https://doi.org/10.1177/0021934718760194 Journal of Black Studies 2018, Vol. 49(4) 330–348 © The Author(s) 2018 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/0021934718760194 journals.sagepub.com/home/jbs Article Theorizing an Africana Womanist’s Resistance to Patriarchy in Monyaise’s Bogosi Kupe Mary Makgato 1 , Chaka Chaka 2 , and Itani Mandende 1 Abstract This article examines the resistance of an African woman to patriarchy in the Setswana novel, Bogosi Kupe. To illustrate this resistance, it analyzes a woman protagonist, Matlhodi, in this Setswana novel. The article contends that Matlhodi employs self-defining and authentic stratagems to counteract both patriarchal hegemony, and familial, cultural, and ideological hegemony. Employing Africana womanism and Africana critical theory, it argues that Matlhodi deploys her body, her clandestine love affair, her pregnancy, and her husband’s death as weapons to resist the patriarchal ethos foisted on her by her family. Keywords Africana womanism, Africana critical theory, patriarchy, cultural hegemony, resistance Introduction A depiction and representation of African women characters by African male writers in the context of African novels in South Africa is a polemical issue 1 Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria, South Africa 2 University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa Corresponding Author: Chaka Chaka, Department of English Studies, University of South Africa, P.O. Box 392, UNISA, Pretoria, Gauteng 0003, South Africa. Email: chakachaka8@gmail.com 760194JBS XX X 10.1177/0021934718760194Journal of Black StudiesMakgato et al. research-article 2018