This research project aimed to explore how masculinity is constructed and performed among young men who are students at the University of KwaZulu Natal. Analysis of the themes from the focus group discussion showed that the participants in the study had a clear understanding of how young men should perform masculinity.
Introduction
Within the realm of the body as arena, men's bodies remain important sites of masculinity. The sixth chapter presents a discussion of the findings and conclusions drawn from these findings.
Research rationale
In chapter four, I provide an explanation of the data collection procedures and data analysis used in this study. However, there are objections to using the concept of hegemonic masculinity and that is to say that hegemonic masculinity is imprecise and too rigid to capture the complexities of gender power.
Research aim
A second approach based on a multi-layered model of gender power insists that hegemonic masculinity is a structured relationship in which in very complex ways power is distributed between men and women in unequal ways. Despite this objection, it remains necessary for the purpose of analyzing the relationship between men and between men and the wider society (Morrell, 2001).
Introduction
Connell (1995, p. 77) defines hegemonic masculinity as “a configuration of sexual practice that embodies the currently accepted response to the legitimacy problem of patriarchy, which ensures (or is supposed to ensure) male dominance and subordination. of women'. According to (Seidler and the study's findings), young men often strive to idealize hegemonic masculinity.
Theorising masculinities and gender
Hegemony and male power
Donaldson (1993, p. 645) described the concept of hegemony as “the acquisition and holding of power and the formation (and destruction) of social groups in the process. One approach is based on cultural studies and poststructuralism and assumes an ever-changing hegemonic masculinity (Cornwall & Lindisfarne, 1994).
Hegemonic masculinities
Hegemonic masculinity exists only in relation to subordinate, cooperative, and marginalized masculinities (Lusher & Robins, 2009). Connell argues that most men conform to hegemonic masculinity even though they cannot fully perform the practices of a hegemonic form of masculinity.
Maintaining hegemonic masculinity through homosociality
Gilligan (1982), Messner (1992) and Johnson (1988) provide explanations for the role of competition in maintaining hegemonic masculinity. This complexity became even more apparent when examining the role of race in the construction of the young men's masculinities.
Gender, performances and hypermasculinity
Contextualising South African masculinities and race
Black masculinity was constructed as deviant and projected as 'other' through the dominance of white masculinity. White masculinity was 'represented in the political and economic dominance of the white ruling class' (Morrell et al., 2012 p.12).
HIV/AIDS and South African masculinities
Black masculinity "had emerged in the context of urbanization and the development of geographically separate and culturally distinct African settlements" (Morrell et al., 2012 p.12). These three hegemonic masculinities represented three different sets of men, different ideals of masculine behavior, and three different sets of gender practices (Morrell et al., 2012).
Gaps in literature
Power is essential for explaining the construction of masculinity as it is always present in the interactions and relationships of people. The findings of the study indicate that the young men used various strategies in the attempt to construct an acceptable masculinity.
Conclusion
Introduction
Social construction suggests that reality is a social construction based on one's own interpretation and the meanings one makes about the world. While doing this, knowledge is created and is then perceived as "truth" around the world.
Power, gender and socialisation
The way femininity and masculinity become an internalized part of the way we think about ourselves describes gender identity. Socialization, according to McHale, Crouter and Tucker, (1999), is defined as the ways in which people learn to become members of any given group.
The social construction of masculinity
Gender role socialization has been described as the process through which individuals learn the gender norms of their society and develop an internal gender identity. Through a myriad of activities, opportunities, incentives, distractions, overt behaviors, covert suggestions, and various forms of guidance, children experience the process of gender role socialization” (Witt, 1997, p. 253). Behavior that is considered appropriate in a given context. is reinforced by rewards, while behavior considered inappropriate is punished.
Construction of hegemonic masculinity
Hegemonic masculinity is hegemonic not only in relation to other masculinities, but in relation to the gender order as a whole. Lusher and Robins (2009) argue that the acceptance of a certain characteristic of masculinity is dependent on the rejection of another because the hegemonic form of masculinity is defined by what it is not as much as what it is .
