I would like to express my sincere thanks to the following for the invaluable help they have given me at various stages in the preparation of this thesis. The participants' reflections focus on how idealized constructions of masculinity are valued and the extent to which men conform to achieve the status of a man. The university context seems to provide a better space for the achievement of this idealized masculinity, in contrast to the home (with parents/family members), which is perceived as a burden or limitation of masculinity.
- Introduction
- Research question and aims of the study
- Relevance of the dissertation
- Outline of the study
For example, while men may be central to the cause of the pandemic, they remain peripheral to HIV/AIDS prevention efforts (Davies, McCrae, Frank, Dochnahl, Pickering, Harrison, Zkrzewski, & Wilson, 2000). Havana in Cuba; Tromsø in Norway; and the University of the Western Cape in Cape Town, South Africa. Limitations of the study are also presented, as well as the implications of the findings as well as recommendations for future research.
- Introduction
- Heterosexuality
- Masculinities and sexual practices
- Masculine ideologies, Black masculinities and HIV sexual risk
- Drugs and alcohol
- Sexuality and HIV transmission among mineworkers
This norm is related to the idea that men are expected to be successful and should be respected for their success. Schrock and Padavic (2007, p. 624) present hegemonic masculinity as "the most honored way of being a man" and can be analyzed as a cultural ideal or as a local construction created "in the arenas of face-to- face interaction of families, organizations and immediate communities". There are similarities between traditional African masculinity types as indexed by initiation schools and the types of masculinity promoted in military settings (eg the understanding that men must be able to endure intense pain without showing emotion ).
Given that risk-taking turns out to be strongly associated with masculinities (and given that hegemonic notions of masculinities are linked to sexuality, risk-taking, and rebellion), some young men may be particularly vulnerable to taking multiple risk (UNAIDS, 2001). Miners further argue that the risk of HIV/AIDS appears to be minimal compared to the risks of going underground.
Introduction
The consequence of the above is that the researcher is aware of his contribution to the construction of meaning (Willig, 2001). (Postmodernism) is an appropriate ontological approach when exploring issues such as gender, as it is constructed in relation to power.
Social constructionism
- A critical stance towards knowledge
- Knowledge is historically and culturally specific
- Knowledge is created and sustained by social processes
- Knowledge implies social action
Since knowledge is socially constructed, it can be said that it will only make sense in the historical period in which it is produced (Rogers & Rogers, 2004). While men have traditionally been the sole main source of income (the breadwinners of the family), their ability to provide financially has been seen as part of what it means to be a "real" man. Despite the fact that the above notion is still prominent, the economic recession has resulted in high unemployment rates in South Africa, leading to a reinterpretation of what it means to be a "real" man.
People construct shared versions of knowledge in the course of social interaction, primarily through language. This means that what is considered "truth" is not the result of what can be observed in the world. People's understanding of the world can take many forms, with different social constructions of reality emerging.
These diverse constructions attract different kinds of action from human beings, such that understandings of the world enable certain patterns of social action and prohibit others (Burr, 1996). The epistemological framework of social constructionism lends itself to study because it is sensitive to the ever-evolving nature of social life and is an appropriate approach for exploring constructions of masculinity that are actively changing. Burr (1996) argued that the goal of research is not to reveal objective "truth" but rather the usefulness that the findings might have in bringing about change.
The next segment discusses the qualitative research methodology used in the study.
Research Methodology
- Qualitative research methodology
- Research Design
- Sampling
- Discourse analysis as a method
Purposive sampling is a type of non-probability sampling where participants are selected based on the researcher's judgment (Neuman, 2000). The possibility that the researcher can influence data and its quality is inherent in all forms of qualitative research in particular. A discourse analysis also requires an appeal to other possible interpretations of the objects presented in the text.
At this stage one can explore the implied meanings by asking, “How would another text using this discourse refer to the contradictions within the discourse?” The above can be done by identifying occasions that other texts elaborate on. It is emphasized that evaluation research is not primarily about predicting events, but rather about whether the audience of a report can see new relationships and answer new but relevant questions (1994). The researcher argues that new relationships have emerged from this. Criteria understood in accordance with Whittemore et al. 2001) are “..the standards that should be upheld as ideals in qualitative research, while.
