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The Palgrave Handbook of African Women's Studies pp 1–17Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

African Women and the Mass Media

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Abstract

The discourse on African women and the mass media is both multifaceted and multidimensional. On one hand, the term “African Women” is such a monolithic and fluid concept which defies a singular study approach; on the other hand, the mass media in its holistic sense continues to experience transitions over decades. Amidst the known and hidden complexities, this chapter provides an overview of African women’s lives, roles, and challenges, both as media consumers and as media producers. The chapter explores the positions of women as media consumers, their products as media producers, whether production is commensurate with consumption, and what should be the place of media and cultural conservation. By historically and critically analyzing the interactions of African women with the media and through the media, this chapter concludes that Afrocentric Africanism must be embraced by African women in media content production, consumption, and conservation if predefined feminist communicative objectives must be achieved for the benefit of all women and media stakeholders in Africa.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Women’s Research and Documentation Center (WORDOC), Institute of African Studies, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria

    Sharon Adetutu Omotoso

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  1. Sharon Adetutu Omotoso
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Correspondence to Sharon Adetutu Omotoso .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Political Science and Public Administration, Babcock University , Ilishan Remo, Nigeria

    Olajumoke Yacob-Haliso

  2. Department of History, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA

    Toyin Falola

Section Editor information

  1. Institute of African Studies, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria

    Sharon A. Omotoso

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Omotoso, S.A. (2019). African Women and the Mass Media. In: Yacob-Haliso, O., Falola, T. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of African Women's Studies. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-77030-7_51-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-77030-7_51-1

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