Everyday (in)equality at home: complex constructions of gender in South African families

Rebecca Helman,Kopano Ratele

doi:10.3402/gha.v9.31122

Abstract

BackgroundHigh rates of violence and HIV have been documented within the South African context. Constructions of masculinity and femininity that position men as dominant and highly sexually active and women as subordinate and acquiescent have been found to contribute towards gender inequality. This inequality is in turn related to negative health consequences, specifically violence against women, children, and other men, as well as sexual risk. Within this context it becomes important to explore how problematic constructions of gender are being (re)produced and how these constructions are being challenged. Families have been identified as key sites in which gender is both constructed and enacted on a daily basis and it is within this space that children are first exposed to notions of gender.ObjectiveThis article draws from a study that was intended to expand on the limited understandings of the ways in which gender (in)equality is constructed and conveyed within the context of South African families on an everyday basis.DesignChildren and parents in 18 families from a range of different material and cultural backgrounds were interviewed about the meanings and practices of gender within their homes. Data were analysed using a Foucauldian discourse analysis.ResultsThe data reveal how problematic constructions of masculinity and femininity are (re)produced but also challenged within a range of different families. Gender and gender (in)equality are therefore routinely accomplished in complex ways.ConclusionsThese findings have important implications for promoting gender equality and therefore for disrupting violence and sexual risk as gendered health issues.

Highlights

Within the South African context, where extremely high rates of violence and HIV have been documented, it is necessary to investigate the factors that shape these social and health epidemics
This study set out to explore the ways in which gender is constructed in a range of different South African families, as well as to illustrate how particular constructions either promote or hinder the development of gender-equitable relations
This focus was informed by a large body of literature that suggests that particular problematic constructions of gender are linked to practices of violence and sexual risk

Summary

Introduction

Within the South African context, where extremely high rates of violence and HIV have been documented, it is necessary to investigate the factors that shape these social and health epidemics. Gender inequality, perpetuated through dominant and highly sexually active constructions of masculinity and subordinate and acquiescent constructions of femininity, which we refer to as problematic constructions of gender, has been identified as a significant factor in health and shapes practices of violence as well as sexual risk (3Á5). Constructions of masculinity and femininity that position men as dominant and highly sexually active and women as subordinate and acquiescent have been found to contribute towards gender inequality This inequality is in turn related to negative health consequences, violence against women, children, and other men, as well as sexual risk. Within this context it becomes important to explore how problematic constructions of gender are being (re)produced and how these constructions are being challenged. Conclusions: These findings have important implications for promoting gender equality and for disrupting violence and sexual risk as gendered health issues

Methods

Results

Conclusion