Abstract:
With the rise of feminist socio-politically radical Nigerian women through new media,
there is a concern about rescuing the country from a misplaced gender construct. It is
against this background that this study sets out to examine the impact of new media on
the (re)construction of gender roles and identities in Nigerians vis-a-vis their exposure
to the global digital media space. While hinged on social learning theory, to elicit
primary data for in-depth insight, the study uses a qualitative research methodology as
a total of 30 participants drawn from all geopolitical zones of Nigeria were recruited
for a focused group discussion which lasted for a period of 3 weeks. Findings show that
the new media has significantly disrupted and opened new vistas of debates on the
traditional connotations and identities assigned/associated with the genders within the
Nigerian society. Aside the need for more extensive research on the new media and
gender, it is recommended that Nigerian media and government agencies ought to
purposefully devise actionable programmes and policies to counter new media cum
neo-imperialistic narratives on gender which are inimical to Nigeria's core values and
cultures.