The 'in-depth' nature of the study implied potential quality regarding thoroughness, explicitness, bias, creativity, vividness and sensitivity (2001). I am aware that I was subjective during the process of collecting dissertation data and. The researcher was also constantly made aware by his supervisors of all the above critical ideal standards throughout the research process.
Fruitfulness: A set of analytical claims should allow the researcher to understand the discourse and generate new explanations.
Reflexivity in research
Active reflection on the researcher's experiences of considering interpretive sources and experiences of the research process can provide support for a claim about the value brought about by the study (Burman, 1997; Potter & Wetherell, 1987). Special attention was paid to the sensitivity of the research topic, and the research process was guided by the principle of 'do no harm' to the participants (Emanuel et al., Recently there has been an extensive discussion about the ethics of research in developing countries). Controversies center around three questions about what standard of care should be used in research in developing countries, reasonably.
The research must be designed so that the results are applicable in the context of the health problem. The design of the study must fulfill the research objectives, while not denying the health services to which the participants are otherwise entitled, nor requiring services that cannot be provided within the framework of the country's health system (Emanuel et al., 2004). The study population should be selected in such a way as to ensure fairness in the distribution of the burdens and benefits of the research.
The researcher realized that some may be traumatized by the process as a result of previous experiences. In the consent forms, participants were assured of their rights to anonymity in any publication that may arise from the research (Terre Blanche & Durrheim (2004). In the present study, the researcher acknowledges that only English was used, which is not a the home language of most participants.
Most of the necessary precautions were taken into account to ensure the rights, dignity and safety of the participants.
Introduction
Such a construction of masculinities suggests that men should be in control and see themselves as such. Men are built as leaders; they are considered powerful and deserve respect. In the current study, invulnerability was explicitly shown where the participants felt that it is unacceptable for a man to position himself as "I don't know".
The discourse lends credence to dominant notions of masculinities where men are not supposed to be vulnerable. Men do not want to be seen as unknown, wisdom is one of the traditional attributes of masculinity, at least in terms of hegemonic constructions of masculinities. The participant above draws on traditional Zulu notions of what it means to be a man, the isoka tradition in particular (Hunter, 2003). The term 'isoka' refers to a young man who is popular with girls.
The way women are portrayed as objects (ie to be 'packaged' in men's rooms) in the extract is e. Again, messages from significant others in the participants' lives played an important role in prompting an alternative conceptualization of what it means to be a man. A link between masculinities and risky behaviors emerged, where reckless sexual practices could be seen as part of the definition of what it means to be a man.
There seems to be the emergence of 'new women' and 'new masculinities', suggesting the fluidity of masculinity. Because multiple sexual partnerships without the use of condoms are one of the leading factors in the spread of HIV/AIDS, it follows that interventions that target men's understanding of what it means to be a man would be helpful (from Dan , 1994). The findings indicate that young college students generally describe their understanding of what it means to be a man in traditional, hegemonic terms, although emerging, alternative masculinities were also evident among participants.
Conclusion
- Overview of the findings
- Strengths of the study
- Implications of the findings
- Limitations of the study
An overview of the current research is provided by summarizing the findings of the study. The implications, strengths, limitations, and recommendations for future research arising from the study are also discussed in this chapter. In an attempt to achieve the research objective, seven young male university students in KwaZulu-Natal province were interviewed.
The study contributes to the body of knowledge that explores the construction of masculinities and sexuality, thereby drawing attention to previously neglected youth voices. In this sense, the study achieved this objective by presenting an account of how some young male university students construct their masculinity and sexuality, thereby drawing attention to previously neglected voices. The study illustrates discourses of masculinities that are harmful to men, where idealized masculinity is linked to high-risk practices similar to polysexuality.
Methodological triangulation in terms of data collection would contribute to greater reliability and validity of the study's findings. Despite dealing with such a sensitive topic of this nature, there were no male interviewers in the survey. As can be seen in the discussion of the limitations of this study, it becomes necessary to conduct the study on participants who are younger than those on whom the study focused (18-24), because according to UNAIDS (2001), some children under the Participants presented in this dissertation, they begin to experiment sexually at a younger age.
The study sought to examine the ways in which young male university students construct their masculine identities.
