Changes in political, social, and economic structures in South Africa during the transition from apartheid to democratic governance in 1994 have put men and masculinity/ies under public and scholarly scrutiny. Attention has generally focused on the links between masculinity and violence, particularly among black men from low-income backgrounds, in attempts to understand the widespread levels of sexual violence throughout the country. Together, but in tension with the focus on men and violence, has been a literature that documents gender change in South Africa. This literature argues, for example, that men are embracing fatherhood and becoming more engaged in childcare. Nevertheless, such scholarship is overshadowed by a focus on men and violence. In this article, I reflect on the lives of a group of men living in contemporary Alexandra township, Johannesburg, South Africa, who are exploring what it means to be a man and the issues and challenges they face in their attempts to transition their masculine identities.
CITATION STYLE
Pyke, A. (2022). “You Mix Up the Thinking, and Then You Look at the Journey”: Pausing to Reflect on Masculinities in a South African Township. Men and Masculinities, 25(2), 213–231. https://doi.org/10.1177/1097184X20925872
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