A Colourful Hierarchy:
Masculinity and Fatherhood in South Africa
Frederika Cronje
Abstract
As part of the positive construction of post-apartheid South Africa, the country
claimed the identifier ‘Rainbow Nation’ in celebration of unity in diversity.
Historically defined as a ‘symbolic and literal dumping ground for the hybrid
peoples, who did not quite “fit into” other pure apartheid classifications’, those
banded together in the racial category of ‘Coloured’ have long been caught
between the divide of ‘white’ and ‘black’ in modern South Africa. However, the
absence of the Coloured population from the literature – academic and popular
alike – has only recently become conspicuous. It is within the context of this
Rainbow Nation that questions regarding identity, and especially cultural identity,
have been of particular interest. Recent global trends have seen a shift in focus
towards the father’s place in the home, as well as towards the so-called ‘crisis of
masculinity’ has stimulated enquiries into the construction of ‘masculinity’ and
‘fatherhood’, two closely related and intertwined terms. Scholarship on the
construction of masculinity in South Africa has become integrated with questions
regarding violence and abuse, particularly in low-income urban and rural areas in
the country. In this paper, the social constructionist approach is combined with R.
W. Connell’s theory of ‘hegemonic masculinity’ creating a theoretical lens through
which to critically consider what is known regarding the construction of
masculinity and fatherhood for the target population. More specifically, this paper
addresses the ideals which inform the conception of the ‘ideal man’ and the notion
of the ‘new man’ and the ‘new father’, while considering the place of violence in
the construction of masculinity and fatherhood for semi-rural, low-income,
coloured communities in South Africa.
Key Words: Masculinity, fatherhood, hegemonic masculinity, Coloured identity,
South Africa
*****
1. Introduction
The past four decades have seen an increase in focus on the role of fathers
and their impact upon the lives of their children. Particularly, a gap was identified
in the fatherhood literature regarding relationships with their adolescent daughters.
A meta-analysis of the trends in the fatherhood literature indicated a close relation
between the construct of ‘masculinity’ and ‘fatherhood’. This paper offers a brief
2
A Colourful Hierarchy: Masculinity and Fatherhood in South Africa
__________________________________________________________________
description of the preliminary findings regarding the construction of ‘masculinity’
and ‘fatherhood’ in South Africa.
The endeavours of South African social researchers tend to acknowledge
racial distinctions between populations, believing that these distinctions are a
necessary analytical part of analyses that gauge the long-term effects of
apartheid.1As such, this paper also includes this distinction and focuses specifically
on the Coloured population as this group of people has a very specific place and
history within the South African context. Historically defined as members of a
particular racial group, Coloureds were located very specifically, if at times
arbitrarily, between the major racial categories of black and white in the South
African apartheid social order. The category originated as a ‘symbolic and literal
dumping ground for the hybrid peoples, who did not quite “fit into” other pure
apartheid classifications’.2 They are the largest population group in the Western
Cape, where they make up the majority of the agricultural work force. The Western
Cape was legally defined as a coloured labour preference policy area from the
1950s, a step towards the Group Area Act of 1960 which underpinned the ‘separate
development’ ideology of apartheid. Coloured women were cast in the favourable
position of being the preferential labour group within the area until late in the
1990s, resulting in coloured women possessing substantial economic power within
their communities.3 Coloured communities are at present still strongly associated
with low-income communities, indicating poor living conditions, coupled with
other adverse social conditions. Traditional Western gender roles and relations of
male dominance and female subservience as well as the gender ‘appropriate’
division of labour still prevail.4
2. Theoretical Framework
As it so often does, the proposed alternative starts with a critique of
previous theories of Gender.5 R. W. Connell critiqued such theories for their
inadequate account of men’s continued dominance in society.6 The most salient
point within this critique is that previous theories, this includes ‘sex role’ theories,
which were grounded in the assumption that all differences between the sexes are
biological and dismiss the arena of the ‘social’ as less relevant and somehow less
real. It was at this point that social constructionism, which is ‘concerned with how
people come to understand the world around them and with how they come to
define “reality”’7 was introduced as an alternative mode of thinking. Social
Constructionism also postulates that ‘people actively construct their perceptions
and use culture as a guide to do so’.8 Essentially, reality is constructed via three
‘moments’: 1) ‘externalization’, which refers to the way that different cultures,
societies and social groups make sense of, and ‘make’, their social worlds, 2)
‘objectification’ which refers to how those constructs and social institutions are
then perceived as being a natural given, and 3) ‘internalization’ in which the
objectified social world becomes known and understood through the processes of
A Colourful Hierarchy: Masculinity and Fatherhood in South Africa
3
__________________________________________________________________
socialization and enculturation.9 Social constructionist thinking proposes that ideas
around fatherhood, and what is necessary to be considered a ‘good father’, are fluid
concepts informed by the media surrounding the individual, as well as their culture,
beliefs and traditions, and religion among other things. The theory also posits that
identity is the result of the daily negotiation between cultural expectations and the
lived experience of the individual, as well as through discursive acts with other
individuals and the use of language in general.10
Based on this same assumption but arguing for a moderate approach
instead, Connell argues that our conception of the ‘natural’ and what we assume to
be ‘natural differences’ are actually cultural constructs which inform our particular
conceptualization of gender.11 The reasoning here is that if gender is solely based
in biological difference, it would not have been possible for the new category – the
transsexual – to be ‘made’, which implies external or cultural influence. On the
other hand, if gender is solely socially constructed, then gender inequality and
discrimination would not be as clearly inscribed into our bodies and the way we
think about them – the concepts would be more fluid. The proposed solution to this
conundrum is that it is neither purely nature, nor nurture, but rather a confluence of
the two. Our very focus on an ‘either/or solution’ has limited our ability to
comprehend the gender order we impose on ourselves. It is for this reason that this
paper augments social constructionist thinking with the concept of hegemonic
masculinity.
