McKinnon in Kramarae and Treichler (1985) says, “Gender is the division of women and men caused by the social requirements of heterosexuality, which institutionalises male sexual dominance and female sexual submission.” Gender stereotypeings is perpetuated through personal names among the Zezuru people.
Gender theory is very relevant to the present study for it informs why we have roles which are defined in gender terms in the socio- economic and political spheres. These gender differences will then be perpetuated through the names given to individuals in society. Kramarae and Treicher (1985:123) say, “Gender theory can be regarded as the systematic gathering and examination of information on gender differences and social relations accumulated in order to identify and understand social imbalances based on gender” In the early stages, gender theory first emerged as a feminist theory was used as an analytical tool for understanding gender reform but with time it became a major theory to explain all matters to do with gender and identity. Gender theory came into limelight just before political feminism in United States and Western Europe during the 1960s. Political feminism was mainly concerned with the rights of women in present-day societies, their identies and how these women are potrayed in various books of literature. It was also concerned about the position of women in cultural societies like Zezuru society under study.
Bannon and Correia (2006) say that gender is mainly concerned with the way social structures give men power over women resulting in the marginalisation of women in various spheres of life. Butler (1990:19) gives an example of a boy who imitates the way his father swaggers and sticks out his chest when walking. The young boy will be behaving just like his father and to him that will be to be like a man. Butler (1990:86) says, “Chances are high that his father was not swaggering but the boy is creating a person that embodies what he admires in his adult male role model”. Butler (1990:86) that girls on the other hand imitates their mothers as well
88 and he gave an example of a girl who imitates her mother by putting on high-heeled shoes, applied make-up and moves around the house.What can be noted from these behaviours of the two children is that the actions they are imitating are what they think are the ideal traits of a father and mother respectively.Butler (1990:23) says, “The chances are that when these children are fully grown, they will not swagger and mince respectively, but childhood performances contain elements that will no doubt surface in their adult male and female behaviour patterns”. Thus gender behaviours which are socially constructed and usually child are socialised of these behaviours through the gendered names which they are given by their parents.
Moser (1989:112) says “Gender is realised in all the realms of life such as work places where people at times imitate the behaviours of secretaries and managers”.Thus, some people will be imitating secretaries in terms of the way they walk and for managers they usually imitate the way they give orders or instructions to their subordinates. Moser (1989:113) says, “People come to understand their gender roles as wives, husbands, mothers, daughters, fathers and uncles as they grow or age”. People acquire new social behaviours about what is expected of them as females or males. Eckert and McConnel-Ginet (2003:10) says, “Gender is not a convection with which people are doing, and it is not something people have, but something people do and perform”.Thus, the gendered names which are given to Zezuru children will socialise them to behave as to the dictates of the meanings of their names.
In line with the issue of gender is the idea of stereotyping which is very rampant among the Shona people. Bannon and Correia (2006:316) say, “The concept of stereotyping occupies a prominent place within the images of women”. They go on to add that stereotyping usually reduces an individual to a set of larger-than-life negative character traits. Among the Shona, women are normally portrayed as passive, weak and other attributes which are not worthy admiring while on the other hand men are portrayed as the stronger sex which is associated with all the positive attributes. Names among the Zezuru contain many cultural traits which characterise males and femalesdifferently.The difference in the way men and women are potrayed through personal names pepertuate inequality between the two sexes. Some of the attributes enshrined in most of the names, point to the current sexual roles played by individuals in society.
89 Among the Zezuru people the responsibility to name children is given to the father of the child if he is there. Nuessel (1992:3) noted that “those who give names often occupy positions of power and authority in the families. Consequently, the act of naming implies that the naming group has a measure of control over those who will be named”. What this reflects is that the namer will always expect to be respected by the one whom he or she will have named. Among the Zezuru, men being the dominant breadwinners of their respective families still dominate the naming processes but the trend seems to be changing now with a number of women now being educated and gainfully employed. Women now have a say in the naming just like in Western societies and among the Zulu in South Africa. Bosmajian (1974a) said that the ability to name is a refection of having important power. More specifically Bosmajian (1974) says:
“The power that comes from names and naming is related directly to the power to define others- individual race, sexes, and ethnic groups.
