Why Not Call a Spade a Spade? Unpacking Paul Matavire’s Gender Philosophy

Abstract

The visually challenged Zimbabwean musician, Paul Matavire is usually dismissed, in discourses and talk, as a staunch, precarious misogynist whose music, while socially acceptable, offensively advanced subjugation of women in society. Limited existing scholarship on Paul Matavire’s music leans unfalteringly against the thinking that Paul Matavire humorously glorifies and celebrates patriarchy in his songs. This chapter unpacks Matavire’s gender philosophy showing that his songs actually unmask patriarchy rather than celebrate it. The chapter argues that Matavire’s gender position is intricately squashed between gender dictates on one end, and masculine aspects on the other. This, in gender relations, exists not only in Zimbabwe but in most African societies and tends to confuse researchers who attempt to study Paul Matavire’s art altogether. The chapter hopes to provide knowledge on the nature of Matavire’s gender philosophy in his songs as a gateway to acknowledging notions of negotiating gender spaces in a mannish society.