Critical Reflections on the Everyday Processes of 'Becoming a Man' in Uganda
Until recently, there has been notable public interest in men and boys’ identities, conduct, behaviour, and the kinds of constraints men encounter in everyday life. This wave of interest is inspired, in some ways, by a critical agenda of revealing the dynamics of gender, including conversations on formerly unexamined experiences of men in public discourse, scholarship, activism and generally in everyday life. In particular, increasing focus on men, as subjects of gender conversations could spark a possible change.
That change involves unpacking historical forms of patriarchal power and privilege, interrogating the social process through which masculine and feminine behaviours and practices are framed, policed and reproduced, the effect gender identities have.
This wave of thought motivated my reflection on the common yet taken-for-granted social learnings and expectations about men in Uganda. Social sanctions such as “Onaba Musajja nabakyi ggwe?” what sort of man will you be?, common to most Ugandan communities, are the subject of this reflection.
Related publications
Related Research
Beyond War Compensation
Land Policy, Gender and Plural Legal Systems
Land Reform, Peace and Informal Institutions
