Manhood

South Africa's young men fight to escape 'man box'

Plenty of men are trying to break free of the emotional prison of masculinity in its traditional, toxic form. In SA, a Wits psychologist has written about young men in Alexandra, Johannesburg, who are taking tentative steps to free themselves, writes Claire Keeton

23 August 2020 - 00:00

By Claire Keeton

The “man box”, a term coined by gender activists, is an emotional prison made up of all the traditional expectations of masculinity, namely that men should act tough, self-sufficient, hypersexual and controlling.

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