Changing Masculinities and Femininities for Zimbabwe’s Development: A Philosophical Examination

The chapter is a philosophical examination of the impact of changing masculinities and femininities, particularly on Zimbabwe’s social, economic and political development. The chapter argues for positive and transformative masculinities and femininities based on the ethical values of Ubuntu in order to realize the development of Zimbabwe in the socio-economic and political spheres. In this chapter, qualitative content analysis was used to examine the impact of changing masculinities and femininities on the development of Zimbabwe from a philosophical standpoint. From this examination, it was shown that normative cultural and toxic masculinities and femininities have negatively impacted the development of the nation in the sense that they have left the country lagging behind in terms of its socio-economic and political development. The chapter has argued for the need to embrace values of justice, fairness, equity and equality in order to direct positive and transformative masculinities and femininities towards Zimbabwe’s social, economic and political development.