NJGS: Vol. 1, No. 2, 2024

CONTEMPORARY PROPAGANDA FOR GIRL-CHILD AGAINST

THE BOY-CHILD: A CASE OF GENDER INSENSITIVITY

Jude I. Onebunne, PhD*

Abstract

Recently there is this clarion call for proper care of the girl-child with regard to total protection,

general training and otherwise. And no one cares about the proper and functional well-being of the

boy-child. This contemporary propaganda for the good of girl-child against the boy-child is simply

neglected boy-child. This paper calls for careful attention of the propagandists that what is good

for the goose is equally good for the gander if not better.

Keywords: Girl-child, boy-child, gender, feminism

Introduction

One of the most beautiful moments of creation is creating them male and female ( cf. Gen. 1:

26-27). Hence, we maintain that creation is complete with male and female, hence, nature is

beautiful. The Creator was so sensitive in doing this and the biblical scholars (bible writers)

were too careful in presenting such historical marvels as such. In my secondary school days

there is this hymn that reflects this beauty in nature leaving an indelible impression on me and

it runs thus:

How great is the Almighty

Who has made all things well

The recent outcry in the much lauded feminism that nevertheless started with and continues

with an overblown attention to the girl-child seems not to appreciate the lauded beauty in

nature reflected in the above hymn. Such neglect in creation is nevertheless a creative

aberration of a sort. However, the contemporary propaganda of more attention for girl-child

against the utter neglect of the boy-child is one of the extremes of feminism and one of the

cases in gender insensitivity. The extremes of feminism continue to rear its ugly head as it is

championed in many existing forms of male abuse and yet-to-exist male neglects as well as

the contemporary madness as we react in the face of hullabaloo of LGTQ.

Jude I. Onebunne: Contemporary Propaganda for Girl-Child Against the Boy-Child: A Case of Gender

Education, which is Millennium Development Goal; number two, that by 2015 ensure that all

boys and girls alike complete primary schooling”. In our peculiar environment, many boys are

on the street hawking while the other good numbers have left for business. At the close of

market at the end of the day in our major markets in Onitsha main market, Ariaria Market,

Mechanic village Obosi, Nkwo Nnewi and in different marts in Lagos and Abuja as well as

other major cities in Nigeria show throngs of wasted generation of our tomorrow’s boy-child.

And it seems that nobody cares. This is a case of gender insensitivity especially to those

aspects is applied to another. The arrangement of concepts according to their contents or the

internal difference between one being and another is brought out by the Aristotelian

categories thus: genus, species, specific difference, property and logical accident. In line with

genius and specific differences, the human species as members of sub-group that constitute a

given genus, is differentiated between male and female. This is Gender. Gender defines

humanity in terms of re-productivity, that is, human sexuality. Gender evokes the ideas of

male sex or the female sex, especially when considered with reference to social and cultural

differences. It is the condition of belonging to or identifying as having a particular gender.

Many languages have classes of nouns with regard to humanity typified in masculine,

feminine, common (neuter). Grammatical gender is only very loosely associated with

society to society and can change over time. Gender, according to Merriam-Websters (n.d.), is

a subclass within a grammatical class (such as noun, pronoun, adjective, or verb) of a

language that is partly arbitrary but also partly based on distinguishable characteristics (such

as shape, social rank, manner of existence, or sex) and that determines agreement with and

selection of other words or grammatical forms.It is, therefore, a kind of membership of a

word or a grammatical form in such a subclass. Merriam-Webster. (n.d.) refers to gender as

something that has “to identify (someone) as being either male or female...to treat (someone)

as either male or female”. It is the behavioural, cultural, or psychological traits typically

associated with one sex, (Merriam-Websters, n.d.). The words sex and gender are related

gradually acquiring new usages with phrases like "the male sex" and "the female gender".

spheres of life, resulting in women jointly, and on an equal basis with men, defining and

shaping the policies, structures and decisions that affect their lives and society as a whole,

(Oxfam, n.d.). Hence, one talks of gender disparity. With all these nuances of gender, one

tries to understand specific differential roles that gender plays in human society. This is the

thrust of gender roles.

