An intersectional approach to hegemonic masculinity and internal hegemony: a thematic analysis in South African men

ABSTRACT

Using an intersectional framework, our study investigated social categories that intersect with hegemonic masculinities and internal hegemony. A South African context was chosen due to its recent Apartheid history of assigning racial hierarchical privileges between men, and the subsequent encouragement to amalgamate that has brought differences in masculinities to the surface. Fifteen newly enrolled participants in a ‘community of practice’ were interviewed before and after a specific programme. Using thematic analysis, our study concludes that cultural identity is profound in defining hegemonic masculine identity for South African men, while race continues to play a decisive role for internal hegemony. Additionally, social categories of sexuality, marital status, and the number of wives and children signal external hegemony to other men, and these have an amplified effect on internal hegemony. Despite continued racial hierarchy, our research participants showed their admiration of aspects of indigenous African cultures and their approach to manhood including rites of passage, the role of elders, and male companionship. We conclude that race and cultural awareness of other masculinities exacerbate internal hegemony.

KEYWORDS:

• Hegemonic masculinities
• internal hegemony
• intersectionality
• South Africa

Availability of data and material

Data can be made available if required.

Code availability

data coded by the researcher using a Computer Assisted Qualitative Data Analysis Software (CAQDAS) tool called Atlas.ti in order to categorize and structure the data thematically which can be made available on request.

Data availability statement

Data associated with a paper can be made available on request.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institution (Commerce Faculty Ethics in Research Committee, REC 2018/006/047) and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Plagiarism declaration

Some parts of the manuscript overlapped with the MBA thesis of Oliver Vergo.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Babar Dharani

Dr. Babar Dharani is a Senior Lecturer in the Allan Gray Centre for Values-Based Leadership at the Graduate School of Business of the University of Cape Town (South Africa). He is a Business Finance Professional and a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountancy in England and Wales. He has a deep interest in happiness and well-being in organizations, and regards diversity and inclusion as one of the fundamental pillars for it. The author can be reached at [email protected]

ORCID ID: 0000-0002-3801-3160

Oliver Vergo

Oliver Vergo is an experienced business consultant and design thinking coach with a demonstrated history of working with entrepreneurs and start-up businesses. He is skilled in design thinking, coaching, training and facilitation of events and workshops. He is a strong business management professionalism with an MBA cum laude from the University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business (South Africa). The author can be reached at [email protected]

Kurt April

Prof. Kurt April is the Endowed Allan Gray Chair and Director of the Allan Gray Centre for Values-Based Leadership at the Graduate School of Business of the University of Cape Town (South Africa), Faculty Member of DukeCE (Duke University, USA), and Adjunct Faculty of Said Business School, University of Oxford (UK). He also sits on the Editorial Boards of a number of international academic journals. Outside of academia, he plays executive roles in businesses he part-owns. The author can be reached at [email protected]