Abstract
M.A. (Sociology)
This study explores men’s own construction of masculinity and sexual health as accessed through interviewing males living in Hillbrow, Johannesburg. This is an important question as South Africa has one of the highest HIV rates in the world, with over 7 million people living with HIV in 2016 (StatsSA 2016). The majority of health services is modelled towards women’s needs, which often results in men being uncomfortable to access health services, even though they are at high risk of acquiring illnesses such as HIV/Aids because heterosexual relationships still remain the key mode of HIV transmission, resulting from low condom use and multiple sexual partners (Jewkes & Morrel 2010). Men have furthermore been placed at the centre of the spread of the epidemic because of their perceived engagement in risky sexual behaviour (Mfecane 2008). However, this can largely be attributed to assumed rather than research-based perceptions on masculinity.
A qualitative approach was used to explore adult men’s own constructions of masculinity and sexual health. A total of 12 men living in Hillbrow, Johannesburg, aged 19 to 36, were engaged in in-depth interviews. This research method was specifically useful for collecting information that reveals the values, perspectives, experiences and world views of the participants.
The results confirm the theoretical argument by Connell and others (1982, 1985) that masculinity is not a blanket and static identity shared by all men and used to inform their identity and practices. Instead, men are using and rejecting a variety of influences including context, culture, relationships and life stage, to constantly shape their masculine self. Therefore, masculinities are multiple and in constant negotiation; they change and guide sexual health practices differently at different times in men’s lives. This study shows that migration to economic-hub cities such as Johannesburg calls for men to reflect on and renegotiate their masculine identity. The participants discussed the hegemonic masculinity from their home community and Hillbrow respectively, yet they highlighted the nuanced ways they experience and learn masculine roles in the context of a variety of intersecting identities. They provided a picture of multiple meanings of masculinities, with many levels including culture, family and the individual.
In their home community, masculinity was characterised by having and caring for a family, being a role model, supporting the community and being respected; while in Hillbrow it was characterised by hustling, neglecting family responsibilities, living a flashy lifestyle and engaging in criminal activities. Even though participants reflected both community ideologies of masculinity, they used a variety of modes to learn masculinity, including family members, friends, institutions and initiation school. Even through these teachings men still endorsed personal views of masculinity, stating that being a man is not a barcode they all share. This confirms the idea (Connell & Messerschmidt 2005) that a unified masculinity is flawed, as it imposes a false unity on a fluid and contradictory reality. Men in this study show that even if they may draw on societal meanings of masculinity they are still constantly learning, negotiating, rejecting and reconstructing their own masculine identity based on their personal context and agency.
Future research should consider how multiple forces inform masculine identities and how men negotiate which identities contribute to their construction of masculinity and have an impact on their risk-taking behaviour. With regard to possible interventions, the positive sexual health practices that males do engage in, such as accessing healthcare services and testing for HIV, need to be encouraged and supported. Furthermore, programmes targeting men should design projects that are sensitive to the fluid and dynamic nature of masculinities, reject harmful masculine identities that encourage risky sexual behaviour, and build on men’s use of healthcare facilities to encourage positive health outcomes for them and their families.