Teaching Masculinities in a South African Classroom

Lindsay Clowes

doi:10.14426/cristal.v3i2.49

Abstract

In terms of gender equity the first two decades of South African democracy have seen substantial change – at least where legislation is concerned. In terms of daily lived realities however, such change seems to have had little or no impact. South African women continue to take primary responsibility for reproductive work and continue to dominate the ranks of the poor. Levels of gender based violence remain amongst the highest in the world. The last decade or so has seen scholars offer a range of overlapping and intersecting explanations for the slow pace of change, with some pointing to the lack of significant political commitment and the roles of ‘custom’ and ‘tradition’. Others have suggested that change requires working more directly with boys and men. Despite these observations – and concomitant interventions - movement towards gender equity remains slow. In this paper I hope to contribute to the debate around resistance to change by drawing on student engagement with, and understandings of, an introduction to gender studies course between 2013 and 2014 at the University of the Western Cape. In the paper I reflect on ways in which teaching gender through a focus on men and masculinities offers insights into resistance to gender equity as well as possibilities for challenging such resistance.

Highlights

IntroductionEmploying a feminist qualitative approach to reflect on the views, opinions and insights articulated by a number of these students in classroom-based surveys and focus groups, the discussion in this paper suggests that discourses around gender and gender equity that are characterised by a focus on women and change in South African women’s lives are interpreted by both male and female students in ways that essentialise masculinity
With respect to legislative change around gender equality much has been achieved in the first two decades of democracy in South Africa
Employing a feminist qualitative approach to reflect on the views, opinions and insights articulated by a number of these students in classroom-based surveys and focus groups, the discussion in this paper suggests that discourses around gender and gender equity that are characterised by a focus on women and change in South African women’s lives are interpreted by both male and female students in ways that essentialise masculinity

Summary

Introduction

Employing a feminist qualitative approach to reflect on the views, opinions and insights articulated by a number of these students in classroom-based surveys and focus groups, the discussion in this paper suggests that discourses around gender and gender equity that are characterised by a focus on women and change in South African women’s lives are interpreted by both male and female students in ways that essentialise masculinity. For these students gender equity is understood as requiring men to give up privileges they have held since time immemorial. Both men and women’s lives have changed 4 students (2014 answers) Both, if either’s lives have changed the other is naturally affected

Findings

Women have made phenomenal progress with regards to freedom from oppression

Conclusion