Feminism and cultural changes in Nigeria's family norms

This chapter focuses on norms about child socialization and home care in Nigerian families, unpacking the recent changes and modifications in family life due to feminist beliefs. Feminism has remained a revolutionary movement since its inception, deconstructing and re-conceptualizing every aspect of human lives. Therefore, feminist theorizing as an academic discourse and feminism as an ideological social movement has often been tailored towards transforming society, particularly altering patriarchal ideas which are perceived to have led to women’s oppression. Indeed, this movement has influenced different aspects of society; politics, fashion, technology, and family life as many pieces of literature now deconstruct and re-conceptualize the concept while negotiating its impacts. For a country deeply rooted in traditional beliefs and ideas, Nigeria continues to witness campaigns and movements trying to educate women and men about gender equality. Although Nigeria’s diverse cultural beliefs and backgrounds have clashed with this movement from different angles, there are different schools of thought on how much and how well this movement has affected promoting gender equality. At the center of the ongoing feminist discourse in Nigeria is the influence of the movement on the equality of gender in the family setting. Other factors such as class differences have also been reported to have influenced the adoption of the feminist ideology and changes in the family. This chapter draws on extant literature to shape our understanding of the changes in the Nigerian family and present findings from an online survey filled by 50 members of the family in Nigeria to elucidate information on changes because of awareness about feminism. The study found that Nigerian families are aware of the ongoing feminist movement and its consequence on the family. The study revealed that many of the respondents believed children’s socialization is the responsibility of both parents. Thus, the chapter will contribute to cultural and family scholarship on transformations and adaptation of new norms within the tangent of feminism.