"A father doesn’t just have to pay the bills and be all manly" : constructions of fathering among adolescents in a low-income, high violence community in Cape Town

In light of research which suggests that father involvement is associated with positive outcomes for children, including emotional, social and financial benefits, the high rate of father absence in South Africa has been interpreted as a ‘crisis’ of fatherhood (Ratele, Shefer, & Clowes, 2012). However, there is a lack of research that explores fathering and fatherhood from the perspective of South African children. This study aimed to investigate the ways in which a group of nine female and five male adolescents in an urban, low-income community of Cape Town discursively construct the roles and responsibilities of fathers in their community. Using Photovoice methodology, participants produced photographs of ‘fathering in my community’ and then participated in a photo-elicitation interview. The interview transcripts were subjected to a discourse analysis to identify discursive constructions of fatherhood. Consistent with previous research which has been conducted with fathers, participants drew on hegemonic discourses which positioned fathers as financial providers and protectors, and mothers as ‘natural’ care-givers and nurturers. Fathers were predominantly represented as failing to fulfil their roles and responsibilities. However, there were also instances in which participants resisted these dominant discourses through drawing on a discourse of ‘involved’ fathering which positioned fathers as nurturers and carers. Participants also discursively constructed a form of non-biological ‘social father’ who could fulfil some fathering roles. In light of these findings it appears that there is a need to challenge rigid and inflexible hegemonic constructions of fathering (and masculinity more generally), and to elaborate contesting versions of fatherhood, in order to make alternative, more fluid subject positions available to men as fathers

Symbolic violence: Enactments, articulations and resistances in research and beyond

In his pioneering work on the subject, French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu (2001, p.1-2) defines symbolic violence as “a type of submission… a gentle violence, imperceptible and invisible even to its victims, exerted for the most part through purely symbolic channels of communication and cognition, recognition or even feeling....”. This Special Issue of African Safety Promotion: A Journal of Injury and Violence Prevention seeks to reflect on the multiple ways that symbolic violence is implicated in research; how research reproduces symbolic violence; and how hierarchies within research institutions determine the ‘legitimacy’ of specific knowledges and knowledge producers. We believe that a focus on symbolic violence is necessary to advance nuanced, complex and meaningful understandings of how different kinds of violence operate and are sustained in contemporary society

Why are all rapes not grievable?

Institute for Social and Health Studies (ISHS

Suicidal Behaviour in South Africa and Bangladesh: A Review of Empirical Work

Suicidal behaviour is as significant a public-health concern in the global South as it is worldwide. In this article we offer a review of studies on suicidal behaviour in two countries in the global South – one in Asia (Bangladesh) and one in Africa (South Africa). A total of 20 South African and 16 Bangladeshi articles published between 2008 and 2018 were selected using PubMed and Google Scholar databases. Only empirical, research-based articles with an explicit focus on the prevalence and causes of suicide in both countries were screened and selected for this review. The review confirms that in both countries suicidal behaviour tends to be higher among certain younger age groups and people of low socio-economic status. In South Africa, non-fatal suicide attempts are more evident among females, whereas fatal suicidal behaviour is more common among males. In Bangladesh, both fatal and non-fatal suicidal behaviour are more evident among females than males. Mental-health-related problems are prominently reflected as strong factors associated with suicidal behaviour in South African literature, while social factors such as marital disharmony, violence, and family problems pervade the Bangladeshi literature. From studying the extant literature, we propose that while large-scale surveys and observatories are needed, it is equally necessary for researchers to conduct more in-depth qualitative research, specifically taking into account gender, to have a richer and more nuanced appreciation of the psychosocial issues and socio-cultural contexts of suicidal behaviour. Comparative, transnational research between the two countries is also recommended. The development of national and subnational databases and surveillance systems, the extension of mental-health support, reduction of gender and economic inequalities, and promotion of social cohesiveness are some of the critical intervention strategies necessary to prevent suicidal behaviour in both South Africa and Bangladesh

What is there to learn about violence and masculinity from a genderqueer man?

Background: In light of the global health burden of violence, which is predominantly perpetrated by men, studies have explored the relationship between masculinities and violence. However, there is a relative lack of work focusing on non-hegemonic men and masculinities in relation to violence. Such work has the potential to advance violence prevention work. Objective: This article aims to show the shifting relationship between constructions of violent and non-violent masculinity in the talk of a genderqueer man. The article also aims to demonstrate how qualitative approaches are able to reveal the complexity and contradiction in accounts of masculine identities as these are negotiated within the context of the research interview. Methods: The article is based on a case study of Adam, a middle-class, ‘white’, ‘genderqueer’ man who participated in a larger study which explored the ways in which gender is constructed within 18 South African families. Adam’s interview is analysed using a Foucauldian discourse analysis. Results: The analysis demonstrates the complex and contradictory process involved in negotiating and resisting a violent version of masculinity. Constructing male violence as rooted in particular psychosocial and cultural assumptions, rather than as an automatic biological response, enables Adam to resist this violence. This deconstruction of violent masculinity is linked to Adam’s ‘genderqueer’ identity or ‘in-betweenness’, which facilitates a critical consciousness in relation to notions of gender. The analysis also demonstrates how notions of masculinity are deliberated and co-constructed within the relational context of the interview. Conclusions: This article shows that resisting and reformulating masculinity in non-violent ways is a complex process. This suggests that violence prevention efforts need to focus on the creation of spaces for ongoing dialogues about non-violence. As demonstrated by the context of the interview, relational, conversational spaces have the potential to facilitate the co-construction of non-violent masculinities.Institute for Social and Health Studies (ISHS

Symbolic violence: Enactments, articulations and resistances in research and beyond

Institute for Social and Health Studies (ISHS

Masculinity and Suicide in Bangladesh

Suicide is a serious but under-researched public health problem in Bangladesh. In light of this, we sought to explore the association between masculinities and suicide. We interviewed 20 family members/friends of men who died by suicide across 12 rural areas of the Jhenaidah district, Bangladesh. We found that male suicide was attributed to men’s inability to fulfil hegemonic masculine demands such as financial provision and meeting the sexual needs of their spouses. Suicide was also linked to men’s loss of self-respect and respect from others. Some participants mentioned that men committed suicide as an act of self-sacrifice, while others cited mental and physical illness. As a result of these findings, we propose that addressing socio cultural and religious issues associated with men’s troubles may help to prevent suicide. At the same time, changing the restrictive gender roles and masculinity related ideals is also needed to counter the problem.Institute for Social and Health Studies (ISHS

Some basic questions about (a) decolonizing Africa(n)-centred psychology considered

Conceptual disagreement remains rife with regard to African psychology with some scholars mistakenly equating it to, for example, ethnotheorizing and traditional healing, while others confound African psychology with Africanization and racialization. Using writing as inquiry, this article aims to clear up some of the conceptual confusion on African psychology while engaging with the issue of a decolonizing African psychology. Accordingly, questions such as ‘What is the main dispute between Africa(n)-centred psychology and Euro-American-centric psychology in Africa?’; ‘Does Africa(n)-centred psychology not homogenize Africans?’; ‘What can be gained from imbricating decolonizing perspectives and feminist Africa(n)-centred psychology?’; and ‘What would a decolonizing Africa(n)-centred community psychology look like?’ are pertinent in the clarification of the conceptual confusion. Arising from an inventive dialogical and collaborative method, the aim of this article is not only to illuminate some basic misunderstandings on (a) decolonizing African psychology but also to generate further dialogue on how to work towards African psychology as situated decolonizing practice and knowledge.Institute for Social and Health Studies (ISHS