AKWA IBOM STATE UNIVERSITY JOUNAL OF ARTS

This paper examines the representation of hegemonic and disempowered masculinities in contemporary African novels, arguing that contrary to the longstanding feminist critique of African male writing as uniformly patriarchal, these texts offer complex and often critical investigations into the psychological and social costs of masculine identity formation under postcolonial conditions. Drawing upon Raewyn Connell's foundational theorisation of hegemonic masculinity and subsequent reformulations by postcolonial and intersectional scholars, the paper analyses seven novels: Isidore Okpewho's The Last Duty, Sipho Sibiya's Ngiyolibala Ngifile, Jamal Mahjoub's Travelling with Djinns, Francis Selormey's The Narrow Path, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Purple Hibiscus, Zakes Mda's The Heart of Redness, and Abdulrazak Gurnah's By the Sea. The analysis reveals a central paradox: postcolonial African masculinity is simultaneously hypervisible as oppressive and systematically disempowered by structural constraints including colonial legacy, economic precarity, racialization, and political violence. The paper introduces the concept of "disempowered masculinities" as an analytic category for understanding male characters who internalize hegemonic ideals they cannot possibly achieve, producing shame, rage, and self-loathing. Findings demonstrate that these novels refuse both patriarchal endorsement and simple victim narratives, instead staging the toxic gap between masculine aspiration and material reality. The paper concludes by proposing directions for further research, including comparative studies across African regions, engagement with queer theory, and sustained attention to the relational constitution of masculinities through female agency.

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