Connell proposes that Gender is a system, a ‘practical accomplishment’ or
a ‘project’ that must be worked at on a daily basis, and is accomplished in every
moment by our every action and inaction.12 Masculinity is like a message passed
back and forth from person to person. The ‘message’ is received, transformed, and
passed on to the next. This is a continuing historical process, and changes occur
over time. It is this transformative quality that allows changes and adaptation to
occur.
What must be kept in mind is that the social practices that construct
gender relations neither express nor negate natural patterns of difference. Instead, it
is a practical transformation, the materials of which is the biological as well as the
social products of previous practices. This implies that being masculine in a
particular way, by engaging in particular practices and thereby constructing a
particular form of masculinity, affects the conditions in which that particular form
of masculinity arose. ‘Affecting’ indicates that the conditions are reproduced,
intensified, or subverted by the particular masculine form practiced in that given
situation.13 It becomes clear that no masculinity is constituted in isolation, but
rather in relation to other masculinities and femininities within particular situations
and contexts.
Masculinity operates on a personal practices level as well as on an
institutional level. Masculinity is also closely related to sexuality.14 Indeed,
sexuality, though very personal, is an essential dimension of the social production
4
A Colourful Hierarchy: Masculinity and Fatherhood in South Africa
__________________________________________________________________
of gender and by extension masculinity: there is no logical gap between
organizational life and sexuality, and therefore between the public and the
personal.15
In 2002, Connell revised the model he proposed in Gender and Power,
describing four dimensions of power which are the four main structures in the
modern system of gender relations.16 This model identifies the structures which
allow the production and reproduction of the gender order to take place within such
sites of organization as the state, the workplace or labour market, and the family.17
The first of these dimensions is ‘power relations’, which consist of both organized,
institutional power, as well as diffuse, discursive power. Both of these are
necessary for the gender order to function, where function implies its successful
and continued production and reproduction. The second dimension of ‘production
relations’ as contained within the gender order is related to labour division and
how the ‘separate spheres’ ideology allows for a further conception of
differentiation based upon gender. This system naturalizes structural differences
about the ‘nature’ of men and women, whereby the gender order becomes more
entrenched in the daily lives of people. The third dimension is that of ‘emotional
relations’, which impact upon power and production relations via the gender based
division of labour. The emotional dimension consists of but is not limited to
emotional attachments, which are often ambivalent, is tied to sexuality.
Contemporary Western society organizes sexuality around gender, creating a selfreflexive loop whereby masculinity, gender and sexuality all impact upon the other
and therefore also themselves. The last dimension is that of ‘symbolic relations’,
and concerns itself with how people and actions are assigned to a gender category,
as well as the rules according to which this process takes place. For the most part,
these rules are taken for granted in daily life, but its ‘unnaturalness’ is indicated by
the fact that there are those who study these rules and subvert them in an effort to
appear ‘that which it should not be’: the cross-dresser and the transsexual, hoping
to ‘pass’ the inspection of society.18
Even though Connell distinguishes between four dimensions, they do not
operate separately from one another; rather there is constant intermingling and
interaction between them.19 Essentially, the value of distinguishing between these
dimensions is to provide an analytical tool that illuminates a more complex reality
of gender.20
Connell’s model outlines the working of the gender order in general, how
the patterns are established and maintained. The concept of hegemonic masculinity
was put forth by Connell to account for the everyday observable actions that
together make up the gender order.21 In essence, it states that there is a hegemonic
masculinity, which is constructed in relation to other subordinated masculinities
and femininities. The hegemonic form of masculinity maintains this position by
adapting and transforming in order to adjust to new situations and contexts and
reasserting its dominance by incorporating the challenges levelled against it. It
A Colourful Hierarchy: Masculinity and Fatherhood in South Africa
5
__________________________________________________________________
does not denote a simplistic, straightforward hierarchy of categories. It is not
simply a case of men ‘choosing’ between rejection or conformation to particular
masculine roles. It is proposed that ‘certain “available” discourses and structures
constrain both the issues which are seen as important and the ways in which men
position themselves in relation to those specific issues’.22 As such, different forms
of masculinity claim the hegemonic position in different contexts. Shifts may occur
within the hierarchy. The hegemonic position claimed by different forms of
masculinity, continuously contested by the subordinated forms. Unfortunately, this
does not imply that the contestation by the subordinate groups necessarily
undermine the existing power relations.23 To illustrate the point, consider the
emergence of the Gay Liberation and Feminist movements: despite contestation the
hegemonic form of masculinity managed to adapt and readjust in such a fashion as
to allow its continued dominance.