Conclusion
Indeed, many men are unable to meet the normative standards portrayed by hegemonic masculinity. It is an expression of the privilege that men collectively have over women and other men in a patriarchal society.”
Introduction
Research design
Procedure
They were then invited to be part of a focus group discussion conducted in English. The purpose of the focus group was to invite participants to discuss both their photographs and their ideas of masculinity and its construction.
Sample
And at the other end of the continuum, photographs illustrate the intimate dimensions of the social, familial, or other intimate social group or one's own body (Harper, 2002).
Data analysis
Analysis at this stage involved capturing interesting aspects of the topics and why they were interesting. In order to ensure the validity and value of the analysis, it was essential to maintain reliability.
Ethical considerations
To increase credibility through the thick description of results, dialogue related to each topic was presented. For the purposes of this study, blurring of the desired aspects of the photographs was used.
Conclusion
Introduction
Content analysis of the photographs…
The young men in this study had clear ideas about what it meant to be a man. Throughout the findings, it was evident that there is pressure on young men to conform to hegemonic norms in the construction of masculinity.
Thematic analysis of the focus group discussion
Introduction
Photographs taken by the participants included cars, sports and gym, smoking and drinking, music and musical instruments, designer clothes and shoes, messy and tidy rooms, young men playing computer games, religion, male friends, girlfriends and women, family, young fatherhood, male grooming products, young men having fun, young men taking initiative, young men fighting and young men being informed. These photographs are explored in an attempt to understand how they contribute to these young men's construction of masculinity.
Cars
A man becomes so much more important and becomes “the man” within your circle of peers, since the entertainment and exercise of your group of friends depended on whoever owned a car. For us young men, most of us, it's like having a car as a young man.
Sport and gym
Rugby is the true definition of a man for me, you know, it's hard, it's contact, it's everything and I'm like a rugby nut. I played rugby for Maritzburg varsity, it's like exercise, it's just the thrill of the game and meeting new people. I enjoy rugby.
Smoking and drinking…
I don't like it at school because drinking was like the main thing if you can drink, it's also about how many beers you can drink and stuff because if you can drink a few beers people look at you funny and stuff like that when I started drink I started smoking. I chose to get into it, but like a lot of boys they were forced into it, you know peer pressure and stuff and drinking was at school, it was the thing to drink. ok now i get it guys you got to be able if you drink you got to be able to handle them like you do a joint cause if you do a joint and pass out people will look at you like a fool i mean this Boy he's a lightweight he can't handle stuff like that whereas if you smoke like a lot of people they're like wow you know it's a good thing stuff like that because even like my first year people were like he smoke weed, you know and things like that now.
Musical instruments and music…
Having a different preference of music than his black peers sets him apart from the typical young black man. Although he feels he prefers Trance music, he is aware that he is not a white person and although he does not feel that Kwaito defines him, he is a black man.
Branded clothing and shoes…
The study also examined how these young men position themselves in relation to hegemonic norms of masculinity. This specific comment was made in reference to how the young men found it difficult to be a young man.
Neat room versus messy room…
Technology and computer games
Aren't there like football games rugby games like for example a person who is not good at playing football or rugby they just pick up a computer he does well on the field so it's you it's getting away from reality. Computer games are kind of a guy who goes into fantasy, it's especially like those shooting games, it's kind of like you in the shooting game and shoot people you know, it's like you go into a fantasy because you come out of reality you know comes into something you know well.
Religion
Friends…
Girlfriends and females
Having a girlfriend or being in a heterosexual relationship seemed like it was an important way to show other men that you are man enough in their eyes. I think as a young man most of us have a girlfriend and if you don't have one, some other guys will laugh at you and think you're not man enough.
Family
Umm I don't want to stereotype but I noticed like with a lot of like black guys when there's like a hot girl you're like yelling at her and stuff like that and trying to get her attention but with like white guys don't we I don't like (we're shy, I think), white guys are shy -SS (White). The thing is my sister was there and I took the picture and stuff but like um ya that's my sister and I have like and I have my dad my brother.