Our identities, who and what we are, how others see us, are greatly affected by the names we are called and the words with which we are labelled. (Bosmajian, 1974a in Nuessel, 1992:3).
Among the Zezuru, being a patriarchal society, the men are the major breadwinners of their respective families and as such they dominate the naming processes although these days there are cases when women are given the right to names. These are rare cases and when they happen they are usually among the educated and working couples who have enshrined the issue of equal rights.
Names among the Zezuru names vary and each name determines the distinctiveness and uniqueness of each person. Among the Zezuru the namers are people who command a lot of respect in their respective families. Men are often the sole name-givers to their families and they always provide names that reflect their hopes and aspirations as a family. The namer will be hoping that the name will be a self-fulfilling prophecy, i.e., the child will have the attributes and the powers attached to the name. Nuessel (1992:4) says, “From their perspective, it may be said that you are what you are named.” There is a strong belief among the Zezuru about the power in names which confirms a psychology that a name shapes the behaviour of the name bearer. Murphy in Nuessel (1992:113) says, “Given names, and assumed names have numerous important significances in the development of a person, and often give clues to their attitudes toward themselves and others with whom they have been closely associated.”
90 Gendered names which are given to Zezuru people often do influence the behaviour of the name bearers who often behave to the dictates of the name. The name could also influence the attitude of people around the name bearer. Thus, the name Tsitsi (Mercy) for girls always paints the picture of women as people who are very considerate and very concerned about the plight of others. On the other hand a name like Shingai (Be brave) which normally given to boys portrays men as people who are determined to face any challenge they may come across in life.It can therefore be argued that names have a great influence in shaping the behaviour of people among the Zezuru.
Herbert in Peter (2010) says that stereotyping is very common in naming children. He indicates that the naming of boys is most significant. According to his assessment, boys are more likely to be recipients of names commemorating family members or acknowledging roles within the family. From this view it is cleat that males’ names are linked to an ancestor or to the roles that the baby boy should later assume in life. This naming trend among the Zezuru can be traced back to the traditional Shona society which was greatly influenced by patriarchal mentality which celebrates men at the expense of women in all spheres of life.
Patriarchy is seen as the major source for gender inequality among the Zezuru. Rich in Kramarae and Treicher, (1985:323) says, “Patriarchy not only refers to the preventing of women from occupying powerful positions in society, it also creates the negative social view which men attach to women”.Undre patriarchy men are always seen dominating women and this is one of the reasons why naming among the Zezuru is dominated by men. Kramarae and Treicher (1985:232) say, “Patriarchy as a way of structuring reality in terms of good/evil, redemption/guilt, authority/obedience, reward/punishment, power/powerless, have/have-nots, and master/slave”. Women assume the role children in apatriarchal society where they wait to be given instructions by men in all respects. Peter (2010:102) says, “Patriarchy shows that females are regarded as non-human beings”. He goes on to say that patriarchy is the normin most traditional societies. Men are always at the helm of decision making while women will be recipients to these decision. Patriarchy is therefore not simply hierarchical organization, but a hierarchy in which a particular gender fills particular places. Under patriarchy, power is solely on the shoulders of the man, whose decisions are not criticized. His powers can be seen through the naming of children in the family whom he usually gives names that promotes patriarchal traditions.
91 Diana Meehan’s (1983) analysis of women on United States television is a good example of women are often portrayed on gender lines. She says that representations on television cast
‘good’ women as submissive, sensitive and domesticated while ‘bad’ women are rebellious, independent and selfish. Gallagher (1983) in Bannon and Correia (2006) carried a survey on women in the media and it came out that there is a trend world wide where women are depicted as commodified and stereotyped in varied ways.Krishman and Dighe (1990) in Bannon and Correia (2006) carried out a research on representation of women on Indian television.Results from their research showed that women are often portrayed as passive and subordinate, that is, being tied to housework, husbands and children. They also found out that women often shun public spheres, particularly in relation to work. Men on the other hand are always presented in decision making positions.These characteristics are well demonstrated in some of the Shona personal names which paint the picture of man and woman differently.