SOUTH AFRICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL WORK ON BOYS, MEN AND MASCULINITIES: TWO DECADES OF MASCULINITY RESEARCH POST FIRST DEMOCRATIC ELECTIONS (1994 – 2011)

Abstract

The research on masculinities in South Africa has grown rapidly over the last two decades. This paper is an attempt to review of theory and research on masculinities published in South Africa and unpacks the key foci of South African Psychology on masculinities and to analyse the dominant discourses inherent in these work. This paper approaches South African psychology, through the vehicle of the two key journals, the South African Journal of Psychology (SAJP) and Psychology in Society (PINS) published from 1994 to 2011. Our analysis suggests two clear streams of work looking at boys, men and masculinities in South African Psychology. Firstly, there are those that fall into the traditional paradigm of reproducing notions of an essentialised binarism of gender. Secondly, there is the work that focuses on performances of masculinities which draws primarily on current interdisciplinary research generated internationally and locally within the framework of critical men’s studies.