Traditionally, Ghanaian weddings functioned as modest, communal rites of passage that reinforced kinship solidarity, spirituality, and collective responsibility. In the past two decades, however, they have been reconfigured into elaborate, highly commercialisesed spectacles. This study critically examines this transformation through a Marxist theory of ideology, with particular attention to commodity fetishism, the culture industry, and Althusser’s concept of Ideological State Apparatuses (ISAs). The study's primary objective is to explore how dominant capitalist ideologies are constructed, performed, and legitimisesed in contemporary Ghanaian weddings. Specific objectives are (1) to investigate how class distinctions and social status are performed and reproduced through wedding practices. The study adopts a qualitative critical inquiry grounded in systematic non-participant observation of contemporary wedding ceremonies in urban Ghana, complemented by critical discourse analysis of wedding-related media representations and secondary literature. The Marxist Ideological Critique was used to analyse the data thematically. Findings show that combining traditional symbols (such as kente, knocking rites, and bride price) with modern luxury aesthetics (designer branding, professionalisesed planning, and curated social media performance) facilitates the commodification of culture. Wedding consumption operates as conspicuous display and sign-value, masking labour relations and naturalizing economic inequality. In this way, the contemporary Ghanaian wedding functions as an ideological apparatus that reproduces class hegemony, legitimiseses elite status, and engenders a form of false consciousness that equates material expenditure with moral and social legitimacy. The study contributes to critical cultural studies in postcolonial Africa by moving beyond descriptive anthropology to theorisese weddings as sites of ideological labour and capitalist reproduction. Read more

The present study focuses on the "Coping Strategy" Paradox: An examination of the socio-economic ramifications of the commodification of female sex on the cyclical nature of poverty among internally displaced persons (IDPs) within Limbe Municipality, Cameroon. This research critically explores the dualistic function of female sex commodification as both a mechanism for survival and a possible instigator of persistent poverty among internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Limbe Municipality. Situated within the context of the "coping strategy paradox," the investigation analyzes how a strategy employed for immediate subsistence may paradoxically reinforce long-term poverty cycles at both household and community levels. Utilizing a cross-sectional survey methodology, data were amassed from 200 internally displaced women through structured questionnaires, revealing that 59% of respondents were engaged in sex work. The research applied descriptive statistics, probit regression, instrumental variables (2SLS) regression, and multiple regression analyses to fulfill three specific objectives: evaluating socio-economic motivators of sex commodification, investigating its effect on household poverty cycles, and examining meso-level repercussions on the local socio-economic structure. The findings indicate that sex commodification is fundamentally a "frustration-induced" entrepreneurial reaction to the systemic exclusion from the labour market, with the socio-economic drivers index emerging as the most robust predictor of engagement (coef = 1.73, p < 0.01). The 2SLS regression analysis reveals that sex commodification significantly exacerbates household poverty cycles (coef = 13.05, p < 0.01), affirming that this coping mechanism actively intensifies poverty rather than alleviating it. Qualitative accounts elucidate this paradox: earnings are predominantly allocated to immediate nutritional requirements, medical costs supplant children's educational fees, and social stigma generates intergenerational barriers to upward mobility. Meso-level analysis indicates that sex commodification undermines communal social cohesion, with 75% of respondents acknowledging heightened community tensions and 80% expressing significant concerns regarding the implications of stigma on their children's future prospects. Educational attainment exhibits protective benefits, with university-level education correlated with diminished household poverty (coef = -0.16, p < 0.05). Demographic vulnerability profiling reveals that newly displaced women, those with larger family units, and divorced women are most prone to entrenched poverty cycles. In conclusion, the study posits that sex commodification among IDPs should not be perceived as deviant behavior but rather as a rational reaction to structural deficiencies in humanitarian protection and economic opportunities. The policy implications delineate an urgent necessity for targeted economic empowerment for newly displaced individuals, addressing capital impediments through seed grants, comprehensive health services that alleviate medical expenditure burdens, child-centric interventions that disrupt intergenerational poverty transmission, community dialogues aimed at reducing stigma, and structural measures that tackle the root causes of displacement. Absent the resolution of these fundamental drivers, the paradox of this detrimental coping strategy will persist, perpetuating poverty across successive generations. Read more