The models that occupy the hegemonic position provide men with a set of
protocols which allow them access to the hegemonic subject position. These
‘protocols’ are what we rely on in order to relate to other people. They are the
solution to the problem of gendered relations. This includes protocols for relations
with women as well as with other men. They also articulate loosely what
constitutes the practicalities of everyday living in local circumstances.24 There is
nothing conceptually universalizing contained within the idea of hegemonic
masculinity: it is intended as a means of grasping the dynamic within the social
process, and not as a catchall or principal cause for behaviour.25
3. Application and Manifestation
The negotiation of South African masculinity is complicated by the
interplay between race, class and gender. Consider the hypothetical scenario of a
group of coloured boys from a low-income background walking past a single white
girl from a high-income background. In general, the male gender has the upper
hand in the hierarchy of power, but this is confused by the race and compounded
by the class difference of the girl which was previously considered to be superior.
Additionally, each race can be said to have its own hegemonic masculinity set
within the broader scheme of things. South Africa, therefore, has hierarchies within
hierarchies and this state of affairs makes the daily negotiation of the masculine
identity of especially the ‘in-between’ coloured population group so unique.26
It must first be established that there is a marked difference between the
hegemonic masculinity and the ‘ideal man’ within any particular society. The
‘ideal man’ refers to a specific masculinity, whereas the hegemonic masculinity
refers to the position of a particular masculine identity in the hierarchy of power.
The ideal man, or ‘the unblushing male’, is the imagined archetype: the man all the
women want and who all the men want to be.27 For this population, the two
traditional key elements are heterosexuality and fearlessness, or risk-taking.
Indeed, a ‘real’ man has sex with women and is not a ‘sissy’.28
6
A Colourful Hierarchy: Masculinity and Fatherhood in South Africa
__________________________________________________________________
Violence provides a relatively easily accessible means of asserting and
maintaining a masculine identity. It is easily accessible, as any man (and here
biological differences play their part) may resort to the use of violence in order to
subdue and dominate other males as well as females. Violence, with particular
reference to the African or ‘non-white’ population, is conceptualized as the
outcome of an identity crisis. This crisis of identity is caused by firstly, the shift
from ‘struggle masculinity’, born of the resistance against apartheid and the impact
of this on masculinity, to the democratic state and post-struggle adaptation.
Secondly, the difficult living circumstances and the adverse effects of poverty also
contribute to a ‘crisis’ of identity.29 Men are supposedly powerful, but they lack the
means to maintain their privileged position, not to mention their families, and
every day becomes a fresh struggle to survive and maintain the masculine identity.
Contradictorily, it was also found that in an area of high crime rates and violence,
young men often resist violent, rebellious constructions of masculinity.30 In more
conservative areas, on the other hand, young men resist authoritative, ‘squeaky
clean’ constructions of masculinity and prefer the ‘naughty’ rebel ‘who breaks the
rules’ and takes risks31 - again illustrating that hegemonic is not the same as ideal.
The violent aspect of the ideal man and its use by the hegemonic
masculinity also influences what can be identified as a global trend within the
Western cultures towards ‘softer’ and more involved men, known respectively as
the ‘new man’ and the ‘new father’. The greater success in reception of the ‘new
father’, as opposed to the ‘new man’, lies in the affirmation of masculinity implied
by the former.32 Fatherhood in itself implies a successful and continuing
heterosexual relationship with the mother, in addition to the more obvious fact of
successful reproduction achieved, which are the two main characteristics of the
‘ideal man’. The ‘new man’, effeminate and therefore no longer a ‘true’ man, has a
problematic relationship with masculinity. The ‘new father’, on the other hand, can
be engrossed and fascinated by his baby without being ridiculed as effeminate.33
According to Morrell and Richter ‘not all fathers are proud to be fathers,
and unfortunately not all fathers want to participate in the lives of their children’.34
There exists a stereotype that men are not interested in children and that fathers are
‘naturally ill-suited to parenting’.35 The Group Area Act of 1960, whereby racial
segregation was further underscored by racial geographical segregation, limited the
amount of Africans permitted to remain in the better-resourced ‘white’ areas. As
this was where the work was, African men often had to leave their families in the
‘homelands’ to seek work in ‘white’ South Africa. In order to remain there, these
Africans had to obtain special permission according to the Pass Laws regarding
access to specific demarcated areas. Coloureds and Indians were allowed to remain
in the areas allocated to white South Africans, but were only allowed to reside in
separate, specifically allocated, areas.36 However, now that working men are able
to have their families living with them, men ‘are beginning to extend their
fatherhood practice more into caring and engaging in play and school-preparation
A Colourful Hierarchy: Masculinity and Fatherhood in South Africa
7
__________________________________________________________________
activities’.37 Thus, it seems that South Africa also displays indications of change in
that some men are beginning to reassess the value of fatherhood.
