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“Awa ndi macheza aamai (This is women’s play)”: Examining Pleasure in Urban Malawian Women’s Social Spaces
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 14 October 2022
Abstract
Women’s social groups and gatherings in Malawi, whether physical or virtual, are often dismissed as something not to be taken seriously, as they are imagined to be places where nothing useful but chitchat and gossip will emerge. Nevertheless, these spaces, as sites of leisure where women can engage in macheza (play), continue to play an important role in how urban women variously experience pleasure. Mtenje considers social media groups for women and bridal showers not only as spaces where women are free from male interference, which, in itself, invokes pleasure, but also as spaces where patriarchal norms can be and often are reinforced.
Résumé
Les groupes sociaux et les rassemblements de femmes au Malawi, qu’ils soient physiques ou virtuels, sont souvent rejetés comme quelque chose à ne pas prendre au sérieux, car ils sont imaginés comme des lieux où rien d’utile à part le bavardage et les commérages émergeront. Néanmoins, ces espaces, en tant que lieux de loisirs où les femmes peuvent s’engager dans la macheza (jouer), continuent de jouer un rôle important de la façon dont les femmes urbaines éprouvent divers plaisirs. Mtenje considère les groupes de médias sociaux pour les femmes et les douches nuptiales non seulement comme des espaces où les femmes sont libres de toute ingérence masculine, ce qui, en soi, invoque le plaisir, mais aussi comme des espaces où les normes patriarcales peuvent être et sont souvent renforcées.
Resumo
Os grupos e encontros de mulheres no Maláui, sejam eles físicos ou espirituais, são muitas vezes desprezados, como se não devessem ser levados a sério, uma vez que são concebidos como lugares onde nada de útil emergirá, apenas conversas de circunstância e mexericos. No entanto, estes espaços, como lugares de lazer onde as mulheres podem entreter-se com macheza (brincar), continuam a desempenhar um papel importante no modo variado como as mulheres urbanas experimentam os momentos de lazer. Mtenje analisa os grupos femininos nas redes sociais e nas despedidas de solteira não só como espaços onde as mulheres estão livres de interferências masculinas – o que, por si só, invoca o prazer –, mas também como espaços onde as normas do patriarcado podem muitas vezes ser reforçadas, ou são-no efetivamente.
- Type
- Forum: Africa/Pleasure: An Agenda for Future Work
- Information
- Copyright
- © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the African Studies Association
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