Navigating Masculinity

Abstract

Abstract To understand how eight- to nine-year-old South African schoolboys construct hegemonic masculinity, this article focuses on their peer relations to emphasize the multiple ways through which masculinity is produced. We found that these schoolboys reinforced and challenged hegemonic masculinity by using violence as a means for dominance. However, we also found that boys sometimes subverted hegemonic masculinity. We argue here that violence is not an inevitable outcome of masculinity, as it depends on the nature of peer relations—how boys get on with other boys and girls—as well as on evolving social and policy norms. The ability to subvert masculinity, however, is not separate from hegemonic ideals that see the feminine and female as subordinate. We conclude that masculinity is context-dependent and contradictory, and that addressing masculine norms in early childhood is therefore crucial for fostering nonviolent gender relations.