Abstract
In this paper, we discuss the multi-layered representations of masculinities as
they appear in the film Inxeba. Reading these multi-layered representations
against a backdrop of the initiation practice of ulwaluko highlights the significance
of heteronormativity in defining and engaging critical African Black masculinities
in South Africa today. This is further compounded through the intersecting
nuances of race and class configurations that matter for how contemporary
Black masculinities are constructed. We argue that Inxeba’s successes and
failures of representation bring to the fore intricate debates and ethical dilemmas
of representation in the arts and social sciences more generally. In addition, if
Inxeba fails in its (mis)representation of ulwaluko as less than a complex, nuanced
and rich cultural practice, it is arguably successful in its exploration of the deeply
entrenched heteronormative socio-material and psychical space of this practice.