Theme 2- Gendered African Society/ Masculinities

The readings and class work

will draw attention to the various embedded power
asymmetries that operate with cultural mechanisms and
institutions. This section will interrogate hegemonic
masculinities-in the context of traditional African
masculinities.
Key Terms:
• sex
• gender
• gender roles
• gender hierarchy
• masculine
• feminine
• patriarchy

Ref: ROBERT MORRELL (1986) ‘Of Boys and Men -

Masculinity and Gender in Southern African Studies'

Connell’s 4 categories of masculinity

 Dominant
 Complicit
 Submissive
 Oppositional/protest
Hegemonic masculinity
 Misogyny
 Homophobia
 Racism
 Compulsory heterosexuality

Of Boys and Men: Masculinity and Gender in Southern African Studies' ROBERT
MORRELL
 Masculinity is a collective gender identity and not a natural attribute.

 It is socially constructed and fluid. There is not one universal masculinity, but many
masculinities. These are 'not fixed character types but configurations of practice
generated in particular situations in a changing structure of relationships.

 Masculinity is understood as socially constructed and culturally specific.

 Class and race factors are constitutive of the form that masculinity takes. This means
that in any society there are many masculinities, each with a characteristic shape and
set of features.

 The forms of these masculinities change over time, being affected by changes
elsewhere in society and at the same time, themselves affecting society itself.

 It is not the case that all masculinities are equally powerful as social forces.
Subordinate and subversive masculinities exist among marginal or dominated groups
and these may be oppositional to the dominant masculinity.

 To make sense of the relationships between groups of men. Connell offers four
categories of masculinity; they are dominant, complicit, submissive and oppositional
or protest

 Contestation between these masculinities occurs but it needs to be understood that

these analytical categories are themselves fluid and hence 'membership' difficult to
identify.

 It is difficult and unhelpful at the individual level to try and label a man as belonging
to one or other masculinity type. Yet it is important to drive towards a conceptual
arrangement that allows us to make sense of the power aspect of masculinity.
  A major vehicle for this is the development of the idea of hegemonic masculinity - the
form of masculinity which is dominant in society. This is not a question of head-
counts, but a 'question of relations of cultural domination

 The concept of hegemonic masculinity provides a way of explaining that though a

number of masculinities coexist, a particular version of masculinity holds sway,
bestowing power and privilege on men who espouse it and claim it as their own.

 Hegemonic masculinity is, according to Mike Donaldson, 'exclusive, anxiety-

provoking, internally and hierarchically differentiated, brutal, and violent'. Among its
defining features are misogyny, homophobia, racism and compulsory
heterosexuality’.

 Hegemonic masculinity is not stable. It is constantly responding to challenges,

accommodating, or repelling rival representations of masculinity

 Masculinities are often bound together by their domination of women but this
obscures important differences between masculinities. Working class, black and gay
men are excluded from or subordinated to hegemonic masculinity

 Hegemony is not the same as dominance; different definitions and practices of

masculinity may supplant others as hegemonic

Colonialism and White Masculinities

 In the late nineteenth century imperial rule was being extended into the sub-continent,
subjugating Afrikaner and African opponents alike.

 In the British colonies like Natal, masculinities were being shaped by settlers
themselves. Working through a set of institutions including the family, sports and
leisure clubs, the military and particularly the schools, the colony's settlers created a
tight knit, racially exclusive community with a hegemonic masculinity that borrowed
heavily from metropolitan representations of manliness, though it also reflected an
 engagement with indigenous cultures. This settler masculinity became hegemonic,
binding white men to a set of gender values which were class and race specific.
 While white masculinity may have helped to unite white men, provided cultural ideal
types and a patriarchal order which distributed power unevenly between men and
women, it is not tenable to claim that this masculinity was hegemonic throughout the
region. As already indicated, white political and economic power was not universal
and cannot be read as dominating all spheres of life

 White masculinity undoubtedly exercised its hegemony in 'white' areas - urban

residential areas, places of work and on white occupied (though not necessarily on
white owned) farms. Yet in the reserves, particularly when agricultural production
still sustained the household as a productive unit and thus entrenched patriarchal
relations in the world of work, white masculinity was not hegemonic. African
masculinity was hegemonic in pre-colonial society.

