This is a belief in the innate superiority of men over women. The theme of male chauvinism is clearly portrayed in Soyinka's The Lion and the Jewel. We first catch a glimpse of this in the dialogue between Lakunle and Sidi in which the former attributes the latter's inability to comprehend what he is saying to the generic inferiority of women.

He claims that Sidi, as a woman, has a smaller brain than his. He backs his claim with the fact that it has been scientifically proven that "women have a smaller brain than men"; hence, "they are called the weaker sex". But Sidi questions this claim:

"The weaker sex, is it?

Is it a weaker breed who pounds yam

Or bends all day to plant the millet

With a child strapped to her back?"

The Lion and the Jewel

This dialogue is a reference to the male dominant African society and the role of second fiddle women play in the traditional African society.

Another pointer to the theme of male chauvinism is rooted in how the women are manipulated by the men in the text. Sidi for one is influenced by Lakunle's worldview and later manipulated by the wily village head, Baroka. The Lion and the Jewel portrays the women world as one that can be easily manipulated by the male folks.