Redefining Masculinity Across Divides: Insights from Lenasia (Gauteng) and Umhlanga (Kwa-Zulu Natal) on Advancing Gender Equity
Date: 03 April 2025
By Koketso Sekhu and Tracey Gumede
The weight of masculinity and its oppressive nature is evident in the unattainable standards the society of today upholds. Though passed down through generations, its burden is reflected in the exhaustion of men and the societal cracks that manifest in declining mental health, rising suicide rates, escalating gender-based violence, and the growing call for communal dialogue on toxic masculinity. This highlights the need for transformative conversations that examine how culture, religion, and social norms sustain these expectations and deepen divisions among men and other communities. This necessity became clear in two pivotal engagements hosted by the Commission for Gender Equality (CGE) in collaboration with key stakeholders in Lenasia, a historically Indian and Coloured township south of Soweto, and Umhlanga, located in a predominantly affluent Zulu area in KwaZulu-Natal. Though divided by provincial and cultural borders, these two communities gathered in their spaces to reflect, challenge, and reshape prevailing ideas of masculinity in pursuing gender equality.
Masculinity in the Modern Era: A Critical Reflection
“To achieve gender equality, we must reimagine masculinity and redefine what it means to be a man in a manner that promotes respect, care, and shared responsibility”; this is a statement put forward by the Deputy Mayor of eThekwini in a critical engagement about ‘Understanding the Role of Masculinity Teachings Concerning Gender-Based Crisis’ in KwaZulu-Natal on 4 March 2025, reflecting on the impact of masculinity teachings in the modern era.
As socio-economic conditions shift, the rigid roles and expectations imposed on men are being scrutinised. Masculinity teachings have long upheld dominant ideals that entrench gender hierarchies, creating unattainable standards that widen the gap between men and those around them. This reality was at the core of discussions at the Men’s Workshop in Lenasia, where participants from the Men’s Forum, in collaboration with the UNISA Institute for Social and Health Sciences, explored the possibility of breaking free from traditional gender norms. Conversations centred on how these ideals shape men’s lived experiences, particularly under mounting economic pressures that define South Africa’s high unemployment landscape, reinforcing the outdated perception of men as sole providers.
These contexts reflect a generational concern around the patriarchal underpinnings informing a hostile and unsuitable environment for gender transformational efforts. A context that promotes the oppression of vulnerable men who do not meet the standard of the ultimate male image and the oppression of women, children, and non-normative identities. It is a call to revisit the whole concept of masculinity in the community and the home. Several participants highlighted the shift toward more fluid roles, such as becoming stay-at-home fathers, a significant departure from traditional patriarchal norms and expectations.
Evolving Leadership and Transformative Masculinity
Although geographically divided, the two engagements revealed the exhaustion of masculinity in the bodies of men and society while sharing common points of reflection. Firstly, there is a need for education and awareness around issues of masculinity, which must be seen through engagements such as men’s forums. Secondly, we need to ensure enabling environments for transformative conversations taking into consideration the issue of mental health, which a forum leader supported when he stated, “Men’s forums must be spaces where we can learn, grow, and support each other, where we are no longer just talking about equality, but we are working towards it”. Lastly, there is a need to understand the context in which the dominance of toxic masculinities takes place and how it is socialised to dismantle it because a “lack of understanding of awareness leads to lack of impact in the fight against toxic masculinity teachings” as so rightfully put in the critical conversation held in KZN.
Advancing CGE’s Mandate: Building Towards Substantive Equality
The engagements in Lenasia and Umhlanga affirmed the urgent need to reshape masculinity in ways that promote respect, shared responsibility, and gender equity. These conversations have revealed not only the weight of outdated gender expectations but also the growing willingness among men to redefine their roles in homes and communities. The desire to engage in these dialogues signals a significant shift, one that moves beyond acknowledging the harms of toxic masculinity towards actively constructing new frameworks of identity and leadership.
These engagements exposed deep-rooted patriarchal structures that continue to sustain a hostile environment for gender transformation. A system that suppresses men who fail to meet the rigid standards of masculinity while perpetuating the oppression of women, children, and non-normative identities. This is a call to dismantle these outdated ideals in the home and the broader community. Many participants reflected on the gradual but meaningful shift toward more fluid roles, with some embracing caregiving responsibilities, such as becoming stay-at-home fathers, which is a direct challenge to long-standing traditions and patriarchal norms.
The Lenasia Gender and Development Workshop and the Men’s Engagement in Umhlanga are critical interventions demonstrating how dialogue can drive real change. They are community-driven, reflective, and action-oriented blueprints for future efforts. As conversations around masculinity continue to evolve, so must our strategies for encouraging environments where equality is not just an aspiration but an everyday reality. Through these collective efforts, we move closer to a South Africa where shifting traditional gender roles and gender justice are re-imagined, deeply entrenched and embedded in every aspect of society that we want to see.