African Masculinities

 One of the first forces that challenged African hegemonic masculinity was the
Christian church. Missionary influence in the nineteenth century, particularly along
the eastern seaboard, introduced new ways of life, new commodities and a new
understanding of life and death
 The process by which boys became men (including importantly
initiation/circumcision) will give a sense of how masculine identities were formed.
The sexual division of labour, the male-dominated social and political hierarchies, the
organisation of leisure time and the gendered nature of space will be important in
establishing the nature of hegemonic masculinity

 It has been contended that gender regimes and identities were situated within
institutions and it was these that produced African masculinities
The imposition of colonialism, often by military means, did not destroy African masculinity.
It continued as a collective gender identity amongst African men, reflecting a pre-colonial
past and the gender regimes of those institutions which remained relatively intact for example
circumcision in Africa.

Traditional male circumcision: what is its sociocultural significance among Xhosa men?
Feri Gwata (2009)

The socio-cultural motives of circumcision

• Male circumcision is a holistic concept with multiple and interconnected dimensions-

religious, spiritual, social, biomedical, aesthetic and cultural

• The meaning and understanding of the practice of male circumcision differs between
societies.

• Male circumcision appears to be becoming common practice among nonreligious

persons for a variety of reasons ranging from the belief that it enhances sexual
pleasure to claims that it lowers the risk of HIV infection, prevents penile and
cervical cancer and lowers the risk of urinary tract infection

• While specifics may vary across the region, and while the ritual has undergone
certain changes over the years, the practice is conducted under non-clinical settings
and overseen by traditional practitioners
• Circumcision is practiced worldwide as a religious rite by groups such as the Islamic,
Jewish, and Christians. it is also practiced between ‘races’ and ethnic groups

• Among the Jews, neonatal male circumcision is practiced on the eighth day after
birth. For Muslims, the timing is less precise but it is usually during the pre-school
years or immediately before marriage

• It is therefore a ritual which not only marks a boy’s transition to manhood but also
affords him legitimate membership in the tribal community.
 • As such traditional male circumcision entails a change in status and the creation of a
new identity.

• It is also considered as a sign of social and cultural maturity and it is not based on the
universal understanding of adulthood which is based on age. As such, Xhosa males
are circumcised between the ages of 15 and 25.

• For the Balante society in West Africa the average age is around 40 and for the
Manding and the Wolof the ritual is generally between ages 6 and 13
Male circumcision as a rite of passage

• A ritual can be defined as a way in which members of a society communicate values

and ways of living through psychological, social and symbolic interactions and
teaching

• Ceremonies such as traditional male circumcision generally

consist of three distinct phases, namely: (i) separation, (ii) transition and (iii)
incorporation

Separation

The separation period is often preceded by a symbolic act signifying separation of

the initiate from his former state.

• Among the Xhosa, the prospective initiate discards his old clothing to younger
siblings and relatives in exchange for blankets, in a symbolic break with the past

• In the West African Balante society, the separation period is a time of mourning,
marked by sadness in the village and the suspension of all recreational activities
• In West Africa, the soon-to-be circumcised undergo spiritual preparation which
includes ritual baths and the correcting of any injustices committed, for the sacrifice
must be undergone only by those who are pure

• It is believed that if the boy does not partake in this spiritual preparation he could die
during the circumcision retreat because of his extreme vulnerability to evil spirits and
malevolent supernatural forces.

• In South Africa, preparation before the ritual takes a more practical form as
legislation now requires that all would-be initiates undergo medical examination
before undergoing the traditional procedure.

