Articles

The Ideological Significance of Metaphor in Sexualized Discursive Practices among Nigerian Youth

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Abstract

Young people in South-eastern Nigeria, particularly those found in Calabar Metropolis, Cross River State, ideologically explore the use of metaphor as the dominant linguistic resource in their sexualised discursive practices. This article interrogates the motivations for the entrenched belief in the use of metaphor as a primary medium of the discourse of sex and sexuality. The study examines how this ideology is useful in the construction of multiethnic identities and transformation of traditional social relationships within and outside group membership. The study discovers that young people use metaphor as symbolic ritualised code to deliberately manipulate, improvise and distort the normal course of language use and to exclude the ‘others’. Drawing insights from the social construction theory, we argue that young people sustain this ideology to exhibit disdain for safe sexual practices, construct their sexual identity and define a sense of sexual agency. This study concludes that the cross-fertilization of gender ideologies, social pressure and transgression of hegemonic ideological practices help to emphasize youth as social and cultural actors.

Keywords: linguistic ideology, metaphor, social constructionism, youth language, multilingualism, indexicality, sexual agency, Ágábá Boys, Áb??nímá Boys

How to Cite:

Mensah, E. & Inyabri, I., (2016) “The Ideological Significance of Metaphor in Sexualized Discursive Practices among Nigerian Youth”, Critical Multilingualism Studies 4(2), 10-34.