Disability and Masculinity: How Young Men with a Disability Navigate Masculinity in South Africa

Abstract

This research project aimed to contribute to the body of knowledge in the global south literature on masculinity by exploring how young men with a physical disability construct and navigate masculinity. Theories such as Ecological systems theory, Social identity theory and Gender role strain theory served as the theoretical framework. Semi-structured interviews were used as the data collection method. There were seven participants in total, five identifying as black and two identifying as Indian, all with varying degrees of physical disabilities. Participants were selected using purposive snowball sampling. Interpretive phenomenological analysis was used to analyse the data. Five themes were constructed from the data: How young men with disabilities define their masculinity; Challenges of not meeting Hegemonic Masculinity Standards and the coping strategies used to manage these challenges; Disability and its contribution to identity formation; Relationship with others: living with a disability and how this relationship affects masculine identity; and Embodying masculinity. The study revealed that young men with a disability reject/reformulate hegemonic masculine ideals to standards they can meet but can also simultaneously draw from hegemonic ideals. In addition, various challenges faced by men with a disability were explored as well as how relationships affect identity formation while living with a disability. Limitations and future recommendations are discussed.