Gender Roles and Family Dynamics in Americanah

The United States has been criticized in recent years about sexism and authoritative patriarchies; this is evident in Americanah but much more so in Nigeria than in the US. Ifemelu is raised in Lagos, knowing only the world where the man appears to earn all the money, and therefore the wealthy men of Nigeria buy their woman many extravagant items, and in turn they buy them a better life. This is very evident with Aunty Uju saying, “the hospital has no doctor vacancy but The General made them create one for me” (55). Almost all the characters that hail from Nigeria appear to experience this level of inequality, including Obinze, when he meets Chief, who expresses to another man in the novel, “I like that girl. Give her to me and I will give you a nice plot of land in Ikeja” (37). This aspect of the novel was new but unsurprising to me; I was unaware of how patriarchal and inequal other countries were until I read this novel.

After Ifemulu moves to America, she interacts with all kinds of people, mostly white, that she does not fit in with; however, the families and couples appear to have a much better balance of power in their relationships. Ifemulu is able to see this directly in her own relationships, where men like Blaine and Curt are much more respectful of her and her opinions than most men in Nigeria would be, except for the morally acceptable few like Obinze. This ties in well with how I view the United States; while sexism is still prevalent and very much alive in America, it is to a far less degree than in Nigeria. Ifemulu is able to see this also from the relationships she is able to observe, like Don and Kimberly. The mere fact that Kimberly is in charge of hiring the babysitter while Don “is much more involved than I am” (185) and runs the charities shows that there is a slight division in power, but they are far more equal than many couples in Nigeria.

The relationships that Ifemulu views in America seem very normal to me, but it is very interesting to see the dynamics of an American relationship from a foreign point of view. I feel like Adichie represented the softness of spoiled, upper class white children very well in Morgan, where Kimberly is unable to get through to her because she pampers her. It is interesting that in just a few weeks, Ifemulu is able to control her, “perhaps it was why Morgan did what Ifemulu asked” (198). I feel as though Adichie is trying to communicate her view on parenting as being that authoritative parenting is more effective than less hands-on styles of parenting, and I happen to agree.