Transition

• The transition period is intended to be an educational experience whereby boys are

instructed on the dignity of manhood through sexual instruction as well as instruction
in the history, traditions and beliefs of the amaXhosa

• Traditionally, the ritual was seen as a vital means of entrenching social norms and
imparting cultural knowledge to initiates. It was a time when ‘boys became men’
through their adopting a more socially responsible approach to life.

• Rituals such as circumcision are also deemed important agents of acculturation

• An important feature of the transition period is the test of courage and endurance and
the ability to endure the pain of the blade without flinching which proves that one
has indeed transitioned into manhood.
Incorporation

• Circumcision includes the social transformation of the body

• Other than being a biological reality the body is also a social construct and is often
used to convey cultural or religious values.
 • Male circumcision can be viewed as a physical manifestation of aspects of a
society’s traditional value system.

• Physical symbols placed on or incorporated as part of the body illustrate the

relationship of an individual to their social context to the extent that the body is the
tangible frame of selfhood in individual and collective experience

• Upon returning to the community, initiates announce their newly acquired status
through a new dress code.

• The new clothes signify that the circumcised man is re-entering society as a new,
transformed individual who will be expected to fulfill new roles in society

Becoming a man: the construction of masculinity

• Gender categories are socially constructed indicates the existence of varieties of

masculinity within a society, across societies and across continents.

• Several versions of masculinity exist in different settings and gender construction

varies with cultures and historical moments

• Masculinity is what any given society accepts as features associated with the male
gender and expressions of maleness. Masculinity speaks of those practices and ways
of being that serve to validate a masculine subject’s sense of itself as a male, boy or
man (Whitehead 2002: 4). Race, culture, religion and belief systems, environmental
realities and historical experiences influence notions of masculinities all over the
world, not least in Africa

• Moreover, these notions alter within different contexts: when in reference to females
as a category and as belonging to different age groups; also when applied to men of
diverse ages, social classes and from different societies.

• Multiple masculinities exist even within the same culture

 • Gender is a social learning process and gender roles and expectations differ from
culture to culture

• The exclusion of women from the entire initiation process in Xhosa tradition carries
social and cultural significance

• Not only are women denied access to the initiation schools, but they are also
forbidden knowledge of the central aspects of the ritual, as are uncircumcised males
(“boys”)

• Being circumcised brings about another dynamic in masculinity as it separates ‘boys’

from ‘men’

• some boys are excluded at school from social groups because they have not been to
the mountain

• The uncircumcised are discriminated against in various ways which are often
embarrassing and frustrating such as being treated as servants at the beck and call of
circumcised males or being delegated cooking and cleaning tasks which are
traditionally feminine tasks

Are African Males Men? Sketching African Masculinities

 Baden-Powell, a distinguished British colonial military officer, is not known as an

anthropologist/ethnographer, but by dismissing African men as ‘not men’ he aptly
exhibited western contempt for African manifestations of masculinity. He reached his
conclusion because he looked at African masculinities from a certain lens; from all
indications, a race-coated lens
 To Baden-Powell by deduction, masculinity should be measured in terms of
‘intelligence’ and ‘action’, and from his viewpoint nineteenth- and early twentieth
century-African men lacked these attributes. They were not only ‘stupid’ – lacking in
intelligence and insensible – but sluggish and lifeless
Moreover, they were ‘inert’ – without inherent power of action or resistance

 Baden-Powell’s comments imply some underlying awareness that masculinity had

various shades, even in his own days. One form of it, a superior form obviously, was
his European (more appropriately British) model, manifested through intelligence,
quick wit, power and action.

 The other was his African model, identified by stupidity, dullness and inertness, not to
mention a total lack of power and apparent unreliability. And yet, Baden-Powell
acknowledged that they (Europeans) and them (Africans) both belonged to that
universal stock of human males for he said: ‘they may be brothers…’

 This awareness of the existence of various shades of masculinities was not applied to
African men whom Baden- Powell judged, using his European lens, and fitted into an
imaginary homogenized global form of deficient masculinity.

