The character of performing masculinities in Gengetone music genre in contemporary Kenyan verbal arts
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Abstract
This study examines the character of performing masculinities in Gengetone music, a contemporary Kenyan urban youth genre that has gained cultural visibility through its distinctive linguistic, visual, and performative aesthetics. Guided by Judith Butler’s Gender Performativity Theory and Deconstructionist perspectives, the study explores how masculinity is constructed, exaggerated, and negotiated through repeated performances in Gengetone music videos and lyrics. A qualitative research design was adopted, employing multimodal content analysis of six purposively selected songs: Ting Ting, Pesa Ndogo, Sipangwingwi, Kidungi, Usherati and Ngumi Mbwegze. Using a multimodal approach, the study analyzes how lyrics, bodily gestures, costumes, spatial control, and material props interact to produce recognizable masculine identities within urban youth culture. The findings reveal three dominant modes of masculinity: sexual bravado and gender hierarchy, hegemonic masculinity expressed through dominance, toughness, and spatial authority, and rebellious or hedonistic masculinity characterized by defiance, autonomy, pleasure, and resistance to social norms. These performances rely heavily on the Sheng language, exaggerated bodily expression, and symbolic displays of power and materiality. From a deconstructive perspective, the study demonstrates that these performances simultaneously reinforce and destabilize dominant masculine ideals, revealing masculinity as fluid, contingent, and dependent on repetition and audience recognition. The study concludes that Gengetone serves as a dynamic space where urban youth negotiate identity, authority, and social meaning through highly visible, performative constructions of masculinity.
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