TSWELOPELE MAKOE
Johannesburg - This week at a book launch at Unisa’s Cape Town campus, the dark side of masculinity was laid bare in chapter and verse. Titled Masculinity meets Humanity: An adapted model of masculinised psychotherapy, the book by Dr Shahieda Jansen emulates the intersectional complexities of mental health care for men and young boys.
The author is a clinical psychologist and the Regional Director at Unisa’s Cape Town campus. Dr Jansen’s book explores and unpacks the ways in which different forms of male narratives are conducive to the personal growth and transformation of these males.
This was an incredibly pertinent and brave subject brought forth by Dr Jansen. Our post-colonial South African society is riddled with patriarchal norms and conventions and continues to be highly influenced by the phallocentric sentiments of the Western world and the global north.
This has deeply informed the males in our society in positive ways as well as negative ways. In our society, male children are stereotypically/typically raised to embody the traits of the male societal prototype/stereotype: hyper-masculinity.
These are the traits of being defensive, competitive, protective, assertive, stoic, domineering, and so forth. However, Masculinity meets Humanity gives a deeper reading of these attributes, specifically in the context of all-male psychological therapy.
These stereotypes that construct and influence the personality and performance of males have led to the normalisation of western forms of mental care, which is intrinsically individualistic and has been known to ostracise and minimise the inequities and struggles that are faced by people of colour.
What is being shown in Masculinity meets Humanity is the capacity for group dialogue, especially among males, to be extremely conducive to emulating honest perspectives about the challenges that are faced by males. What was distinct about Dr Jansen’s evaluation was the inclination of males to holding each other accountable and being more vulnerable about their emotions when they are in a group dynamic.
This is not only starkly evident in the African values of Ubuntu/Botho and of identifying oneself in accordance with their group, whether familial, friendship or cultural. This is further seen in the socialisation of African people in group dynamics, for example, groups in initiation schools, community leadership, church societies, and lobola negotiation processes.
We are not only predisposed to group dynamics in society but also to the ways in which we experience fundamental moments and milestones in our lives. The exploration of gender in the South African context has largely centred around female experiences.
Often, the stereotypical female has been constructed as a highly emotionally imbalanced, sensitive, fragile figure, and as such, is more inclined and associated with therapy and mental health spaces. Often, males are constructed as physically and mentally stronger figures and, as such, are side-lined and dismissed when it comes to issues of mental health struggles.
This, especially, seeps into mental health discourses and normalises the way we view mental health when it comes to males in our society.
The issue with ignoring mental health is not only that the ramifications negatively influence the affected individuals but the society at large.
Young boys are indoctrinated into violent forms of behaviours, communication, and relationships. This not only leads to exorbitant rates of young, imprisoned males but also results in fewer people effectively contributing to our society and its development.
Young and old men are faced with adulthood challenges both personally and professionally. However, they are routinely dismissed from mental health discourses that grapple with the challenges of adulthood. Empirical evidence shows that this leads to excessive rates of physical and mental abuse, crime, substance abuse, and mental breakdowns.
This furthers the heightened societal problems such as Gender-Based Violence and Femicide. These challenges often do not end with the individual but are grappled with by families, friends, and communities. These challenges are further exacerbated by institutionalisation and homelessness.
These societal ills are not to be taken lightly; they affect the entire nation, both socially as well as structurally. An exorbitant amount of resources are needed to contend with these challenges, and this only increases daily. This puts serious pressure on our already strained healthcare systems, policing departments, and civil society organisations.
As a society, we need to seriously interrogate the ways in which we are caring for our people, not only physically but especially mentally. We face a plethora of heinous societal ills that could be effectively evaded if we choose to recognise and confront the very real challenges that are faced by males in society.
This will first and foremost require us to recognise males as fully human, emotional, and complex human beings in our society and treat their mental health with the seriousness that it deserves. We will need to seriously break down toxic notions about masculinity and bring mental health care to the forefront.
This will be pertinent to enabling a progressive and healthy future for our nation, for us and for future generations alike.
Tswelopele Makoe is MA (Ethics) student at the Desmond Tutu Centre for Religion and Social Justice at UWC. She is also a gender activist.