The Forgotten Child: The Experience of South African Young Black Male University Students Growing up without their Biological Fathers

Abstract

Father absenteeism in South Africa has become a common experience for children across the nation (Mndende, 2021; Freeks, 2017). While there has been extensive research done on how this phenomenon affects families financially, socially, and economically, there is a gap in research around how father absenteeism affects black children and specifically South African black males who attend university (Salami & Okeke, 2018; Ratele et al., 2012). Moreover, there is a need to explore how relevant the academic literature on and around father absenteeism is to the experience of young black males in a South African context. With only 31,7% of black children who are growing up with their biological fathers present, there is a need to explore the experience of young black children who experience father absenteeism and how they make sense of fatherhood and their own identity concerning their absent fathers (Mndende, 2021; Ratele et al., 2012). This study aims to focus in particular on the experiences of young black males who, it is suggested, hold the potential to either dilute a sociohistorical generational curse that has plagued black communities for generations or to continue an infamous tradition of absent fathers in the lives of black children across South Africa. Thus, this study aims to explore the experiences of young black male university students growing up without their biological fathers within the South African context. This research paper also aims to consider how young black male university students growing up without their fathers understand and make sense of their own gendered identity and masculinity. Furthermore, this paper seeks to interrogate how these young black men who attend university make sense of the role and act of fatherhood. Due to the aims of the research paper placing importance on the exploration of the unique experiences of father absenteeism of young black males, this research study proposes a qualitative research design which will be rooted within the interpretivist paradigm (Jackson II et al., 2007; Symon & Cassell, 2012). Data was collected through a focus group of 5 participants and semi-structured individual interviews with 6 separate participants that were sampled through non-probability convenience sampling at The University of the Witwatersrand. With the use of thematic analysis and reflexive accounts of how one’s position as a young black male influenced the direction of the study, an intricate and detailed data analysis was conducted.