Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2005. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Sunday Times (Johannesburg) - June 5, 2005
Futhi Ntshingila
A University of KwaZulu-Natal study into masculinity has found that growing numbers of men are questioning their roles in society.
Professor Graham Lindegger of the university's school of psychology said men had traditionally been employed, successful and in control, but today many were finding themselves unemployed or earning less than their wives, who were securing more senior jobs.
"Those things start to create a lot of crises for men," said Lindegger.
His research showed an increase in the number of men seeking counselling as a result.
His report also revealed another problem for young men - the competition posed by older men, or "sugar daddies".
The report indicated that many young women looked to men to provide them with "the three Cs", cellphones, clothes and cars.
Ben Mahlaba, a 22-year-old unemployed soccer player, told the Sunday Times money was a big problem in relationships between men and women.
"We don't like it when a woman becomes more powerful than us. They have too many rights. That's why men become violent sometimes," he said.
Older men with more money were a further threat. He had lost his 19-year-old girlfriend to one.
Under the ambit of the study, Lindegger and researcher Justin Maxwell oversaw a research project that looked at how HIV/Aids was affecting boys, aged 16 to 20, in soccer leagues and schools across KwaZulu-Natal.
Gethwana Makhaye, director of the Targeted Aids Intervention project, said it had targeted boys exclusively because there was a crisis among men that was contributing to the spread of the virus.
"Traditionally man is seen as a provider, protector and head of the family. Now here comes this woman who is earning more than a man. All of a sudden a man finds himself in a crisis. He resorts to violence, alcohol and risky behaviour," said Makhaye.
Diane Mariah-Singh, manager of Men Behaving Bravely, a project that supports men involved in domestic violence, confirmed that men were challenged as women become more empowered.
"Some of the men who admit to violence against their partner say it is about power and control," she said.
"They also blame the nagging of women but as we work with them they realise that they are responsible for their actions," she said.
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