Adolescent boys constructions of masculinity

The last decade has seen a growing focus on masculinities in South Africa, following global trends while responding to local concerns. While there is much current work looking at especially young males it is confined to the margins in terms of both research and practise. Many researchers have highlighted the way in which certain masculinities are facilitative of unsafe sexual practices as well as violence in intimate relationships. There is also a body of work that raises broader questions about risk within multiple contexts, including substance abuse, criminal/gang activity, and general 'boundary-breaking' and how these link with traditional performances of successful manhood. A number of authors in this arena are committed to opening up space for alternative constructions of male identities, shifting dominant masculinities, and exposing/developing new discourses within which alternative ways of being a boy or man may be located.