Heterosexual relationships among young black men in the construction of masculinity at a South African university

ABSTRACT

Drawing on interviews conducted with young men residing in a hostel in a tertiary institution in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, in 2016, this article explores young black men’s construction of masculine sexuality, their approaches to romantic relationships, and responsibility within them. Through the use of semi-structured interviews conducted with young black men, the study investigated the relationship between the social construction of masculinities and the way in which these young men understood, talked about, and explained their views and actions regarding romance and sexuality. The study focuses on the voices of acceptance and resistance to traditional, patriarchal versions of manhood and the variations in men’s discourses and ways of being. It highlights through these voices that heterosexual masculinities are not inherently reckless, impassive, and uncaring, but are situationally and contextually constructed. The findings reveal that while the young men inhabited subject positions offered by traditional discourses of heterosexual masculinity, at the same time they also contested these dominant discourses in the complex and multifarious processes through which these young men constituted their identity.

KEYWORDS:

• Romance
• heterosexuality
• masculinities
• resistance
• South Africa

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Vijay Hamlall

Vijay Hamlall is an associate researcher at the International Centre of Non-Violence in the Durban University of Technology. His interest is primarily in the area of male identity, masculinities, sexuality, and violence and he has a number of publications in these areas.