A bold new programme planned in Southern Africa is that of transformative masculinity aimed to address the corresponding problem of ‘subjugated masculinity’. Under this, young men are socialised to indignify others to gain significance and social relevance. Rape, crime and banditism are obvious outcomes. YMCAs in Madagascar, Malawi, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe are set to tackle the root causes of these symptoms by re-ordering youth masculinity. Our intention is to re-define, re-order and re-orient youth masculinity. With this re-orientation, we expect young people to treat women with dignity and sensitivity.
In Africa, the male gender is socially constructed to be hegemonic(1) - if it is not dominant, it is not male. As a result, even male weakness is understood to be superior to femaleness. The female has to be caricatured for the male to ‘happen’. And this is why in Southern Africa, rape is seen as a way of asserting male hegemony. Similarly, the young man is socialised to believe that having multiple sex partners is a symbol of ‘hegemonic power’. To establish hegemony in some places, a young man has to kill as a sign of masculinity.
This programme aims to:
• re-orient youth masculinity from a hegemonic to a transformative state, where maleness will not be used for dominance or be defined by what it dominates. Maleness will be for the transformation of society into a just and egalitarian place;
• transform male identity and roles by engaging the structures that disempower men. Working towards the restoration of male dignity beyond the need to dominate, we will use inter and intra generational/cross cultural dialogue; peer-to-peer mentoring; continuous theological reflections; and change catalysts acting as role models to the younger men; and
• establish a power understanding that produces mutually enhancing relationships between men and women. In transforming norms and systems that perpetuate hegemonic masculinity, we expect to promote mutual dependence between men and women. But more fundamentally, to do so by attacking male notion of social power. We will use different tools of engagement including dialogue, advocacy and ground-working.
The transformative masculinity programme is currently in design stage.
1. Hegemonic masculinity is the idea that a cultural ideal of male behaviour exists which men are strongly encouraged to aim and which is calculated to guarantee the dominant position of men and subordination of women.
