Nyasha pretends to be a settler and insults her father by calling him a "good boy, a good munt. A bloody good kaffir" (Dangarembga 200). The use of the term "boy", which implies the bottom of social hierarchy, shows that black African men are perceived to be inferior and forced to be obedient to the white settlers. Men, who used to own land to maintain their power status, are stripped of their own land from the colonialists. Nyasha complains that "[The settlers] deprived you of you, him of him, ourselves of each other. We're groveling. Lucia for a job, Jeremiah for money. Daddy grovels to them" (Dangarembga 200). Men no longer provide the same level of security as they once did, and that the relationships in their lives suffer as a result. Likewise, in Joys of Motherhood, Cordelia states that "men here are too busy being white men's servants to be men" (Emecheta 51). She implies that the absolute power held by the African men is no longer exists, as men are forced to sell their labor to the colonialists. .
The social changes bought by colonialism also had a corruptive influence on women's sense of purpose and self-identity. Motherhood, which was supposed to bring great happiness and a sense of purpose, ironically became the source of Nnu Ego's greatest sorrow. In The Joys of Motherhood, a woman's worth is determined by her ability to bear and raise children. Only after her son's birth does Nnu Ego begin to feel like a "real woman" (Emecheta 54). Nnu Ego's happiness is dependent on providing for her children. She justifies her complete devotion to the role of a caretaker by appealing to its rewards: her children are expected to reciprocate such care in her old age. No matter how much pain she endures in the colonized Lagos, Nnu Ego continually reminds herself of the future benefits. As education possesses greater weight in Lagos than in the more traditional Ibuza, Nnu Ego works hard to financially provide for her children's education with the ultimate hope of reciprocated caretaking.