 In line with this, Baden-Powell also failed to understand how yardsticks for assessing
manifestations of masculinity could differ from place to place and from continent to
continent.

 To a reasonable extent, the same can be said of most stereotypical yardsticks still
employed in the contemporary period. One puzzle is: how would Baden-Powell have
categorized the Hua of Papua New Guinea, who see masculine subjects as highly
placed but physically powerless and weak? And among whom masculinity is lost by
men as they age but gained by women through childbearing?

 Who are African men? Broadly speaking, Africans are persons who are indigenous to
and inhabit the African continent. They include all the races and racial mixtures that
are harboured and continue to be harboured in Africa along with the inhabitants of
 islands on the Atlantic and Indian oceans who regard themselves as Africans and are
duly recognized as such by the African Union.

 The male segment of these societies comprises African men whose masculinities are
the focus of our discussion in this volume. These men vary according to their races
and geographical placement within the continent.

Are African Males Men?

 There are many ways of answering this question. It can be considered biologically and
culturally. Biologically, what basically distinguishes a human male from a non-male
is the presence of male genitals and accessory male sexual characteristics.

 Africa has had its share of human hermaphrodites and men castrated for purposes of
military and domestic responsibilities. These are human species, which though
manifesting a majority of male biological features, cannot be regarded as fully male
because of natural and artificial interferences with the development of their male
sexual organs. For hermaphrodites, only a medical assessment can prove their degree
of maleness.

 There are many cultural traits identified in African societies as evidence of

masculinity. These traits can be considered on the basis of accounts from different
African societies in the different regions of the continent and within specific historical
periods

 Masculine expressions in Africa before 1880 and after, a phase that many African
societies categorize as comprising pre-colonial and colonial periods, had distinctive
features
The Zulu of Natal
 We can look at the Zulu society of Natal in Southern Africa within these periods for
an appreciation of how masculinity was constructed and what images of it can be
identified

 Zulu masculine subjects were praised for their ‘unremitting discipline’ manifested in
honesty, wisdom, bravery and respect for authority. These qualities were not intrinsic
but learned. The Zulu society during its pre-colonial period had articulated its ideas
on masculinity and set in motion informal and formal structures, the most important
being the family, to transfer, through learning and practice, these qualities to every
male child

 Between the ages of 11 and 13, the society organized for boys the ceremony of the
Piercing of the Ears, Qhumbuza Izindlebe, at which time the oldest man within an
extended compound instructed initiates on appropriate daily conduct. They were
taught to be totally obedient to their parents and elders, to pay careful attention to
their duties, to be ready to help others and to display their masculinity, honesty,
dependability and trustworthiness in all their doings. The ceremony was the boy’s
official step towards manhood

 An adolescent male’s first nocturnal emission was a sign of his entering into manhood
and indicated the right time for the most important male ritual, called the Thomba
ceremony. The week-long event ended with an early morning bath to wash away the
ways and habits of childhood and assume manhood. From then on, he would be
attired as a man.

 ‘Full’ manhood, however, was attained around the age of 33, after about fifteen years
of military service. It was at this point that the man could marry and undertake the
responsibilities of a wife and children.
 Zulu society was highly hierarchical and men enjoyed positions of power from the
home and into the wider society. Maleness was superior; hence, men were served first
and exclusively at all meals before women and children.

 Within the male group existed varieties of masculinities along age lines, although it
should also be assumed that there was no uniform expression of masculinity within
any given age category.

 But the preferred masculinity, by Zulu standards, combined martial prowess with
honesty; high morality, as shown in the absence of premarital penetrative sexual
interaction with a female subject even though intimate encounters were allowed;
loyalty; aggression; a sense of responsibility; courage; self-reliance; athleticism;
alertness; endurance; and absence of emotions

 Zulu masculinity had a domestic side. The foundation was laid in childhood as boys
were taught to clean the home and cook meals for their fathers. Before the age of 30,
the purpose of their domestic lessons would have become obvious: they enabled the
young warrior to face the rigours of military life.

