This article draws on recent research (2017–20) into the livelihoods and imagined futures of rural youth in four communities in southern Nigeria. The research involved observations, sex-segregated focus group discussions and individual interviews. Taking up insights from sociologists of education and work, our analysis shows how rural youth simultaneously navigated schooling, farming, low-paid vocational work and family obligations in ways that were highly gendered. We show the gulf between youth’s daily lives and their imagined futures, and how their desires for better lives, whether through ‘white-collar’ work or expanded farming activities, often involved moving to more ‘civilised’ or ‘developed’ contexts. Commitment to family nevertheless ran through youth’s narratives, in ways that reflected a deeply gendered, sexual economy. We conclude by highlighting the relevance of a connected sociology that embraces postcolonial and feminist scholarship to advance future studies of rural youth, gender and work in the Global South.

本文借鉴了最近对尼日利亚南部四个社区农村青年的生计和想象的未来的研究（2017-20）。该研究涉及观察、性别隔离的焦点小组讨论和个人访谈。我们的分析借鉴了教育和工作社会学家的见解，显示了农村青年如何以高度性别化的方式同时应对学校教育、农业、低薪职业工作和家庭义务。我们展示了年轻人的日常生活与他们想象中的未来之间的鸿沟，以及他们对更美好生活的渴望，无论是通过“白领”工作还是扩大农业活动，往往涉及到更“文明”或“发达”的环境。然而，对家庭的承诺贯穿于青年的叙述中，以反映深刻性别化的性经济的方式。