Sexism of the Jiko(Cooking Stove), Food and Sexuality: The Fuzzy Conceptual Boundary

Abstract

This paper re-examines the Jiko as a symbol of femininity within the East African region. In the Kenyan society, jikos serve as charcoal based ceramic stoves used for cooking in virtually all households. The goal of this paper is to infuse arguments which interface cognitive linguistics and sociolinguistics, in an attempt to unveil sexist terms coined around the jiko and further drawing on metaphoric extension, reveal how sexist expressions are cognitively interlaced with the semantic domains of marriage, sexuality and the female anatomy.