Subversion of Hegemonic Gender Perspectives as a Means to Postcolonial Authenticity in Ngugi’s Petals of Blood and Ogbu’s The Moon Also Sets

The purpose of this paper is to interrogate Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s and Osi Ogbu’s subversion of sexism, classism and racism which are elements of patriarchy. Patriarchy is among pervasive hegemonic legacies that characterize postcolonial societies and adversely affects gender relations. Attempts at dismantling patriarchal structures has sparked contestations and controversies among literary artists and scholars in both Western and postcolonial societies. Mainstream feminist approaches have not been embraced in postcolonial contexts since patriarchy to a great extent is associated with colonialism in postcolonial setups. Therefore Western feminists are viewed as accomplices in the colonial project who fail to take into account experiences of women in postcolonies. This paper is pursuant of patriarchy dismantling project but deviates from mainstream perpectives. It focuses on the fiction of two African male postcolonial feminist artists whose humanist and Afroeuropean approaches seem appropriate in subverting gender disparities. These approaches accord dignity to all human beings regardless of sex. Additionally, they encourage co-operation and complementarity between men and women. Appropriate strands of African Feminism addressed patriarchy while Marxist feminism postulations addressed class and exploitation. The literature review focused on critical works of authors and literary critics who have analyzed the two texts and other works on gender and capitalism. One of the findings of this paper is that Afroeuropean approaches to gender are viable in subverting sexism, racism and classism. Secondly, equitable opportunities can be accorded to males and females depending on ability and endowment and not on sex.