Sexual objectification of women in female initiation rites: the case of the chisungu female initiation rite.

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Date
2009
Authors
Munsaka, Ecloss
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
New Voices in Psychology
Abstract
In this paper, I examine sexual objectification in the chisungu initiation rite performed among the Bemba speaking people of Northern Zambia. This paper explain and interprets the sexual objectification messages that are contained in the songs and various imageries that initiation instructors use to teach the young women who enter puberty. From the analysis of the lore, it seems the female initiation rite promotes sexual objectification of women by emphasizing the sex roles that young women have to fulfil when they get married. The paper proposes that, initiation, being a vital means of passing cultural values from generation to generation, has an influence on how the young women who are initiated construct their identity.
Description
An analysis of the sexual objectification messages that are contained in the lore used to teach girls who enter puberty among the Bemba speaking people.
Keywords
Sexual objectification. , Women, Bemba--Rites and ceremonies. , Bemba (African people). , Puberty rites--Zambia. , Chisungu--Bemba--Zambia.
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