The changing face of South African masculinity

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As traditional patriarchal norms are challenged, South African authors are exploring what manhood means today. Through fiction, memoirs, and anthologies,…

For centuries, manhood has been defined by skewed patriarchal norms rooted in cultural, religious, political and social conditioning. While these traditional norms are being challenged, boys and men are grappling with the question: What makes a man in the 21st century?

How does one become a present father, good husband and emotionally regulated leader in society? What examples of positive masculinity can serve as references for accountability, vulnerability, love and empathy?

The page for some can be a space to voice these vulnerabilities often hidden and discouraged. These stories — fictional and factual — give broad scope to the wounds and hopes men carry when making decisions in their homes, workplace and communities. These voices shed light on how men show up — flawed, scared but determined to contribute positively to society.

In addition to growing research, roundtable debates and even commemorative months focused on men issues, these recent South African titles are a necessary contribution to the topic of manhood.

The question, however, on most people’s lips is why society should care about men’s feelings when most oppression is felt by women at the hands of men empowered by patriarchal privilege. In the recent book, Man-hood: Confessions from the Heart, editor Sue Nyathi states: “To acknowledge these realities is not to diminish the historical imbalances created by patriarchy and the struggles women continue to face.”

All 21 men in this collection wear their souls on their sleeves, where guilt, shame and anxiety dissolve like tears on a cloth. The book encourages readers — men and women — to listen with a compassionate heart and ear.

It offers stories of men’s vulnerability dictated by cultural norms, such as in Katsuya Watanabe’s Snow and Silence and Phethelo Fakude’s Moving Mountain; stories of a love they yearn, such as in Kojo Baffoe’s Motherless; stories of regrets and accountability, like Bongani Luthuli in Post-mortem and Themba Tom Ntuli’s Trying Husband.

Co…

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