The Female Gaze in African Art

The term “female gaze,” popularized by feminist film and cultural studies, challenges the dominant male gaze by representing women as active subjects rather than passive objects. In African music, literature, and visual arts, the female gaze manifests in various powerful ways. In honor of Women’s History Month, we celebrate three talented African artists who embrace and express the female gaze in their work.

 

 

Angélique Kidjo: Championing Women’s Voices Through Music

Beninese singer, songwriter, and activist Angélique Kidjo has long used her music to amplify women’s voices, African identity, and human rights. Unlike the objectifying portrayals of women often seen in mainstream music videos, Kidjo’s work emphasizes female strength, cultural pride, and community.

The visuals in her music videos for Agolo and Batonga highlight African women engaged in dance, rituals, and everyday life, not as objects of desire but as autonomous individuals with agency. Through her music, Kidjo portrays women as leaders, nurturers, and cultural bearers. Her lyrics frequently address themes of self-empowerment and resistance, reinforcing the importance of women’s perspectives in storytelling.

 

 

Rebeka Njau: A Feminist Voice in African Literature

Kenyan writer and playwright Rebeka Njau is a pioneering figure in feminist African literature. Her novels and plays challenge patriarchal narratives by centering female experiences and perspectives.

Njau’s writing embodies the female gaze in several ways. She delves into the internal worlds of her female characters, allowing readers to understand their emotions and motivations rather than externalizing their experiences. Her female protagonists are not symbolic figures in male-centered stories; instead, they are complex individuals navigating a patriarchal society. Furthermore, Njau subverts traditional gender norms by portraying women not as objects of desire or morality tales, but as fully realized individuals reclaiming their agency.

 

 

Billie Zangewa: Celebrating Everyday Womanhood Through Art

Malawian and South African artist Billie Zangewa uses textile art to depict intimate moments of womanhood, transforming domestic life into a space of empowerment. Her silk tapestries, often autobiographical, reject dominant narratives of heroism or suffering in depictions of African women. Instead, her work celebrates self-care, motherhood, solitude, and love.

Zangewa’s use of silk, a material often associated with femininity and delicacy becomes an act of resistance, subverting expectations of fragility and instead presenting strength in softness. Her art embodies the female gaze by shifting the focus from how women are perceived to how they perceive themselves, portraying Black women as active participants in their own lives rather than as symbols or objects.

 

 

African Women Reclaiming Their Stories

Together, Angélique Kidjo, Rebeka Njau, and Billie Zangewa challenge traditional representations of African women, offering a vision of female strength, self-definition, and cultural pride. Their work reminds us that the female gaze is not merely about seeing the world differently from men, it is about reclaiming the right to be seen on one’s own terms.