With the alarming rate of teenage pregnancies reported in South Africa,
Bhana and Swartz explored the degree to which teenage fathers are involved with
their children by interviewing young fathers in the urban areas of Cape Town and
KwaZulu Natal.38 In particular, the study set out to identify those factors and
features that are associated with young men’s maximum participation in parenting
their children, and those forces that hinder participation.39 The study found that
teenage fathers expressed greater interest in involvement than was predicted by
previous research.40 Themes that arose were of fear of parents, their own as well as
the mother of the child’s parents, and their response.41 The fathers also placed
emphasis on being able to provide financially and the obstacles that now stood in
the way of their educational plans and dreams.42 Many of them spoke of
responsibility, claiming that the absence and neglect they experienced with their
own fathers motivated them to be more involved with their own children, in
particular ‘of how having an absent, faithless father motivated them to be present
in their own child’s life, and to talk with, rather than shout at, their children’.43
Despite the positive indications of change, it must be kept in mind that many South
Africans still neglect their paternal responsibilities, and this may continue to be the
case for years to come.44
4. Concluding Remarks
The purpose of this paper was to set out in brief the argument for an
approach that uses the concept of hegemonic masculinity augmented by social
constructionism in the construction of the coloured masculine identity in the South
African context. In so doing, it provided a short description of the socio-political
history and context of the target population as well as a brief discussion of the
salient points of the theories employed. In terms of the application and
manifestation of the theories in question, it considered such aspects of the coloured
masculine identity as the ideal man, the place of violence within the construction of
coloured masculinity, and the global trend towards greater emotional awareness
and involved fatherhood in the form of the new man and the new father. Principle
findings include the differential effects of race, class and gender upon the
construction of the coloured masculine identity which lends it its distinctive
qualities, as well as the adverse effects of low-income and the prevalence of
violence.
Notes
1
Robert Morrell, Changing Men in Southern Africa (Pietermaritzburg: University
of Natal Press, 2001)
8
A Colourful Hierarchy: Masculinity and Fatherhood in South Africa
__________________________________________________________________
2
Field, Sean. ‘Disappointed Men: Masculine Myths and Hybrid Identities in
Windermere’, in Changing Men in Southern Africa, ed. Robert Morrell
(Pietermaritzburg: University of Natal Press, 2001), 217.
3
Salo, Elaine. ‘Social construction of masculinity on the racial and gender margins
of Cape Town’, in From Boys to Men: Social constructions of masculinity in
contemporary society, ed by Tamara Shefer, Kopano Ratele, Anna Strebel,
Nokuthula Shabalala and Rosemarie Buikman (Cape Town: UCT Press,
2007),160-180.
4
Ibid.
5
Robert, W. Connell. ‘The History of Masculinity’, in The Masculinity Studies
Reader, ed. by Rachel Adams and David Savran (Buckingham, Philadelphia: Open
University Press, 2002b), 245-261.
6
Connell, Robert W. Gender and Power: Society, the Person and Sexual Politics.
(Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1987).
7
Beal, Anne E., and Robert J. Sternberg. The Psychology of Gender, (New York:
Guildford Press, 1993), 127.
8
Ibid., 128
9
Beal, Anne E., and Robert J. Sternberg. The Psychology of Gender, (New York:
Guildford Press, 1993). Rogers, Wendy Stainton and Rex Stainton Rogers. The
Psychology of Gender and Sexuality, (Philadelphia: Open University Press 2001),
160-161.
10
Bremridge, Carey G. ‘Constructions of Male Adolescent Sexuality: An
Exploratory Study in a Coloured, Rural Community’ (MA thesis, University of
Stellenbosch, 2000).
11
Connell, Robert, W. ‘Masculinities, Change, and Conflict in Global Society:
Thinking about the future of Men’s Studies’, Journal of Men’s Studies 11(3),
(2003): 249.
12
Ibid
13
Connell, Robert W. ‘The Big Picture: Masculinities in Recent World History’.
Theory and Society 22 (1993): 597-623.
14
Ibid.
15
Ibid.
16
Connell, ‘Gender and Power’. Connell, ‘History of Masculinity’.
17
Connell, ‘Big Picture’.
18
Connell, ‘Gender and Power’. Connell, ‘History of Masculinity’.
19
Connell, ‘History of Masculinity’.
20
Ibid.
21
Connell, ‘Masculinities, Change, and Conflict’.
A Colourful Hierarchy: Masculinity and Fatherhood in South Africa
9
__________________________________________________________________
22
Willcott, Sara and Christene Griffen. ‘Men, masculinity and the challenge of
long-term unemployment’, in Understanding masculinities, ed by Mairtin Mac an
Ghail, (Buckingham, Philadelphia: Open University Press, 1996), 81.
23
Connell, ‘Big Picture’.
24
Connell, ‘Masculinities, Change, and Conflict’.
25
Ibid.
26
For additional examples see Gibson, D and Rosenkrantz Lindegaard. ‘South
African boys with plans for the future: Why a focus on dominant discourses tells us
only a part of the story’, in From Boys to Men: Social constructions of masculinity
in contemporary society. Ed. by Tamara Shefer, K. Ratele, A. Strebel, N.
Shabalala, and R. Buikman, (Cape Town: UCT Press, 2007), 128-144.
27
Shefer, Tamara, Kopano Ratele, Anna Strebel, Nokuthula Shabalala and
Rosemarie Buikman, eds. From Boys to Men: Social constructions of masculinity
in contemporary society, (Cape Town: UCT Press, 2007).
28
‘Sissy’ is a slang term for a weak and effeminate man. Ibid.
