The Immigration of Tradition: A Qualitative Study on Gender Differentiation and Cultural Parenting in West African Immigrant Households

Abstract

In recent years, there has been an influx of West African immigrants into the United States and European countries. By the end of the twentieth century, 1 million African immigrants were living in the United States, of which 50 percent arrived and settled between 1990 and 2000. By 2004, 35% of the total African immigrant population were West African immigrants. As more West Africans migrate away from their native lands, a new challenge arises in adapting to life within a different, less traditional environment—the Western society. This research focuses on the extent to which West African culture and tradition impact the way these immigrant families build their family structure and incorporate their cultural identities into these new environments. I examine the historical construction of gender-differentiated parenting in West African culture and how it has shaped familial, societal, and political structures over time. Through this historical framework, I then analyze the influence of traditional values in West African immigrant households and how they shape the continuation and discontinuation of certain West African practices in the new society. I also examine how these families carry aspects of their culture through their adaptation journey and their cultural parenting practices as a way to keep the West African identity from dying out and as a way to secure stability in Western society. From my research I have found that by leaving certain traditional values of their culture back home, such as certain marriage practices or gendered education, West African immigrants work to find a balance between their native culture and the cultural expectations of Western society. As Western society becomes more progressive and less accepting of traditional gender roles, as depicted in media and entertainment, being true to one's identity conflicts with the ability to "start new" in a foreign community in the face of different societal norms.