Conceptual Appreciation of Girl-child and Boy-child

NJGS: Vol. 1, No. 2, 2024

In this time and moment, it is ad rem and proper to define what we mean and understood by

the words: child, boy as well as girl. There is no presumption with the inherent confusion

and crisis of Transexualisms when many people feel that they are trapped as a man in a

child’s body and others feel that they ought to be male rather than female and vice versa. The

confusion abounds and lingers. We are in an age of crisis and confusion as well as

transvaluation of values as cross-dressers and gays are on the increase with identity crisis.

One must, therefore, clarify terms and actually know what one means with certain definite

they are adults trapped in in children’s body. Therefore, they need freedom to take to the

other side against the already existing condition. The lunacy simply extends. This situation

often referred to as transgenderism stupefies our generation and leaves this generation more

confused than ever. It leaves our generation on the tunnel of madness. Merriam-Webster (n.d.)

describes transgender as something relating to, or being a person whose gender identity

differs from the sex the person was identified as having at birth. A transgender person is

someone whose gender identity differs from that typically associated with the sex they were

assigned at birth. Some transgender people who desire medical assistance to transition from

one sex to another identify as transsexual, (Wikipedia, n.d.). NCI Dictionary of Cancer Terms

defines Transgender as a term that describes persons whose gender identity or gender

who was assigned female at birth may identify as male, a combination of male and female, or

Diagnostic Statistical Manual-IV by the American Psychiatric Association justifies most of

these transgender dispositions as ways of life than sexual deviances in need of medical and or

psychological interventions. Transgender an borders on the proper appreciation of sex and

gender as were created or evolved. American Psychological Association (2020) shows the

differential relationship between them thus: Sex is assigned at birth, refers to one’s biological

status as either male or female, and is associated primarily with physical attributes such as

chromosomes, hormone prevalence, and external and internal anatomy. Gender refers to the

socially constructed roles, behaviors, activities, and attributes that a given society considers

appropriate for boys and men or girls and women. American Psychological Association (2020)

explains that transgender is an umbrella terms for persons whose gender identity, gender

everyone whose appearance or behaviour is gender-nonconforming will identify as a

transgender person. The ways that transgender people are talked about in popular culture,

academia and sciences are constantly changing, particularly as individuals’ awareness,

knowledge and openness about transgender people and their experiences grow (American

Psychological Association, 2020). Under the cover of Transgender or canopy of gender

nonconformity existed and varied in many cultures of the world manifesting in many forms of

gay relationships and levels of LGTQ manifestations. The inherent confusion and crisis of

identity with regard to sexual orientation and transgenderism necessitates a proper

Jude I. Onebunne: Contemporary Propaganda for Girl-Child Against the Boy-Child: A Case of Gender

understanding what we still mean by a child, then a boy or a girl. We tactfully exclude the

mystifying nature of hermaphroditism and the psychological sick-ones with regard to their

gender and the trapped issues. On the other hand, there are benefits in specific training of

children with regard to the gender roles. Ayoola-Amale (2022) maintains that “gender

equality is indispensable for sustainable development in Africa considering the fact that

education decreases poverty in all its forms (SDG no. 1), ends hunger through reaching food

security (SDG no. 2); quality education for girls, reduces fertility rates and therefore slows

may also refer to an unborn human being”. Continuing, Merriam-Webster. (n.d.) defines a

child as a “young person especially between infancy and puberty; it’s a person not yet of the

age of majority”. He’s a minor. Being a child is synonymous with being childlike or childish

person. A child definitively is a son or daughter and not otherwise. Equally, Cambridge

Dictionary (n.d.) defines a child as “a boy or girl from the time of birth until he or she is

an adult, or a son or daughter of any age; a person from the time of birth until he or she is

an adult, or a son or daughter of any age”. The idea of a child speaks volume as children are

sure signs that humanity should go on and that God has not lost confidence in humanity with

their birth (cf. St. Pope John Paul 11). In all these, a child has been regarded, in many cultures

and institution, as a blessing to the community and then, humanity. Hence, the protective bills

significant stage in human development between conception and adulthood. A boy-child

grows, all things being equal, to be a man. A boy-child now is a man of tomorrow within the

developmental process of living, in between life and death. A boy-child is characteristically

differentiated from a girl-child genetically and biologically, as well as via socio cum trado-

cultural norms. Merriam-Webster. (n.d.) . defines a boy-child as a son and “a male child

from birth to adulthood; a person whose gender identity is male”. Equally, Wikipedia (n.d.)

describes a “boy is a young male human. The term is commonly used for a child or an

adolescent. When a male human reaches adulthood, he is usually described as a man.