29
Ibid.
30
Ibid
31
Ibid.
32
McMahon, Anthony G. Taking care of men: Sexual politics in the mind,
(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999).
33
Ibid
34
Richter, Linda and Robert Morrell, eds. Baba: Men and Fatherhood in South
Africa, (Cape Town: HSRC Press, 2006).
35
Ibid, 4
36
Salo, ‘Social Construction and Gender Margins’.
37
Ibid, 5
38
Swartz, Sharlene and Arvin Bhana. Teenage Tata – Voices of young fathers in
South Africa, (Cape Town: HSRC Press, 2009).
39
Ibid.
40
Ibid.
41
Ibid.
42
Ibid.
43
Ibid, 93
44
Richter and Morrell, ‘Baba’. Swartz and Bhana, ‘Tata’.
Bibliography
Aldous, Joan, Gail M. Mulligan and Thoroddur Bjarnason. ‘Fathering over time:
What makes the difference?’. Journal of Marriage and Family 60(4), (1998): 809820. Viewed at http://www.jstor.org/stable/353626
10
A Colourful Hierarchy: Masculinity and Fatherhood in South Africa
__________________________________________________________________
Amato, Paul R. ‘Father-child relations, mother-child relations, and offspring
psychological well-being in early adulthood’. Journal of Marriage and Family
56(4), (1994): 1031-1042. Viewed at http://www.jstor.org/stable/353611
Amato, Paul R. and Joan G. Gilberth. ‘Nonresident fathers and children’s wellbeing: A meta-analysis’. National Council on Family Relations, 61(3), (1999):
557-573. http://www.jstor.org/stable/353560
Beal, Anne E., and Robert J. Sternberg. The Psychology of Gender. New York:
Guildford Press, 1993.
Black, Maureen M., Howard Dubowitz and Raymond H. Starr, Jr, ‘African
American fathers in low income, urban families: Development, behaviour, and
home environment of their three-year-old children’. Child Development 70(4),
(1999): 967-978. Viewed at http://www.jstor.org/stable/1132255
Brandth, Berit and Elin Kvande. ‘Masculinity and child care: the reconstruction of
fathering’. The Editorial Board of The Sociological Review (1998): 294-313.
Bremridge, Carey G. ‘Constructions of Male Adolescent Sexuality: An
Exploratory Study in a Coloured, Rural Community’. MA thesis, University of
Stellenbosch, 2000.
Bronte-Tinkew, Jacinta, Kristin A. Moore and Jennifer Carrano. ‘The father-child
relationship, parenting styles, and adolescent risk behaviours in intact families’.
Journal of family issues 27, (2006): 850-881.
Brownson, Chris and Lucia Albino Gilbert. ‘The development of the discourses
about fathers inventory: Measuring fathers’ perceptions of their exposure to
discourses’. Psychology of Men and Masculinity, 3(2), (2002): 85-96.
Bulanda, Ronald E. ‘Paternal involvement with children: The influence of gender
ideologies’. Journal of Marriage and Family 66(1), (2004): 40-45. Viewed at
http://www.jstor.org/stable/3599864
Cabrera, Natashs J., Rebecca M. Ryan, Stephanie J. Mitchell, Jacqueline D.
Shannon and Catherine S. Tamis-LeMonda. ‘Low-income, non-resident father
A Colourful Hierarchy: Masculinity and Fatherhood in South Africa
11
__________________________________________________________________
involvement with their toddlers: Variation by fathers’ race and ethnicity’. Journal
of Family Psychology, 22(3), (2008): 643-647.
Coley, Rebekah L. ‘Emerging research on low-income, unmarried, and minority
fathers’. American Psychologist, 5(9), (2001): 743-753.
Coley, Rebekah L. ‘Daughter-father relationships and adolescent psychosocial
functioning in low-income African American families’. Journal of Marriage and
Family, 65, (2003): 867-875.
Coltrane, Scott and Ross D. Parke. ‘Reinventing fatherhood: Toward an historical
understanding of continuity and change in men’s family lives’. National Center on
Fathers and Families (1998): 7-27.
Connell, Robert W. Gender and Power: Society, the Person and Sexual Politics.
Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1987.
Connell, Robert W. ‘A Very Straight Gay’. American Sociological Review 57
(1992): 735-751, 1992.
Connell, Robert W. ‘The Big Picture: Masculinities in Recent World History’.
Theory
and
Society
22
(1993):
597-623.
Retrieved
from
http://www.jstor.org/stable/657986
Connell, Robert W. Masculinities. Cambridge: Polity Press, 1995.
Connell, Robert, W. Gender. Cambridge: Polity Press, 2002a.
Connell, Robert, W. ‘The History of Masculinity’. In The Masculinity Studies
Reader, ed by Rachel Adams and David Savran, 245-261. Buckingham,
Philadelphia: Open University Press, 2002b.
Connell, Robert, W. ‘Masculinities, Change, and Conflict in Global Society:
Thinking about the future of Men’s Studies’. Journal of Men’s Studies 11(3),
(2003): 249.
Cooksey, Elizabeth C. and Patricia H. Craig. Parenting from a distance: The effects
of paternal characteristics on contact between nonresidential fathers and their
children.
