Staying a ‘Real Man’: Sexual Performance Concerns and Alternative Masculinities Among Young Men in Urban Tanzania

ABSTRACT

Despite anthropology’s interest in masculinity and sexuality, little emphasis has been put on the alternative masculinities of young men experiencing sexual performance concerns. This paper explored different forms of enacting alternative ways of masculinities and how the concepts of ‘field’ and ‘failing bodies’ account for simultaneous enactment of masculinities, depending on the situation in which young men find themselves. Drawing on findings from my ethnographic research among young men in Mwanza city, I argue that when young men’s intentions of performing masculinities, which are centred on sexual aspects, are disrupted by (perceived) changes in their sexual performances, then these young men are prompted to take an ‘alternative outlook’ and experience ‘new’ feelings, thoughts and enactments of being a ‘real man’ in relation to their partners. For instance, while some young men in urban Mwanza developed more intimate relationship with their partners by becoming very close, humble, polite and obedient, others simultaneously enacted multiple and potentially contradictory forms of masculinities such as becoming very aggressive to their sexual partners, increasing their intimacy with their sexual partners, emotional expression, love and care. In summary, my findings indicate that alternative forms of masculinities are not fixed but fluid, dynamic, ambivalent, and they differ depending on the context in which young men find themselves. This fact draws our attention to the importance of further exploring how young men enact masculinities and have sexual intercourse despite virility concerns.

KEYWORDS:

• sexual performance concerns
• virility
• masculinity
• failing bodies
• urban Tanzania

Acknowledgements

I thank the African Studies journal for hosting me during the annual African Studies writing workshop in Johannesburg in January 2020.

Disclosure statement

No conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Simon Mutebi

Simon Mutebi is a lecturer in the department of sociology and anthropology at the University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. He is a postdoctoral fellow at the African Humanities Program of the American Council of Learned Societies sponsored by the Carnegie Corporation of New York. His research interests include young men’s experiences of diversity and women’s perspectives of virility.