Physiologically, a baby’s sex is determined by the chromosome it inherited from its father.

The egg from its mother always contains an X (female) chromosome, but the sperm contains

A girl is a female child or adolescent who is associated with sex responsibilities and gender

response-abilities as assigned to her right from conception and birth, (American

Psychological Association, 2020). It is a female important stage in human development

between conception and adulthood. A girl-child grows, all things being equal, to be a woman.

A girl-child now is a woman of tomorrow within the developmental processes of living, in

NJGS: Vol. 1, No. 2, 2024

between life and death. A girl-child is characteristically differentiated from a boy-child

genetically and biologically as well as via socio cum traditional and cultural norms.

Wikipedia (n.d.) describes a girl as “a young female human, usually a child or an adolescent.

While the term girl has other meanings, including young woman, daughter or girlfriend regardless

of age, the first meaning is the most common one”. Merriam-Webster. (n.d.), however, defines a

girl as a daughter and “a female child from birth to adulthood; a person whose gender

identity is female”. The modern crisis of naturally wishing to be this or that has misled few

feeling that they are trapped in the opposite personality.

Jude I. Onebunne: Contemporary Propaganda for Girl-Child Against the Boy-Child: A Case of Gender

understanding) or sex role (biological appreciation) is equally a social role embracing a wide

range of behavioural attitudes that are specifically considered acceptable, appropriate, or

desirable for a person based on that person's sex. Gender role is specifically socio cum trado-

culturally bound. On this stance, some cultures distinguish male and female, boys and girls,

while some contemporary societies recognize more than that thereby accommodating

transgenders (who may identify themselves simply as men or women), androgyny, etc.

Gender role or sex role is specifically socio cum trado-culturally bound. Roles are specific

attitudes that are generally considered acceptable, appropriate or desirable for a person based

on that person's sex. In further appreciation of gender role, Planned-Parenthood (n.d.)

maintains that gender roles in the society means how we're expected to act, speak, dress,

groom, and conduct ourselves based upon our assigned sex. For example, girls and women

are generally expected to dress in typically feminine ways and be polite, accommodating, and

nurturing. Men are generally expected to be strong, aggressive, and bold. An Igbo adage

therefore has it that: Amuo nwoke, ya buru nwoke! Amukwana Nwanyi ya buru nwanyi!

Okekenwanyi, Nwokenwanyi ma obu Nwanyinwoke dikwanu nti njo!

However, Ayoola-Amale, A. (2022) observes that “the apparent gap and imbalance between

and gender disparities, and consequently, the differences in access to human, financial, and

opportunities. The Scriptural creation account of human beings seems to be gender sensitive

as male and female had different creation account. Equally, in ancient societies, such as the

Greeks and Romans, men held the dominant positions in both public and private spheres,

expected to be strong and assertive, while women were confined to the domestic realm,

caregivers and nurturers. Such disparity as gender roles is evidenced in the writings of

Aristotle and other philosophers of the time, who viewed women as inferior to men. In

addition, during the Industrial Revolution in the 17th century, men became associated with

wage labour in factories, while women were expected to maintain the household and care for

children. African trado cum sociocultural disposition has revered protective position for

women alongside marginalizing exploits with an unchanging but hotly challenged view that

femininity. A good equilibrium can be achieved via healthy gender roles distribution. By and

large, the mental health and emotional equipoise are directly and indirectly connected with

gender roles. The dynamics of gender roles portray men and women in specific roles and

behaviours amidst systemic inequalities. Sex or gender role is what humans are able to do

based on their biological nature as male of female. It is genitally based. Much of such roles

are very specific with procreation and all that surrounds it. However, any failure in

appreciating the sex role or gender role within human family leads to many forms of abuses.

