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Gender in African Population Research

The Fertility/Reproductive Health Example

Bibliographic Data

ID2297592
AuthorsF Nii-Amoo Dodoo (Department of Sociology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802,), F Nii‐amoo Dodoo, Ashley E Frost (Department of Sociology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802,), Ashley Frost
Year2008
Volume34
Issue1
Pages431-452
Publication date2008-08-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueAnnual Review of Sociology (BOOK_SERIES)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0360-0572 • E-ISSN: 1545-2115
PublisherAnnual Reviews (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1146/annurev.soc.34.040507.134552
OpenAlexW2169866204
LanguageEN
Citations received59
References cited95

We survey the literature on sub-Saharan Africa to identify how gender has factored into explaining fertility levels and behavior. Tracing the development of male role theory, we argue that despite increasing awareness of men's authority, fertility research continues to focus almost exclusively on women and treats gender as a property of individuals instead of as a system of inequality. The mainstream fertility literature generally overlooks the decision-making nexus wherein men's authority seemingly overrides women's preferences. Positing that male authority in the reproductive and sexual arenas is predicated on cultural rights negotiated at marriage-and undergirded by bridewealth payments-we contend that attempts to understand (and change) reproductive behavior will hardly be sustainable without attention to this contextual realm. In that vein, we speculate that efforts to empower women (via increased education, occupational opportunities, microcredit schemes, etc.) may hardly yield sustainable outcomes without concurrent efforts to alter cultural distributions of gendered power

Economic growth · Economics · Fertility · Mainstream · Nexus (standard · Political science · Population · Privilege (computing · Realm · Reproductive health · Sociology · Demographic Trends and Gender Preferences · Global Maternal and Child Health · Poverty, Education, and Child Welfare · Demography · Gender Studies · Law

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Unique citing works59
Citations per year3,47
Citation span2009 - 2026 (18)
Citation velocitycurrent
Highly citedNo
Citation typesNeutral: 58
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