Sexual predators or preys: Inter-racial sexual relationships in Jude Dibia’s novels

Abstract

Traditional gender role assignment perceives sexual predation as specifically male with the female as the prey while colonial studies usually interpret the West as predatory with Africa as its prey. Using the psychoanalytical concept of “othering”, this paper studies inter-racial sexual relations/relationships in Jude Dibia’s novels – Unbridled, Walking with Shadows, and Blackbird – to show that the role of prey or predator is not domiciled with any gender or race but in the individual. The definition of prey/predator is greatly influenced by immediate environment. Both men and women could be sexual preys and/or predators given their socioeconomic standing, socio-cultural and religious positioning or beliefs/practices. Dibia in his novels shows how sexual behaviours, identities, and perceptions are defined and redefined depending on where the centre or margin is located at the point of definition.

Keywords: sexual predation, race, othering, and masculinity