 Notions of masculinity enhance and accord privileges to one gender group, but do the
opposite for the other. Used in reference to Zulu women, masculinity assumed a
negative connotation as something inferior and unbecoming.

The Shona of Zimbabwe

 The impacts of colonialism on African masculinities are seen in Shire’s (1994)

childhood recollections of colonial Shona society

 Shona society was gendered, with men and women having defined spaces that rarely
overlapped. Both held positions, hence power relations were in a neatly single-sex
hierarchical structure
 Pre-colonial Shona masculinity was determined by an ability to ‘perform’, actually to
manifest verbal skills. A young boy who could ‘perform’ by speaking convincingly
and winning arguments was a man, while an older male person lacking verbal skills
was a child and was often excluded in male gatherings.

 Colonial legislation further eroded the bases of Shona masculinities, leading

individual males to construct new identities that revolved around foreign ideas that
promoted martial qualities.

 Shona traditional masculine ideals were undermined at the same time that the
masculinities of the colonial class were upgraded

The Tuareg

 Male Tuareg have intrigued observers for their supposedly misleading ‘feminine’
exterior. They painted their eyes and were veiled instead of female Tuareg, quite
unlike other Muslim groups where women were veiled. The culture of hiding the male
face began at puberty and continued till death, with very few laws of exemption.

 Thus, whether eating or drinking, riding or sleeping, alone or accompanied, the face
was covered with the exception of the eyes. Where at all it should be revealed, just
part of the nose was shown.

 Wearing a veil at puberty for the first time called for family celebration to mark the
adolescent’s initiation into adulthood. The veil was an expression of Tuareg
masculinity and group identity.

 It seems to hold more secrets of the Tuareg society’s notions and expressions of
masculinity than other symbols and behavioural traits. Without doubt, veiling by male
Tuareg had no association with any form of gender inferiority nor was it used to show
allegiance to women by whom power is passed to men.
 The veil obviously helped to conceal emotions and had the effect of lending
anonymity to male Tuareg. While outside the group, the veil projects an aloofness and
inherent superiority over other people its use would suggest a subtle and subdued
masculinity within the group where little aggressiveness was shown.

The Lele Males of DRC

 The repressed and dependent masculinity of the Tuareg male vassals was somewhat
replicated by Lele males found on the edge of the equatorial rain forest in Zaire, now
the Democratic Republic of the Congo, before 1970.

 However, there were very clear differences in male subjects’ expressions of

masculinity between these two matrilineal groups.

 Young Lele men prior to marriage served as servants to their elders, both their
father’s and mother’s brothers; and remained dependent on their mothers for their
wellbeing.

 In such arrangements, the woman was the privileged personality in the relationship.
She controlled her group of husbands and regulated sexual interaction among them to
her advantage.

 Meanwhile, she did no domestic or any other type of work for her husbands who, on
the other hand, were obliged to serve her parents as sons-in-law, to please her in order
to remain married to her and to give her gifts that went to her marriage payment.
Moreover, men left their communities at marriage to join their wives’ communities.

 Children born by a woman when married by a group of husbands belonged to none of

the prospective fathers but to the wife’s village. Control by a father over the children
and their mother was almost non-existent at this time.
  Lele men were constrained to prove their masculinity through service to parents-in-
law and the wife’s community. Virility was shown by sexual conquests of other men’s
wives.
Contemporary Masculinities

 So much has changed regarding notions and expressions of masculinities in Africa

since ancient times. Many aspects of modern masculinities were fashioned during the
colonial period and after

 Masculine ideologies are learned by male human beings beginning from childhood.
This is the argument of Koudolo, who identifies the family, mass and audio-visual
media, religion, education and interpersonal interactions as among the factors that
contribute to the development of any particular brand of masculinity in a Togolese
male subject