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When Male Becomes Female And Female Becomes Male In Mande., Kassim Kone

Wagadu: A Journal of Transnational Women's & Gender Studies

This paper argues that an ideology of masculinity among the Bamana is based on the belief of supremacy of the male biological heritage over the female heritage in procreation. The statuses and roles of Bamana men and women remain culturally and contextually fluid however. Father to his own children, a man is also the male mother to his sister’s child. On the opposite, the paternal aunt is the female father to her brother’s child. A clear picture of the gender relations requires an understanding of women’s roles and their power and authority in their families of orientation. Similarly, male domination …