Pre-colonial Yoruba society classed people by occupation, not gender

Evidence

Oyĕwùmí attests more to the fluidity of societal roles, such as farming, hunting and cooking, as determinants for the manner in which people were classified into social groups, as opposed to genetics. In this sense, in Yorùbá society you were not primarily a man or a woman, but rather a trader, hunter, cook, farmer or ruler – identities that Oyĕwùmí claims are equally accessible and applicable to all gendered subjects, except for motherhood, which is only applicable to women by virtue of their genetically assigned birthing roles. In Oyĕwùmí’s view, motherhood was a non-inhibiting factor to the roles that women could play in society, but it did not restrict them to domestic roles in any way. — Frans Dokman, Beyond Bantu Philosophy_…, 966

Oyĕwùmí attests more to the fluidity of societal roles, such as farming, hunting and cooking, as determinants for the manner in which people were classified into social groups, as opposed to genetics. In this sense, in Yorùbá society you were not primarily a man or a woman, but rather a trader, hunter, cook, farmer or ruler – identities that Oyĕwùmí claims are equally accessible and applicable to all gendered subjects, except for motherhood, which is only applicable to women by virtue of their genetically assigned birthing roles. — Frans Dokman, Beyond Bantu Philosophy_…, 966

Categorization

• DEFINE: Oyěwùmí’s core claim distinguishing role-based from gender-genetic classification in Yoruba society.
• XREF: Connects to debates on whether pre-colonial African gender was as fluid as claimed, echoed in later critiques of Oyěwùmí’s thesis. — connects to: The FLN’s new society defined nationality by residence, not ethnicity or religion; Pre-colonial African philosopher queens shaped a gender-balanced identity
• corroborated: 3 independent passages support this claim — Frans Dokman, Beyond Bantu Philosophy_…, 966

Broader Connections

• Pre-colonial African philosopher queens shaped a gender-balanced identity #corroborates (0.55)