Subversion of the Dominant Logic of Heteronormativity in Akwaeke Emezi's The Death of Vivek Oji: Queering the Society and the State

View Sample PDF

Author(s): Guhan Priyadharshan P. (Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, India)
Copyright: 2022
Pages: 14
Source title: Exploring Gender Studies and Feminism Through Literature and Media
Source Author(s)/Editor(s): Gyanabati Khuraijam (National Institute of Technology, Agartala, India)
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-6684-6572-1.ch006

Keywords: Gender & Diversity / Gender and Diversity / Information Science Reference / Medicine & Healthcare

Purchase

View Subversion of the Dominant Logic of Heteronormativity in Akwaeke Emezi's The Death of Vivek Oji: Queering the Society and the State on the publisher's website for pricing and purchasing information.

Abstract

Akwaeke Emezi's 2020 novel The Death of Vivek Oji narrates the death of the eponymous non-heterosexual character—as suggested by the title—and the emotional turmoil faced by people with non-heterosexual orientation. This chapter demonstrates how his death is the product of dominant logic—the prudishness of the Igbo society, which manifests heteronormative practices, and the legal system in Nigeria that castigate persons who diverge from normative sexual behaviour. Further, it examines the narration in the novel that subverts the heteronormativity perpetuated by the state and society, opening new avenues of resistance for non-heterosexual people in Nigeria that might otherwise be obscured in the narrative. The chapter considers the location of the experiences of the non-heterosexual characters in the novel in liminality so that the contradiction between the lived experience and the conformity articulated by the state and the society is apparent, which prepares the ground for resistance to occur.

The IRMA Community

Research IRM

Subversion of the Dominant Logic of Heteronormativity in Akwaeke Emezi's The Death of Vivek Oji: Queering the Society and the State

Purchase

Abstract

Related Content

IRMA Sponsors