RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
CHAPTER 5 DISCUSSION
5.8. Institutionalized Cavemen
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formed a mirror image of an “ideal me” toward which the boys in this study strive to achieve. The image of the evolved caveman is an image that creates a permanent sense of being imperfect but looking forward to perfection (Lacan, 1949).
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principles that have made [Balcomb] the remarkable school it is today” (Balcomb Academy prospectus). Furthermore, the school hints at what it upholds to be the most desirable characteristics in the development of boys into men: “It is here that new boys arrive tossed on an ocean of shock and change, soon to be transformed into young gentlemen and later into passionate, loyal Old Boys taking their place in the world economy” (Balcomb Academy prospectus). It is therefore clear what characteristics of masculinity are placed at the top of the masculinity hierarchy by this school: endurance - boys who are able to survive and be “transformed” by some “shock”; “gentlemen” – a rather old-fashioned nation of what it means to be a man (this notion differs fundamentally from “gentle man”); boys who will ultimately be able to fit into a group (as opposed to standing alone) are loyal to their school for evermore and finally boys who have skills that will allow them to find a place and compete in a “world economy.” The importance of being able to compete and competitiveness is articulated a number of times in the school’s promotional material: “The academic ethos at the College is as competitive as the one enjoyed in sport and cultural arenas. Boys are encouraged to fulfil their potential and a programme of goal-setting is active throughout the College with a host of academic prizes awarded each year” (Balcomb Academy prospectus).
The superior masculinity therefore involves dominance. The school espouses to produce emerging men who dominate over others academically, through sport as well as cultural pursuits. This superior notion of masculinity is an attractive one to many of the families that choose to send their sons to Balcomb Academy and this in turn mirrors the value system of these boys’ families. No longer is it acceptable for men to dominate using their physical strength alone, there are many ways in which men can prove and show their dominance. In addition, like a pack of cavemen, the school espouses to produce men who stick together. Furthermore, like a caveman who, despite the developments of history, has survived, the school emphasizes resilience and endurance as core masculine values. This goes some way to explain why these history boys come to the understanding that men today have evolved from being just a caveman with a big stick. This understanding is forged in part through official school history but by and large it is entrenched and regulated by the lessons from unofficial history derived by the
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school’s attempts to promote its own institutionalized masculinity. Unofficial history ultimately overshadows the attempts of the official school history to establish a just and equal society.
The official history curriculum is a transformative one that seeks to achieve an appreciation of gender equity and a sensitization to power dynamics at play in a constantly evolving South African society. However, the institution in which the boys find themselves is not evolving, it is a traditional one that essentially aims to maintain old- fashioned or “time honoured” values. These independent school history boys therefore learn many lessons on what it means to be a man from the independent boys’ only boarding school in which they all find themselves as well as through official history. The institution has taught them contradictory lessons: being independent but learning how to be accepted as part of the group; accepting your punishment like a man but confronting those who have caused you an injustice. Official history has taught them that you cannot be a caveman with a big stick yet they glorify the association of positive role models like fathers and grandfathers with war. These contradictory lessons all lead to the conflicting and ambiguous notions of what it means to be a man. As Lacan (1949) pointed out the mirror image created by all these influences is an artificial projection of the self - modelled on the visual images of others that the individual confronts in the world. The image in the mirror is, however, always changing as it contrasts “with the turbulent movements that the subject feels are animating him” (Sheridan, 1977, p.2).
Moreover, the families to which these boys belong are essentially conservative, white middle class and in many respects can be viewed as privileged. Like the school, the values that the boys are taught are essentially solidarity and loyalty to one’s own kind over social justice. Hence there is a conflict that exists in the lessons that the official school history curriculum seeks to impart and those learnt through unofficial history sources such as the family and the independent boys’ boarding school as a genderising institution. This goes some way to explain the boys’ relatively poor performance in the I.E.B N.S.C history examination (I.E.B, 2012). They have what they believe to be significant historical knowledge but this is not the historical knowledge required by the I.E.B N.S.C examination as an assessment tool. What is required is what is stated in the
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official grade 12 history curriculum: “In understanding our world today and the legacies that shaped our present, the broad themes of power alignments, human rights, issues of civil society and globalization” (DoE, 2003, p.30). In addition what is expected is an acute understanding of how issues of race, gender and class impacted and continue to impact on South African society (DoE, 2003). How can these boys have this understanding when their institution has remained relatively unaffected by these issues and their traditional notions of masculinity reflect traditionally hegemonic ideals in conflict with the intention of N.C.S (DoE, 2003)? The boys’ relative under performance is not the boys’ fault but lies in the transformative gender intentions of official history curricula and that clashes with those of unofficial history as well as the institution as a masculine regulating force. The image in the mirror created by these conflicting forces is a blurred one for these boys.