Sibanyoni, Dineo Naomi-Beth2024-11-152024-11-152024Sibanyoni, Dineo Naomi-Beth. (2024). Exploring the Constructions of Masculinity of Unemployed Young Black Men from Mamelodi [Master’s dissertation, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg].https://hdl.handle.net/10539/42565A research report submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters in Community-based Counseling Psychology to the Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024Although masculinity has been widely explored internationally and in local academic research, there are still gaps in understanding the constructions of masculinity with regards to young men’s experiences of unemployment in impoverished areas. This research explores constructions of masculinity among young unemployed black men living in the township of Mamelodi, in Gauteng. The particular focus is on understanding their perceptions of employment and the provider role within their conceptualisations of hegemonic masculinity. With this understanding, their ideas around how these constructions obstruct or enhance their psychosocial life experiences can be better understood. The research used qualitative research design to yield more rich and detailed data. Purposive and snowball sampling methods were utilised to recruit eight participants to share their experiences. The participants were young unemployed black men between the ages of 18 and 35 years of age, making up the criteria needed to make up the sample. The theoretical framework that the study uses to support and understand the phenomena was the social constructionist view of masculinity. The data collecting method was semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis was then used to analyse the data. The main themes identified in the analysis were Proactivity, Dreams and Hopes, Unemployment, Masculinity and Culture, and Obstacles and Persistence. The findings indicated that the experience of being a young unemployed black male has an impact on how these men see themselves in relation to the social expectations of men fulfilling the provider role in their environment. This was seen to also influence their psychosocial lives. Through the findings, an exploration of the resistance to show full expressions of emotions that occur with this particular group of people can also be observed.en© 2024 University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.black men, experiences, Mamelodi, masculinity, social constructions, unemploymentSDG-10: Reduced inequalitiesDissertationUniversity of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg