Becoming a man while migrating: Senegalese masculinities in Porto Alegre (Brazil) and Atlanta (United States)

This article deals with masculinities produced by Senegalese young immigrants in Porto Alegre and Atlanta. Based on an ethnography conducted from 2019 to 2023, it describes how the contacted interlocutors produced their masculinities in adult life while dealing with the challenges and perspectives that stem from being an immigrant. We argue that this was accomplished through the religious appreciation of self-sacrifice in favor of the collective good, expressed through Muslim faith. From their point of view, to migrate, work and distribute economic gains, even if in precarious conditions, gave them the moral status of fully grown men inspired by visiting religious authorities and by the symbolic act of donating money in the mosques’ environment. Such an argument represents a counterpoint to the conceptual languages used in French Africanist analyzes and in the Weberian framework for the relationship between Calvinism and profit, which are still dominant in the field.

Keywords:
Human mobility; Senegalese immigrants; Masculinities; Porto Alegre; Atlanta