ABSTRACT
Drawing on George Herbert Mead's concept of the symbolic reconstruction of the past from the standpoint of the present, participants' reflections on and interpretation of their lived experiences in Nigeria is presented in this chapter. Their narratives not only expose the different social and cultural constructions of womanhood, but also how they lived, endured and challenged such constructions through their journey to adulthood. The different ways in which they reflectively integrate their experiences of gender and womanhood into their self-accounts are explored. Participants' stories are viewed both as resource and topic This way, in addition to exploring participants' personal narratives as empirical resource, the narrative features of their stories are examined, paying attention to the social and cultural contexts within which these narratives are shaped. As resource, the presentation of their experiences of womanhood in Nigeria from childhood to life after marriage is presented; this tells us something about their background. And as topic, their way of creating a sense of social order through their narratives is explored.
