B'TRIK

Sharing real African stories through art & fashion whilst decolonizing academic representations of development.

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A crown of shame 

DISCLAIMER: I will explain the meaning of the man in the gele. Please read the entire piece first before you make your conclusions, many thanks.

Introduction

When reading male experiences of sexual violence in Ancient Persia, Sri Lanka, Yugoslavia, and the DRC, the possibility of men being sexually abused in violent conflict across the globe is indeed possible. The fact that it is deemed unmasculine for men to willfully display physical, emotional or any weakness of any kind theoretically increases the likelihood underreported cases. 

Though there is very little evidence to confirm the possibility of men being sexually abused in various wars across the globe, the consequential reality exposed in the few reported accounts of male rape has highlighted a key issue of what I conclude as a  gender identity crisis.

The crisis can be generalized as a displacement of a man’s masculinity and thus his title as a ‘man’ which is then socially and culturally subverted into that of a woman. This is as globally it is socially acceptable for women and girls to be raped in war and not men and women. Willam Hague and Angelia Jolie’s 2013 push to end rape in war campaign is another evidence that excluded men and boys from the rape victim-survivor narrative. 

So why the GELE you ask?

The crown aka gele - a Nigerian headdress traditionally worn by Yoruba, Urhobo and many more women belonging to different Nigerian ethnic groups - is worn as a subversion of the sexually abused male’s masculine identity. Therefore, I use the Gele to reinterpret and symbolize (the “shame” experienced by male victims as previously discussed in the hyperlinked articles and) the installment of a feminine social status where the rape of women and girls are accounted for.

Being a young Nigerian woman myself, I am most familiar with this type of headdress and I thought what better item than a gele to portray a status of flamboyant and most importantly NOTICED femininity. 

Rape is for women, now what am I? 

Their crown of glory is now my shame,

their crown of glory solidifies my pain. 

(see hyperlinks for sourced material) 

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‘This film breaks the silence around sexual violence against men in conflict. Scripted, filmed and acted by members of a unique support group "Men of Hope", this groundbreaking work captures the multiple impacts of this under-recognized reality; suicide attempts, family disintegration, unemployment, stigmatization, exclusion, and more.’

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men can be raped too

Refugee Law Project, a Uganda-based NGO dedicated to the rehabilitation of male survivors of rape, especially male migrants from Congo. 

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Always protects my secret shame. 

No man, no doctor, no help, only woman. 

No law, no notice, plenty blood at first and pus-covered Always.

Poem explained:

The inspiration for this photograph came when reading about Eunice Owiny’s interview with a male survivor who couldn’t explain to his wife why who could no longer have sexual relations with her and that he used a pus-covered sanitary pad to aid his wounds. (Always sanitary pads aren’t specifically mentioned in the interview).

Therefore the poem attempts to emphasize the lack of help experienced by some survivors. ‘only woman’ attempts to symbolize the conversion of the survivor's masculine social-cultural status into that of a woman as legally and culturally women are only seen as victims of rape as they are usually the only sex accounted for in post-war rape statistics or rehabilitative services. 

“No law no, no notice” is a direct reference to the lack of international legislation that recognises male rap victims in war whilst ‘plenty blood at first’ was taken from the article as Owiny’s interview, with Dr. Chris Dolan’s converstation with Jean Paul. Jean Paul mentioned that after his rape by 12 men, “he bled freely”.

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[jen-der]

Basic definitions say its the biological differences between men and women - this is what Connell (2011) refers to as ‘categorical thinking’, however, I use a more critical definition, also known an intersectional or relational approach. 

Gender is seen as a performance according to critical gender thinkers (however I do not necessarily support performativity theory - see video). 

Therefore, when talking about masculinities, I do not treat men as a single unified or homogeneous category but acknowledge the different types of masculine identities that are performed and that are hidden to exist in private and away from a public audience.

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masculinity

/ˌmaskjʊˈlɪnɪti/

Commonly defined by physical strength, social protection & economic provision, however the meaning changes with the cultural context it is applied in.

The first story I want to tell are true accounts of male rape during Congo’s civil war. Before rape, they were considered men - a protector of his wife and breadwinner of his household. 

But when raped repeatedly by rebel forces their ‘manhood’ automatically gave way as their body did to his attacker which is reminiscent of Maya Angelou’s recollections in I know why the caged bird sings. It is important to note sexual violence has been a tool of warfare to gain power over men, women, girls and boys. 

The next series of posts explores sexual violence against men and boys & why we need to expose such secret with day-to-day conversations, social media usage and our ways of thinking.