The Dilemma of Consumerist Masculinity in Capitalist West Africa: Men Navigating Gender, Class, and Romance in Sierra Leone’s Informal Economy

Abstract

In urban Sierra Leone, more than 90% of young men survive precariously in the informal economy. Squeezed by an underdeveloped economy and the pressure to engage in a culture-ideology of consumerism indicative of twenty-first century capitalism, these men face the existential crisis of being unable to meet the material requirements for maintaining romantic relationships, caring for their families, and fulfilling expectations of a consumerist masculinity. This ethnography explores how these young men navigate this disconnect, grounding its analysis of masculinity in a class-based approach which centers the dearth of good jobs and the prevalence of informal work, both central features of capitalism in Africa today.