To Be a Man Is Not a One-Day Job: Masculinity, Money, and Intimacy in Nigeria

Daniel Jordan Smith

ISBN 10: 022649165X / ISBN 13: 9780226491653

Published by University Of Chicago Press, 2017

About this Item

2017. 1st Edition. Paperback. . . . . . Books ship from the US and Ireland.

Seller Inventory # V9780226491653

Bibliographic Details

• Title: To Be a Man Is Not a One-Day Job: Masculinity, Money, and Intimacy in Nigeria
• Publisher: University Of Chicago Press
• Publication Date: 2017
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 022649165X
• ISBN 13: 9780226491653
• Binding: Soft cover
• Condition: New

About this title

Synopsis

Refrains about financial hardship are ubiquitous in contemporary Nigeria, frequently expressed through the idiom “to be a man is not a one-day job.” But while men talk constantly about money, underlying their economic worries are broader concerns about the shifting meanings of masculinity, amid changing expectations and practices of intimacy.
 
Drawing on twenty-five years of experience in southeastern Nigeria, Daniel Jordan Smith takes readers through the principal phases and arenas of men’s lives: the transition to adulthood; searching for work and making a living; courtship, marriage, and fatherhood; fraternal and political relationships; and finally, the attainment of elder status and death. He relates men’s struggles both to fulfill their own aspirations and to meet society’s expectations. He also considers men who behave badly, mistreat their wives and children, or resort to crime and violence. All of these men face similar challenges as they navigate the complex geometry of money and intimacy. Unraveling these connections, Smith argues, provides us with a deeper understanding of both masculinity and society in Nigeria. 

About the Author

Daniel Jordan Smith is professor of anthropology at Brown University. His previous books include AIDS Doesn’t Show Its Face, also published by the University of Chicago Press.