Young fatherhood
That means he had to be responsible enough to handle both roles, which he says isn't always an easy thing to do. Fatherhood came with responsibilities, and one of them is being able to prioritize what is most important.
Male grooming products
Although they are seen as 'gay', he felt that if he participated in make-up or eyebrow plucking, he would be crossing that line and would be seen as gay. PT mentioned "a little bit of class" when talking about his photograph, alluding to the notion that masculinity seems to be an overarching umbrella that encompasses categories of masculinity.
Young men having fun
Although generalization is not the goal, the findings of the study may be useful in contexts that are similar to that in this study. These ideas reflected the powerful influence of the concept of hegemonic masculinity in shaping young men's understanding of what it is to be a boy.
Young men taking initiative
Young men fighting
This was taken to show how the ability to fight was an important display of masculinity. It was like I thought it was my thought that if you're a man you have to be strong, even though I'm not strong, you have to be able to fight for yourself, I think that's all.
Being well informed
Men who won their battles were seen as real men, but those who unfortunately lost were not seen as real men. When they solve problems, they tend to be physical, they argue, showing that if you lose, you show that you are not a real man.
Conclusion
It is important to stay informed about the world around you, as knowledge is power. The way SK talked about smoking is clearly a contrast to the traditional hegemonic idea of smoking defined earlier by PC.
Summary of the study
How are masculinities performed in daily life?
Sport
Sport was also central to the construction of masculinity and to the promotion and maintenance of men's dominance over women and other men. Because sport has been central to the promotion and maintenance of men's dominance over women, men who cannot or cannot successfully participate in acceptable sports such as rugby succumb to ridicule and subordination by those who are more successful.
Gym
Men who are physically stronger are more likely to be successful on the sports field in their chosen sport, which affirms their masculinity. The above argument by Gill et al., (2005) on how the male body is perceived in contemporary society highlights the research findings regarding the importance of the size of the muscles of the male body.
Drinking and smoking
When smoking is taken up by participants, they are initially unaware of the risks involved. Findings in the current study highlighted that young people are aware of the addictive nature of alcohol and tobacco, but not enough to curb them.
What are the features of hegemonic masculinity?
- Cars
- Music choice…
- Branded clothes and shoes
- Heterosexual relationships
- Fighting
Young men in this study gain status by wearing branded clothing and shoes, which is valued among their peers. In this study, the young men talked about fighting with other young men, but not about violence against women.
How do young men position themselves in relation to the norms of hegemonic
Dominant masculinity
- Video games
Subordinated masculinities
- Grooming products
When talking to the group about the photo of the grooming products, the word 'gay' was mentioned twice, clearly positioning these men as "other" and subordinate. Aldrich's argument is reflected in the findings where one participant feels the need to defend his choice to use grooming products to the other young men.
Do constructions of masculinities differ across race and context?
Race, particularly in the South African context, plays an important role in the social construction of masculinity. This young man exemplifies the political and socio-economic changes that have taken place in the context of post-apartheid South Africa.
Implications of the findings
Interventions from a social learning perspective help boys and men to buffer and alleviate the harmful effects of traditional male role socialization. Addis and Cohane (2005) assert that social learning approaches to masculinity can also be used to inform the development of psychoeducational and preventive interventions.
Limitations of the study
Future research could explore the aforementioned ethnicities as well as the role of women in the construction of acceptable masculinities in South Africa. This study aimed to explore how young men at a university in KwaZulu Natal construct their masculinities.
Implications for future research
Conclusion
Young men commonly drew on the characteristics of the dominant or hegemonic ideal, including success, respectability, compulsory heterosexuality, physical strength, competitiveness, and violence in an attempt to achieve desired masculinity. Successful masculinity is visible through owning an expensive car, having a girlfriend and engaging in heterosexual relationships, distancing oneself from homosexual relationships and the willingness to engage in violence.
