Omekanwanyị: Examining Softness, Effeminacy, and the Making of a Man
Conference: The 23rd Annual International Conference of the Igbo Studies Association (ISA) (2026)
Presenter(s): Chimeremeze Nwafọ
Presentation Date: May 14, 2026 @ 15:39 PM
Abstract
This paper examines the cultural, psychological, and sociological dimensions of effeminacy and male softness within Igbo society. It argues that emotional gentleness, far from being a sign of weakness, constitutes an essential element of sustainable personhood. Drawing from precolonial ritual practices, artistic traditions, and ethnographic accounts, the study demonstrates that Igbo culture historically accommodated and even required men to embody feminine-coded softness through roles such as Agbọghọ Mmụọ, Mmanwụ Nwanyị, Egedege performance, and festival personae. The text contrasts this history with contemporary social pressures that compel boys and men to suppress vulnerability, thereby creating patterns of self-concealment which psychological research links to emotional distress, anxiety, and diminished relational capacity. Through a close reading of Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, Okonkwọ’s tragic trajectory is interpreted as a literary illustration of the dangers of constructing masculinity on fear, repression, and rigid performativity rather than authenticity. The essay further argues that reclaiming softness is essential for the resilience and wellbeing of Igbo communities. It proposes a four-level intervention framework—Family Level, Educational Level, Societal Level, and Media Level—through which softness can be recognized and restored as a legitimate masculine attribute. Such measures, it contends, would improve mental health outcomes, strengthen familial and communal bonds, and realign Igbo masculinity with indigenous understandings of balanced personhood. Ultimately, the essay argues that softness is not a cultural deviation but a vital pathway toward ọsọ ndụ: a humane, grounded, and emotionally intelligent masculinity capable of sustaining a resilient Igbo future.
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