Gender, Sexuality, and Traditional Aphrodisiacs: Kayan Mata and Intimate Relationships in Nigeria [Hardcover]

Gender, Sexuality, and Traditional Aphrodisiacs: Kayan Mata and Intimate Relationships in Nigeria explores how Nigerian women use traditional aphrodisiacs, known as kayan mata, to navigate intimacy, power, and survival in a rapidly evolving society.

Introduction: Desire, power, and the politics of intimacy in Nigeria  1. Traditional aphrodisiacs, intimacy, and empowerment in Nigeria  2. Navigating complexity: Evolving family structures and intimate relationship dynamics in Nigeria  3. Negotiating feminism: Cultural dynamics, sexual agency, and empowerment  4. Exploring the evolution and cultural significance of aphrodisiacs  5. Empowerment and Agency  6. Beyond kayan mata: gender and morality in intimate relationships   7. Sexuality, agency, and intimate politics  8. Theorizing sexual agency and empowerment  9. Family and marriage in 21st century Nigeria: An exploration of social change and institutional influences  10. Critical reflection on sexuality research in Nigeria: Epistemology, fieldwork and researcher's positionality  Conclusion

Gender, Sexuality, and Traditional Aphrodisiacs: Kayan Mata and Intimate Relationships in Nigeria explores how Nigerian women use traditional aphrodisiacs, known as kayan mata, to navigate intimacy, power, and survival in a rapidly evolving society.

From Northern Nigeria's aphrodisiac markets to Instagram's digital culture, the study explores how kayan mata products are used to negotiate love, autonomy, and material security within cultural, religious, and economic constraints. Drawing on participants' lived experiences and African feminist theories, such as nego-feminism, this book highlights the complex and adaptive nature of women's sexual agen