Domesticating WhatsApp: Female fertility society performers and health promotion in the Gambia

Abstract

In the Gambia, female fertility societies known as kanyeleng are made up of women who have experienced infertility or the death of a young child. They employ musical performance and fertility ritual practices to support members and promote the health of women and babies. This paper examines the changing forms of creativity and connection practiced by kanyeleng performers through engagement with social media in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing on interviews, focus group discussions and participant observation conducted in person and online (2021–2022), we show that while WhatsApp provided an opportunity for kanyeleng to build new social connections and experiment with new forms of musical creativity, it also presented challenges, including inequities in access, and increased misinformation and mistrust of health workers. Going beyond formulations of domestication of technology within private home spaces, we theorise kanyeleng domestication as a process of incorporating social media into their existing ritual practice of claiming public space and power. Finally, we argue that understanding changing forms of communication and connectedness in the Global South demands new methodological approaches to engage participants whose voices are often marginalised in research on social media.