NJGS: Vol. 1, No. 2, 2024

Recently male abuse and male figure absence in our schools have been the latest in the face of

elderly abuse

Issues of Male Abuse

The presence of male abuse as we have it today started with the carefree attitude towards and

the neglect of the boy-child as well as the over protective care of the girl-child. These

attitudes of neglect meted out to the boy-child in favour of the girl-child have resulted in

(SDG no. 1), ends hunger through reaching food security (SDG no. 2); Quality education for

girls, reduces fertility rates and therefore slows down population explosion; lowers infant and

maternal mortality rates and improves health and nutrition and well-being of families (SDG

no. 3). Educated mothers ensure better prospects of education for their children (SDG no. 4)”.

But unfortunately, after training the girl-child in all that is good and worthy the girl-child ends

being subject to the untrained boy-child. Often this discriminating attitudes towards the boy-

child creates unhealthy competition amidst unbalanced reactions. Girl-child care nevertheless

turned into a movement in Nigeria with these recent slogans on the National Girl-Child Day

2024:

Empower Girls for a Brighter Tomorrow.

maintains that there are inspirational quotes that boosts the ego and perception of the girl-

child like:

Jude I. Onebunne: Contemporary Propaganda for Girl-Child Against the Boy-Child: A Case of Gender

Feminism has nuances of contestable meanings and usages. At the heart of this women’s

political involvement in our human society is feminism. Feminism remains a trend, system of

thought and movement in the developed world for women’s proper recognition and welfare.

Feminism appreciated as radical feminism (focuses on the patriarchy and dismantling

traditional gender roles) and liberal feminism (seeks equality through reform and changes

within current systems). There has been a clarion call against injustices on women.

Historically the conceptual idea of feminism is linked to women’s activism like women

of the sexes expressed especially through organized activity on behalf of women's rights and

interests”. This is why Wikipedia (n.d.) maintains that “feminism is a range of socio-political

movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal,

and social equality of the sexes”.

Feminism is a contemporary gender movement in articulating a balanced, definite and certain

defined rights for women amongst humanity. Equally, it is a cultural and contextual paradigm

shift in the interrelationship between male and female as human beings. Some people see it as

a deserved confrontational opportunity for the women folk who seem intimidated by men’s

folk in their seeming fundamental opportunity in certain decisions as women. Feminism

very inimical to their natural dispositions as human beings. History attests that there were

trending movement as well as school of thought especially in Europe and America. Soken-

Huberty, E. (n.d.) in a paper titled What is Feminism states that “the second wave began in the

1960s. It was aligned with the anti-war and civil rights movements. Reproductive rights and

issues related to sexuality also became more prominent. Feminism became more intellectually

diverse and complex during these years, as well. Capitalism, the role of women, sexuality,

and gender were all discussed as feminist movements around the world became less elitist and

more inclusive than during the first wave”. The challenges of feminism as a movement were,

of course, expressively justified with many types as liberal feminism (mainstream feminism-

focuses on political rights and equality in education and the workplace. That includes issues

like equal access to education, equal pay, safer working conditions, and an end to job

necessity and challenges. One, therefore, may be tempted to question the place of feminism in

our world today? As ad rem as this question is Soken-Huberty, (n.d.) maintains that “when

we look at women’s rights globally, it’s obvious we do. According to the World Economic

Forum’s 2022 Global Gender Gap Report, it will take 132 years to reach full gender parity”.

Continuing Ayoola-Amale, (2022) opines that “the socio-economic marginalization of girls

and women resulting from gender inequalities, lack of access to education, and if at all, lack

NJGS: Vol. 1, No. 2, 2024

of quality education result in poverty, poor standards of living, diminished career choices,

unequal salaries and economic exclusion. It is very essential for governments and their

leaders to invest in girl-child education for sustainable development in Africa”

References

American Psychological Association. (2020). Understanding Transgender People, gender

Ayoola-Amale, A. (2022). The Girl Child Education and Sustainable Development in Africa.