Demography
35(2),
(1998):
187-200.
Viewed
at
http://www.jstor.org/stable/3004051
12
A Colourful Hierarchy: Masculinity and Fatherhood in South Africa
__________________________________________________________________
Cooper, Marianne. ‘Being the “Go-to guy”: Fatherhood, masculinity, and the
organization of work in silicon valley’. Qualitative Sociology, 23(4), (2000): 379405.
Craig, Lyn. ‘Does father care mean fathers share? A comparison of how mothers
and fathers in intact families spend time with children’. Gender and Society 20(2),
(2006): 259-281. Viewed at http://www.jstor.org/stable/27640883
Danziger, Sandra K. and Norma Radin. ‘Absent does not equal uninvolved:
Predictors of fathering in teen mother families’. Journal and Marriage and Family
52(3), (1990): 636-642. Viewed at http://www.jstor.org/stable/352930
Devlin, Patty. K. and Gloria A. Cowan. ‘Homophobia, perceived fathering, and
male intimate relationships’. Journal of Personality Assessmen, 49(5), (1985): 467473.
Donaldson, Mike. ‘What is hegemonic masculinity?’. Theory and Society 22(5),
(1993): 643-657. Viewed at http://www.jstor.org/stable/657988
Doucet, Andrea. ‘“It’s almost like I have a job, but I don’t get paid”: Fathers at
home reconfiguring work, care, and masculinity’. Fathering, 2(3), (2004): 277303.
Edley, Nigel and Margaret Wetherell. ‘Masculinity, power and identity’. In
Understanding masculinities, edited by Mairtin Mac an Ghail, 97-113.
Buckingham, Philadelphia: Open University Press, 1996.
Engle, Patrice L. and Cynthia Breaux. ‘Fathers’ involvement with children:
Perspectives from developing countries’. Society for Research in Child
Development, 12(1), (1998): 1-24.
Eggebeen, David J. and Chris Knoester. ‘Does Fatherhood Matter for Men?’.
Journal of Marriage and Family, 63(2), (2001): 381-393. Retrieved from
http://www.jstor.org/stable/3654599
Field, Sean. ‘Disappointed Men: Masculine Myths and Hybrid Identities in
Windermere’. In Changing Men in Southern Africa, edited by Robert Morrell, 211224. Pietermaritzburg: University of Natal Press, 2001.
A Colourful Hierarchy: Masculinity and Fatherhood in South Africa
13
__________________________________________________________________
Fox, Greer L. and Carol Bruce. ‘Conditional fatherhood: Identity theory and
parental investment theory as alternative sources of explanation of fathering’.
Journal of Marriage and Family 63(2), (2001): 394-403. Viewed at
http://www.jstor.org/stable/3654600
Garboden, Molly. ‘Fathers at the margins’. Community Care, October 29, 2009,
22. Viewed at www.communitycare.co.uk : 29 October 2009
Gibson, D and Rosenkrantz Lindegaard. ‘South African boys with plans for the
future: Why a focus on dominant discourses tells us only a part of the story’. In
From Boys to Men: Social constructions of masculinity in contemporary society.
Edited by Tamara Shefer, K. Ratele, A. Strebel, N. Shabalala, and R. Buikman,
128-144, Cape Town: UCT Press, 2007.
Hawkins, Allan. J. and Rob Palkovitz. ‘Beyond ticks and clicks: The need for more
diverse and broader conceptualizations and measures of father involvement’.
Journal
of
Men’s
Studies
8(1),
(1999):
11-27.
Viewed
at
http://proquest.umi.com/pqdlink?did=506103851&Fmt=7&clientld=57290&RQT=
309&VName=PQD
Hearn, Jeff. ‘The problems boys and men create, the problems boys and men
experience’. In From Boys to Men: Social constructions of masculinity in
contemporary society, edited by Tamara Shefer, Kopano Ratele, Anna Strebel,
Nokuthula Shabalala and Rosemarie Buikman, 13-32. Cape Town: UCT Press,
2007.
Henley, Kari, and Kay Pasley. ‘Conditions affecting the association between father
identity and father involvement’. Fathering, 3(1), (2005): 59-80.
Henwood, Karen and Joanne Procter. ‘The ‘good father’: Reading men’s accounts
of paternal involvement during the transition to first-time fatherhood’. British
Journal of Social Psychology 42, (2003): 337-355.
Hojgaard, Lis. ‘Working fathers – Caught in the web of the symbolic order of
gender’.
Acta
Sociologica
40(3),
(1997):
245-261.
Viewed
at
http://www.jstor.org/stable/4201030
Holmes, Jeremy. John Bowlby and Attachment Theory. London: Routledge, 1995.
Jaffee, Sara R., Terrie E. Moffitt, Avsahalom Caspi, and Alan Taylor. ‘Life with
(or without) father: The benefits of living with two biological parents depend on
14
A Colourful Hierarchy: Masculinity and Fatherhood in South Africa
__________________________________________________________________
the father’s antisocial behaviour’. Child Development 74(1), (2003): 109-126.
