Phallocracies and gynocratic transgressions: gender, state power and Kenyan public life

Abstract

This article explores the role of hegemonic masculinities in shaping patterns of authority in Kenya, a context in which state power has historically been framed as a male affair, with the foregrounding of the phallus as a symbol for power and leadership. It argues that, beyond ethnicity and class, gender—and specifi cally masculinities—provides a compelling lens through which to understand the Kenyan post-election crisis and its attendant elements: the deadlock between Mwai Kibaki and Raila Odinga; the mobilisation of militaristic masculinities and the violence infl icted on men and women’s bodies during the conflict.

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