Paper short abstract:

This paper discusses and contests the logic of male-bashing in radical separatist African literature and emphasizes how feminism is potentially liberating both for men and women.

Paper long abstract:

While acknowledging the quest for equality that feminism champions in African societies, this paper, through an analysis of Nawal El Saadawi's Woman at Point Zero and selected Akan proverbs, contests the logic fueling male-bashing by foregrounding certain often-ignored variables in this debate: first, the faulty homogenization/essentialization of men and women (and by extension, the neglection of intersectionality) and, second, the constraints certain cultural expectations pose to men. By distinguishing between social and epistemic positions, this paper argues that because feminism is potentially liberating for both women and men, we can all be feminists. It concludes by foregrounding a recent attempt by African men (i.e., The Stingy Men Association of Nigeria) to contest the contradictions of a distorted vision of feminist masculinity which holds on to ideas about strength and providing for others (essential in patriarchal thought), while dropping their investment in domination.