Thriving in the Shadows: Black Men’s Habitus in the Academy

Abstract

Notwithstanding the recent turn towards research about Black academics in South Africa, the experiences of Black men academics have largely remained out of view. The numerical data suggest that they are better represented and hold a higher proportion of doctorates and seniority when compared to Black women academics. Against this background, this paper sought to understand the experiential accounts of Black men academics in order to apprehend their career journeys with the view towards illuminating their relative advantage over Black women. By conducting a discourse analysis of interviews with 15 Black men academics across three universities, the paper elucidated two significant findings. Despite a history of racialised exclusion of Black men and Black women, relative to reports of discrimination against Black women, Black men academics reported relatively smooth career progression. Secondly, the study found that Black men academics tend to engage in emotionally distant care work with students. The findings suggest that despite the race penalty, the patriarchal habitus of the South African university is an important protective attribute that enables Black men to better navigate their careers relative to Black women. Moreover, the masculine orientation to gendered orders of care work means that Black men are insulated from the emotional struggles of students. This implies that in addition to racially conscious support for Black academics, Black women require greater gender-aware backing and an interrogation of the academic field and habituation demands that result in the unfair distribution of affective care work.