advocates the liberation of women
from culturally sanctioned subjugation, the study analyses thirty
Yoruba proverbs on women using semantic field theory. The findings
reveal that the sampled proverbs are overwhelmingly sexist in
orientation, construing women as morally suspect, socially
subordinate, and culturally expendable. These proverbial
constructions reinforce patriarchal and phallocentric norms that
normalise women’s oppression, discrimination and social injustice.
The paper concludes by recommending culturally grounded yet
transformative strategies for re-evaluating proverbial wisdom to
enhance the dignity, agency, and status of women in Yoruba society.