Investigating Masculinities Enactment and Its Psychological Undercurrents in Fugard’s “Master Harold”…and the Boys

Abstract

This paper explores the enactment of masculinities in a racial environment where men are treated as second-class citizens. Traditionally, men have been made to carry the guilt of the oppression of women, as the narrative has always been that men are the originators and promoters of patriarchy. From Feminists’ perspectives, men have enjoyed patriarchal privileges that give them undue advantages over women. Women scholars have supported this narrative for a long time until recently, when studies confirmed that men enact masculinities at different hierarchical levels and have different statuses in terms of role exhibition. Situated in a racial context, men are, therefore, made to carry a double yoke of emasculation—first by circumstances that challenge their manhood and then by racial discrimination, which further places upon them the burden of oppression in all spheres. Using a combination of Psychoanalysis and Masculinities as tools of analysis, the study employs a qualitative approach, involving a literary text analysis of Athol Fugard’s “Master Harold”…. and the Boys. Findings reveal that not all men are "macho" or capable of exhibiting the masculine traits constructed for them in their social milieu. Furthermore, the study discovers that not all men fulfill provider roles as husbands and fathers; some men are actually emasculated, having lost their breadwinning masculine roles to their wives, and become irresponsible fathers. The experiences of Black men in South Africa under the oppression of racial discrimination confirm W.E.B. Du Bois’ assertion that Black men in a racial environment carry a double yoke. It is, therefore, suggested that men enacting hegemonic masculinities should be conscious of other weaker men made so by poor economic circumstances that incapacitate them. Black men in a racial environment should purge themselves of toxic masculinity associated with hypo-masculinity enactment and instead embrace pro-feminist notions of masculinity, which promote cooperation between the sexes.