Viewed at http://www.jstor.org/stable/3696345
King, Valerie. ‘Variation in the consequences of non-resident father involvement
for children’s well-being’. Journal of Marriage and Family 56(4), (1994): 963972. Viewed at http://www.jstor.org/stable/353606
King, Valarie, Katherine Mullan Harris, and Holly E. Heard. ‘Racial and ethnic
diversity in non-resident father involvement’. Journal of Marriage and Family
66(1), (2004): 1-21.Viewed at http://www.jstor.org/stable/3599862
King, Valerie and Juliana M. Sobolewski. ‘Nonresident fathers’ contributions to
adolescent well-being’. Journal of Marriage and Family, 3(68), (2006): 537-557.
Kirkman, Maggie, Doreen A. Rosenthal and S. Shirley Feldman. ‘Freeing up the
subject: tension between traditional masculinity and involved fatherhood through
communication about sexuality with adolescents’. Culture, Health & Sexuality,
3(4), (2001): 391-411. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4005201
Lamb, Michael E. ‘The history of research on father involvement: An overview’.
Marriage & Family Review, 29(2), (2000): 23-42.
Liebman, Samuel J. and Steven C. Abell. ‘The forgotten parent no more: A
psychoanalytic reconsideration of fatherhood’. Psychoanalytic Psychology, 17(1),
(2000): 88-105.
Lindegger, Graham and Justin Maxwell. ‘Teenage masculinity: The double bind of
conformity to hegemonic standards’. In From Boys to Men: Social constructions of
masculinity in contemporary society, edited by Tamara Shefer, Kopano Ratele,
Anna Strebel, Nokuthula Shabalala and Rosemarie Buikman, 94-111. Cape Town:
UCT Press, 2007.
Lisak, David. ‘Sexual aggression, masculinity, and fathers. Signs, 16(2), (1991):
238-262. Viewed at http://www.jstor.org/stable/3174510
Mac an Ghail, Mairtin (Ed). Understanding masculinities. Bukingham,
Philadelphia: Open University Press, 1996
McBride, Brent A., Geoffrey L. Brown, Kelly K. Bost, Nana Shin, Brian Vaughn,
and Byran Korth. ‘Paternal identity, maternal gatekeeping, and father
involvement’. Family Relations 54, (2005): 360-372.
A Colourful Hierarchy: Masculinity and Fatherhood in South Africa
15
__________________________________________________________________
McGoldrick, Monica and Betty Carter. The Family Life Cycle. In Normal Family
Processes, edited by Froma Walsh, 375- 398. London: The Guildford Press, 2003.
McMahon, Anthony G. Taking care of men: Sexual politics in the mind.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999.
Marsiglio, William and Joseph, H. Pleck. ‘Fatherhood and Masculinities’. In
Handbook of Studies on Men and Masculinities, edited by Michael S. Kimmel, Jeff
Hearn and Robert W. Connell, 249-269. London: Sage Publications, 2005.
Morrell, Robert, editor. Changing Men in Southern Africa. Pietermaritzburg:
University of Natal Press, 2001.
Morrell, Robert. ‘Do you want to be a father? School-going youth in Durban
schools at the turn of the 21st century’. In From Boys to Men: Social constructions
of masculinity in contemporary society, edited by Tamara Shefer, Kopano Ratele,
Anna Strebel, Nokuthula Shabalala and Rosemarie Buikman, 75-93. Cape Town:
UCT Press, 2007
Morgan, David H. J. ‘Family, Gender and Masculinities’. In The Masculinities
Reader, edited by Stephen M. Whitehead and Frank J. Barrett, 223-232.
Cambridge: Polity, 2001.
Mullan Harris, Kathleen and S. Phillip Morgan. ‘Fathers, sons, and daughters:
Differential paternal involvement in parenting’. Journal of Marriage and Family,
53(3), (1991): 531-544. Viewed at http://www.jstor.org/stable/352730
Pattman, Rob. ‘Researching and working with boys and young men in southern
Africa in the context of HIV/AIDS: A radical approach’. In From Boys to Men:
Social constructions of masculinity in contemporary society, edited by Tamara
Shefer, Kopano Ratele, Anna Strebel, Nokuthula Shabalala and Rosemarie
Buikman, 33-49. Cape Town: UCT Press, 2007
Ratele, Kopano, Elron Fouton, Tamara Shefer, Anna Strebel, Nokuthula Shabalala
and Rosemarie Buikman. ‘”Moffies, jocks and cool guys”: Boys’ accounts of
masculinity and their resistance in context’. In From Boys to Men: Social
constructions of masculinity in contemporary society, edited by Tamara Shefer,
Kopano Ratele, Anna Strebel, Nokuthula Shabalala and Rosemarie Buikman, 112127. Cape Town: UCT Press, 2007
16
A Colourful Hierarchy: Masculinity and Fatherhood in South Africa
__________________________________________________________________
Redman, Peter. ‘”Empowering men to disempower themselves”: Heterosexual
masculinities, HIV and the contradictions of anti-oppressive education’. In
Understanding masculinities, edited by Mairtin Mac an Ghail, 168-179.
Buckingham, Philadelphia: Open University Press, 1996.
Lisa. A. Lindsay & Stephan. F. Miescher, eds. Men and Masculinities in Modern
Africa. Portsmouth: Heinemann, 2003.
Reid, Graeme and Liz Walker. Men Behaving Differently: South African Men
Since 1994. Cape Town: Double Storey Books, 2005.
