Abina Gender Roles

In the graphic history of Abina and the Important Men, the social construct of gender played an enormous role, and became the major determinant of the outcome of Abina’s case. The protagonist, Abina, was a young woman who lived in the nineteenth century in the British Colony of the Gold Coast, which is presently the country of Ghana (Getz and Clarke, 127-128). She believed that she was sold into slavery at a time when it was illegal, and decided to testify against Quamina Eddoo, her supposed master. The premise of her case was the legality of Eddoo’s “ownership” of her, and what was problematic in this time and place was the definition of “freedom” while being a woman. By challenging Eddoo’s innocence in court, Abina challenged the extremely

Hegemonic behavior, which includes strength and power, is masculine, as is rationality (not emotion), honesty, wealth, property, and the English language. Wealth and property allows one to be independent, own things (land, people, etc.), be in charge, and not be dependent (which is feminine, childish, and a characteristic of indigenous peoples). English was the language of colonialism (in the Gold Coast), was required in professional settings, and was used to silence others with indigenous languages (which were seen as weak and feminine). All of these masculine facets caused obstructions that silenced Abina; she was in a courtroom where only men were the judges, lawyers, and jury members, and they were all wealthy, land-owning, English-speaking men who probably had women just like Abina. As a woman, she was not trusted to tell the truth, and could not directly communicate because she did not speak English, which was the only language allowed in the courtroom. Abina had to defend herself second-hand; because she needed a translator, she could not build a connection or gain much sympathy from those in the room because she could not directly communicate with them. She was subordinate and dependent on others, and was treated like a