Entrepreneurial activities as a fundamental handle for the re/construction of masculine identity among Senegalese men in South Africa

Abstract

The article focuses on the negotiation of identity among Senegalese migrant men in South Africa. The Senegalese migrants regard entrepreneurial activities as a training experience, a rite of passage, an initiation process, an art, a means of world making and self-fashioning that paves the way for them to lay claims to their masculine identities. Migration for these men is associated with knowledge, adventure and 'becoming a man'. Such a cultural disposition highlights the importance of migration for masculinity and explains why migration in Senegal has remained a male preserve. Women do not have the same autonomy as men to migrate especially given the stigma often attached to migrant women. It is also contended that failing to do this through non- migration is likely to result in alienation, loss of respect and self-esteem which sometimes lead to masculine gender-role stress. The gendered subject position of the woman as nurturer and the man as provider constitute an important facet of Senegalese identity construction and is a fundamental determinant of who migrates. The gender identity of both Senegalese men and women is rooted in the concept of 'tradition' which defines what a 'good woman' and a 'real man’ is. Fixed in this cultural context, Senegalese men socially construct their masculinity and maleness reinforcing the importance of migration for men. Travelling out is a means by which men reinforce a traditionally masculine identity or a means to affirm masculinity since it enables them to fulfill the provider role.

Keywords: Migration, masculine identities, entreneurship, culture, gender roles, gender regime