Richter, Linda M. and Robert Morrell. BABA: Men and Fatherhood in South
Africa. Cape Town: HSRC Press, 2006
Risman, Barbara J. ‘Can men “mother”? Life as a single father’. Family Relations,
35(1), (1986): 95-102. Viewed at http://www.jstor.org/stable/584288
Rochlen, Aaron B., Ryan A. McKelley, Marie-Anne Suizzo and Vanessa Scaringi.
‘Predictors of relationship satisfaction, psychological well-being, and life
satisfaction among stay-at-home fathers’. Psychology of Men and Masculinity,
9(1), (2008): 17-28.
Rogers, Wendy Stainton and Rex Stainton Rogers. The Psychology of Gender and
Sexuality. Philadelphia: Open University Press, 2001.
Roy, Kevin M. ‘Father Stories: A life course examination of paternal identity
among low-income African American men’. Journal of Family Issues, 27(1),
(2006): 31-54.
Russell, Graeme. ‘The father role and its relation to masculinity, femininity, and
androgyny’. Child Development, 49(4), (1978): 1174-1181. Viewed at
http://www.jstor.org/stable/1128757
Salo, Elaine. ‘Social construction of masculinity on the racial and gender margins
of Cape Town’. In From Boys to Men: Social constructions of masculinity in
contemporary society, edited by Tamara Shefer, Kopano Ratele, Anna Strebel,
Nokuthula Shabalala and Rosemarie Buikman, 160-180. Cape Town: UCT Press,
2007.
A Colourful Hierarchy: Masculinity and Fatherhood in South Africa
17
__________________________________________________________________
Seidler, Victor J. Man enough: Embodying masculinities. London: Sage
Publications, 1997.
Shefer, Tamara, Kopano Ratele, Anna Strebel, Nokuthula Shabalala and
Rosemarie Buikman, eds. From Boys to Men: Social constructions of masculinity
in contemporary society. Cape Town: UCT Press, 2007.
Siegal, Michael. ‘Are sons and daughters treated more differently by fathers than
by mothers?’. Developmental Review, 7, (1987): 183-209.
Silverstein, Louise B., Carl F. Auerbach and Ronald F. Levant. ‘Contemporary
fathers reconstructing masculinity: Clinical implications of gender role strain’.
Professional Psychology, Research and Practice, 33(4), (2002): 361-369.
Strauss, Rachelle and Wendy A. Goldberg. ‘Self and possible selves during the
transition to fatherhood’. Journal of Family Psychology, 13(2), (1999): 244-259.
Swayer-Kurian, Kyla M., Wendee M. Wechsberg, and Winnie K. Luseno.
‘Exploring the differences and similarities between Black/African and Coloured
men regarding violence against women, substance abuse, and HIV risks in Cape
Town, South Africa’. Psychology of Men and Masculinity 10(1), (2009): 13-29.
Swartz, Sharlene and Arvin Bhana. Teenage Tata – Voices of young fathers in
South Africa. Cape Town: HSRC Press, 2009. Retrieved from
http://www.hsrcpress.co.za
Tiano, Jennifer D. and Cheryl B. McNeil. ‘The inclusion of fathers in behavioural
parent training: A critical evaluation’. Child & Family Behaviour Therapy, 27(4),
(2005): 1-28.
Vogt Yuan, Anastasia S. and Hayley A. Hamilton. ‘Stepfather involvement and
adolescent well-being: Do mothers and nonresidential fathers matter?’. Journal of
Family Issues, 27 (2010): 1191-1213.
Wall, Glenda and Stephanie Arnold. ‘How involved is involved fathering? An
exploration of the contemporary culture of fatherhood’. Gender and Society, 21(4),
(2010): 508-527.
Waller, Maureen R. and Raymond Swisher. ‘Fathers’ risk factors in fragile
families: Implications for “healthy” relationships and father involvement’. Social
Problems, 53(3), (2006): 392-420. Viewed at http://www.jstor.org/stable/4488173
18
A Colourful Hierarchy: Masculinity and Fatherhood in South Africa
__________________________________________________________________
Walsh, Froma. Family Resilience – Strengths forged through Adversity. In Normal
Family Processes, edited by Froma Walsh, 399-42. London: The Guildford Press,
2003.
Way, Niobe and Deborah A. Gillman. ‘Early adolescent girls’ perceptions of their
relationships with their fathers: A qualitative investigation’. Journal of Early
Adolescence, 20(3), (2000): 309-331.
Willcott, Sara and Christene Griffen. ‘Men, masculinity and the challenge of longterm unemployment’. In Understanding masculinities, edited by Mairtin Mac an
Ghail, 77-92. Buckingham, Philadelphia: Open University Press, 1996.
Youniss, James and Robert, D. Ketterlinus. ‘Communication and connectedness in
mother- and father-adolescent relationships’. Journal of Youth and Adolescence,
16(3), (1987): 265-280.
Frederika Cronje is a Masters student at the University of Stellenbosch, South
Africa, working under the supervision of Dr Elmien Lesch in the Department of
Psychology. While interested in interpersonal relationships in general, currently
her research and writing is focused on father-adolescent daughter relationships in
semi-rural, low-income communities.