Be a man

Boys' Talk About Gender in Families

Bibliographic Data

ID5718596
AuthorsDiloshini Govender (0000-0002-8175-3367, University of KwaZulu-Natal, corresponding author), D Bhana (0000-0002-8504-041X, University of KwaZulu-Natal)
Year2023
Volume18
Issue2
Pages89-105
Publication date2023-04-03
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueNORMA (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1890-2138 • E-ISSN: 1890-2146
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/18902138.2022.2164668
OpenAlexW4319841827
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited30

This paper draws from an ethnographic study of 8–9-year-old primary school boys’ construction of masculinities. We focus on a group of Indian and black school boys situated in a working class setting in South Africa. In their narratives, the family emerged as one of the central organising sites for the social production and reproduction of masculinity. While masculinities are produced within a broader social and cultural context, this paper gives significance to family dynamics in shaping and reinforcing young masculinities. We show that while boys address family in relation to the reification of gender binaries and hegemonic patterns related to gender roles, sexuality and violence, their performances of masculinities were not entirely reiterative of these norms. Instead, boys actively challenged, negotiated and resisted dominant norms hence destabilising homogenous conceptualisations of children as passive recipients of received knowledge and oppressed power. We foreground young boys’ agency in their negotiation of masculinities and further demonstrate how the broader historical and social forces of race, class and culture intersect with dominant gender discourses within the context of families to enable plural versions of masculinities

Doing gender · Ethnography · Geography · Hegemonic masculinity · Hegemony · Human sexuality · Masculinity · Narrative · Negotiation · Political science · Politics · Situated · Social science · Sociology · Anthropology · Children's Rights and Participation · Gender Roles and Identity Studies · Gender Studies · Youth Education and Societal Dynamics

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