The Dynamics of Identity and Maleness in an African City

Reviews the book, Allah made us: Sexual outlaws in an Islamic African city by Rudolf Pell Gaudio Gaudio challenges the reader to rethink ideas “about gender and sexuality, language and culture” (p. 13), indicating that he is presenting much more than an effort to work through rhetorical problems as is suggested in the acknowledgments. According to Gaudio, by flaunting openly feminine behaviors and speech patterns in playful antics considered unseemly for respectful Muslim men, yan daudu explicitly align themselves with other low class and low-status groups, including women (especially independent women). For those now engaged in social science research and clinical practice, this text provides some challenging insights into the whole arena of identity construction at individual and group levels.