“Ndiyindoda” [I am a man]: theorising Xhosa masculinity

Masculinity studies in South Africa depend on Western gender theories to frame research questions and fieldwork. This article argues that such theories offer a limited understanding of Xhosa constructions of masculinity. Xhosa notions of masculinity are embodied in the concept of indoda, meaning a traditionally circumcised person. This article explores the nuanced meanings of indoda and its relationship to other masculinities, like uncircumcised boys [inkwenkwe] and medically circumcised men. The discussion reveals that indoda is the most “honoured” form of masculinity. A traditionally circumcised individual is regarded as indoda, a real man, irrespective of his sexual orientation or class, and this affords him certain rights and privileges. Inkwenkwe and medically circumcised men embody “subordinate” forms of masculinity and are victims of stigma and discrimination by indoda. This requires us to revisit some Western theories of masculinity which place heterosexual men at the top of a masculine hierarchy and gay men at the bottom. It furthermore requires us to pay attention to the body when theorising Xhosa masculinity, since it is a principal way of “proving” and “defending” Xhosa manhood.IBS

Nurses

This chapter has six parts. Part one investigates the different media and stakeholders' assertions that there is a shortage of nurses. Part two attempts to quantify and profile the existing nursing labour force. Parts three and four will examine the supply of, and demand for, nurses respectively. Part five will consider the myriad issues influencing supply and demand in the nursing profession, while part six concludes by auditing the existing programmes to address skills needs and offering suggestions on the way forward

Nursing in a new era: the profession and education of nurses in South Africa

Nurses are often said to be the backbone of health services, but in South Africa their profession itself is in need of care. This monograph considers the profile, image and status of nursing today and the nature and role of nursing education. A major concern is that, although nursing still attracts many more students than there are places available, the gap between the large numbers who complete their training and the relatively small growth in the professional registers, indicates high attrition rates. The decline in the role of the public sector in the training of nurses is another worrying trend. Through interviews and focus groups, the study explores issues that are contributing to the state of the nursing profession and airs the concerns of nursing students, academics and qualified nurses who are leaders in the field. These are concerns which managers and policy-makers in the health sector must address if the nursing profession is to regain the respect it once enjoyed, and if South Africa's public health sector is to address the serious challenges it faces. This study forms part of a broader project on professions and professional education within the HSRC Research Programme on Education, Science and Skills Development (ESSD). The research focus of ESSD is wide, spanning three major social domains: the education system, the national system of innovation and the world of work. The programme is distinctive in that it is able to harness research work at the interface of these three key social domains, to produce comprehensive, integrated and holistic analyses of the pathways of learners through schooling, further and higher education into the labour market and the national system of innovation.

Public nursing training in neglect

South Africa's public health system is overworked and understaffed. There are severe shortages of doctors, dentists and allied health professionals such as pharmacists. Nurses, also in short supply, are nonetheless the largest single category of professional in the health sector, and are bearing the brunt of public healthcare, particularly in rural areas. Yet the training of nurses in the public sector has been neglected. Mignonne Breier, Angelique Wildschut and Thando Mgqolozana report.

Nursing in a new era

Research brief, no. 1This research brief examines the shifts in training and employment patterns for nurses between 1997 and 2007, a period when the heath system was attempting to reduce the inequalities in access to care inherited from apartheid and shift from a hospital-based to primary health care orientation

New lives for old: modernity, biomedicine, traditional culture and HIV prevention in Lesotho (a response to Nicola L. Bulled)

This is a reply to - Bulled, Nicola L. 2013. “New lives for old: modernity, biomedicine, traditional culture and HIV prevention in Lesotho.” Global Discourse. 3 (2): 284–299. http://0-dx.doi.org.wam.seals.ac.za/10.1080/23269995.2013.804700