Evolving Rastafari Masculinities in Southern Africa

The dominant media (and popular) image of the Rastaman in Southern Africa is of the ultimate patriarchal authority who bosses his wife and children, while demanding respect, honour and, yes, worship. He is anti-establishment, rude and militant. In some television dramas, the stock image of an unkempt, unreliable and doomed character is that of a dreadlocked young man. The dreadlocked young man becomes the placeholder for problematic and problem-causing masculinities. He is violent in intimate relationships and beyond, is deeply patriarchal, smokes marijuana endlessly and is in trouble endlessly. Parents who have to welcome a Rasta son-in-law are signing off their daughter to a life of permanent misery, so runs popular wisdom. This chapter reflects on the evolving Rasta masculinities in the region. Using data from ongoing research in Malawi, South Africa and Zimbabwe, the chapter presents the alternative image of peaceful and gender-equitable Rastafari masculinities in the region. It provides the context in which negative images of Rastafari masculinities have been deployed and calls for a decolonial turn in appreciating the potential of Rastafari in promoting gender justice in the region. While acknowledging the challenges associated with Rastafari masculinities in Southern Africa, the chapter questions the trend of stereotyping and dismissing them.