The danger of a single feminist narrative: African-centred decolonial feminism for Black men

abstract

As scholars, we are trained and disciplined to build theory through telling particular stories of the people we research. Although these stories are often packaged as ‘science’, ‘research’ and ‘knowledge’, we ought to recognise that these stories are rooted within broader dynamics of power. Drawing on the work of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and other critical scholars, we seek to explore the dangers of a singular narrative, present in both public and academic feminist discourse, about Black men. In relation to feminist stories, it is particularly important to acknowledge that many of the stories that are told are rooted in a Western hegemony, measuring gender equality according to western ways of knowing and serving to legitimise neo-colonial forms of domination (Brenner, 2003). A western-centric, universalist feminism has resulted in a rigid understanding of hegemonic masculinity that is situated within a moralistic binary of victim and villain. In line with a desire to promote critical feminist scholarship beyond this binary, in this open forum article we examine the implications of popular movements such as the ##TheTotalShutdown and #MenAreTrash for boys, men and masculinities. As a conclusion we offer an invitation for further engagement around the possibilities of advancing a feminism that is committed to the promoting of positive masculinities rather than simply the surfacing of toxic masculinities.

keywords:

• African-centred feminism
• masculinities
• single narratives
• feminist research

ORCID

Refiloe Makama http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3512-2951

Rebecca Helman http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7730-0800

Neziswa Titi http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0576-5865

Sarah Day http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2165-3580

Notes

1 ‘Women are patriarchal – and this needs to end’, Psychological Association of South Africa, available at: https://thoughtleader.co.za/psyssa/2018/03/05/women-are-patriarchal-and-this-needs-to-end/ (accessed 2 May 2019).

2 A movement mobilising women, intersectional and gender non-conforming individuals against femicide, rape and gender-based violence at large in Southern Africa (Mail & Guardian, ‘#THETOTALSHUTDOWN: Memorandum of demands’, 2 August 2018.

3 ‘Kabomo on the stigmas attached to a black man in SA’, Times Live, 29 January 2019, available at: https://www.timeslive.co.za/tshisa-live/tshisa-live/2019-01-29-watch–kabomo-on-the-stigmas-attached-to-a-black-man-in-sa/ (accessed 4 June 2019).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Refiloe Makama

REFILOE MAKAMA is a researcher at the University of South Africa’s (UNISA) Institute for Social and Health Sciences and the South African Medical Research Council-UNISA’s Violence, Injury and Peace Research Unit. Her interests are in masculinities and African feminism, African psychology and narrative methods. Her PhD explores the constructions, negotiations and enactments of gender and power within the customary practice of Lobolo. Email: [email protected]

Rebecca Helman

REBECCA HELMAN is a researcher at the University of South Africa’s (UNISA) Institute for Social and Health Sciences and the South African Medical Research Council-UNISA’s Violence, Injury and Peace Research Unit. Her research interests include gender, violence and sexualities within post-colonial contexts. Rebecca is also a PhD Candidate at UNISA. Her PhD, entitled post-rape subjectivities, explores the ways in which those who have ‘survived’ sexual violence are able to make sense of their experiences in a context where dominant discourses construct survivors of sexual assault in destructive and unequal ways. Email: [email protected]

Neziswa Titi

NEZISWA TITI is a Psychology scholar at the South African Medical Research Council and the University of South Africa where she is a Doctoral Candidate. Titi’s work is interested in African-centred research that is informed by decolonial thought and decolonial theories. Her primary interest is in child-centric research and trauma. A driver for multi-modal, contextual decolonising research methodologies, Neziswa’s work finds expression through her work in the Trans-disciplinary Psychologies Programme. She is also part of the iBali network which is comprised of a collective of scholars, activists and participatory action and research practitioners working across Africa on issues of exclusion. Email: [email protected]

Sarah Day

SARAH DAY is a researcher at the University of South Africa’s (UNISA) Institute for Social and Health Sciences and the South African Medical Research Council-UNISA’s Violence, Injury and Peace Research Unit. She is interested in the intersections of direct, structural and epistemic violence with race, class, gender and sexuality and ability. She is also writing on protests, everyday resistance and peacebuilding. Email: [email protected]