“Man-Africanism,” African Women and the Field of Masculinities: Some Reflections

Harmful forms of African masculinities prevail on the African continent which can be challenged with more positive ideals, practices and subjectivities of profeminist African men. The field of African masculinities must be interrogated within the context of African feminisms in which liberation of women and men will ultimately benefit the creation of a transformed African continent free of all forms of domination. This chapter will firstly critically interrogate the paradoxes, tensions and problems in seeking to dismantle negative forms of African masculinities in addition to what some have characterised as a “crisis in/of masculinity” in Africa. Secondly, it will seek to address: To what extent can African feminisms contribute to the creation of alternative or progressive masculinties? Finally, the concluding section will offer some tentative steps forward.