Moving beyond stereotypes to understand masculinity in Africa
Men in Africa are often depicted in stereotypes. “Some stereotypes are similar to those about Western men,” explains Becoming Men (Performing responsible masculinities in contemporary urban Africa) principal investigator Eileen Moyer, associate professor of anthropology at the University of Amsterdam. “They are portrayed as being less emotional, less engaged in family care work, and more invested in the provider role.” Moyer argues that such stereotypes are often amplified when describing African men. “The unspoken presumption is that we have solved inequality in the West,” she adds. “Western experts then attempt to teach African people about gender equality, with little attempt to understand existing norms and practices. There is the presumption that African gender norms and sexual practices are static, conservative and ‘backward’.”
Local contexts, local researchers
The 5-year European Research Council (ERC) Becoming Men project, which was launched in September 2015, was driven in part by Moyer’s frustration at this situation. The research sought to provide a fresh perspective on what equality looks like, how it should be achieved, and how it should be measured. The work examined various facets of masculinity in cities in Kenya, South Africa and Tanzania, in collaboration with African researchers, activists and policymakers. “We began by looking at where these assumptions about gender and masculinity come from,” says Moyer. “We discovered that assumptions about gendered violence, for example, were often based on limited research; a few interviews, which were fed to the press by media-savvy development organisations.” The Becoming Men project sought to move beyond these preconceptions. The acceptance of gay men in public spaces for example was found to vary greatly across all three countries. Tanzania, a country that has been historically tolerant, has experienced a crackdown on gay men in recent years. This has suddenly placed pressure on them to hide their sexuality. Research found that while the idea of gay male sexuality is often co-created in international spaces, lived experiences differ greatly on the ground. “What really came across was the importance of what happens at the national level,” notes Moyer. “This is often missed by academics.” Another Becoming Men initiative investigated the surprising demand for medical male circumcision in Kenya, where it is widely promoted for HIV prevention. “When we looked a bit deeper, what we found was interesting,” she says. “In Nairobi, street kids, who are normally bypassed by circumcision programmes, were showing up at the national referral hospital claiming their right as Kenyans to be circumcised. This had little to do with HIV prevention, but was because in their gang culture, circumcision was considered an important step to becoming a man.” The appearance of unruly and disruptive street kids initially concerned clinic staff. Moyer was impressed however at how they adapted protocols, doing follow-up visits in the streets and giving them clean underwear to prevent infections.
Important research legacies
A key lesson from the Becoming Men project, explains Moyer, is that there is no one model for understanding gender and masculinity. Academics should resist the temptation to apply their own values in research contexts. A lesson that really struck home was that the state can play a critical role in shaping gender and sexuality, as the pushback against LGBT rights in Tanzania shows. “Countries can be reluctant to change if they feel that other countries are telling them what to do,” she adds. Becoming Men leaves behind another important legacy. The project worked in partnership with researchers from the target countries, several of whom have completed doctorates and are now teaching and running their own research and intervention projects. “They are training a new cohort of African academics to think critically about gender and are better positioned to challenge donor presumptions,” she concludes. “I think this is perhaps the most important result.”
Keywords
Becoming Men, African, masculinity, sexuality, sexual, gender, HIV, Tanzania, South Africa, Kenya
