Abstract
Men act out of their images, they respond, not to the situation, but to the situation transformed by the images they carry in their minds. In short, they respond … to the ideas they have of themselves in the situation. The image sees … the image feels … the image acts, and if you want to change a situation you have to change the image men have of themselves and of their situation.
—Lerone Bennett (Chinweizu, 1987, p. 211)
The profound relationship between self-perception and violence is well documented (see Baumeister, 1989; Berkowitz, 1989; Toch, 1993; Baumeister, Smart, & Boden, 1996). Earlier, social science philosophers, such as Thucydides, Machiavelli, and Carl von Clausewitz, variously detailed the nexus between self-perceptions of national interests/capabilities and peace in international politics. Of theoretical pertinence to this chapter is the seminal study of Rudolph Rummel (1975), which extensively discusses the interrelationships among perception, personality, and behavior where he asserts that these are mediated by a cultural schema that gives meanings and values to human actions. In other words, as he succinctly puts it, “our cultural learning largely determines that which we are consciously aware of and how we conceptually structure that awareness” (Rummel, 1975).
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Africa Forever. (n.d.). Africa: Cradle of humanity. Retrieved March 2, 2011, from http://www.africaforever.org/african-women-and-colonialism.aspx
Amadiume, I. (1987). Male daughters, female husbands: Gender and sex in an African society. London, England: Zed Press.
Amadiume, I. (1997). Reinventing Africa: Matriarchy, religion and culture. London, England: Zed Press.
Awe, B. (1977). The Iyalode in the traditional Yoruba political system. In A. Schlegel (Ed.), Sexual stratification: A cross-cultural view. New York, NY: Columbia University Press.
Balbus, I. (1987). Disciplining women: Michel Foucault and the power of feminist discourse. In S. Benhabib, & D. Cornell (Eds.), Feminism as critique. Oxford, UK: Polity Press
Baumeister, R. (1989). Masochism and the self. Hillsdale, NJ: Edbaum.
Baumeister, R., Smart, L., & Boden, J. (1996). Relation of threatened egotism to violence and aggression: The dark side of self-esteem. Psychological Review, 103, 5–33.
Berkowitz, L. (1989). Frustration-aggression hypothesis: Examination and reformulation. Psychological Bulletin, 106, 59–73.
Bhana, D. (2005). Violence and the gendered negotiation of masculinity among young black school boys in South Africa. In L. Ouzgane & R. Morrell (Eds.), African masculinities: Men in Africa from the late nineteenth century to the present. Scottsville, South Africa: University of KwaZulu-Natal Press.
Chinweizu. (1987). Decolonizing the African mind. London, England: Pero Press.
Cock, J. (1993). Women and war in South Africa. Cleveland, OH: The Pilgrim Press.
Coquery-Vidrovitch, C. (1997). African women: A modern history. Boulder, CO: Westview Press
Gasa, N. (2007). Feminisms, motherisms, patriarchies and women’s voices in the 1950s. In N. Gasa (Ed.), Women in South African history. Cape Town, South Africa: HSRC Press.
Gordon, A. (1996). Transforming capitalism and patriarchy: Gender and development in Africa. London, England: Lynne Rienner.
Isike, C. (2006). [Focus group discussion conducted by author with fifteen male students of the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa] . Unpublished raw data.
Isike, C. (2009). Feminising the peace process: a comparative analysis of women and conflict in the Niger-Delta (Nigeria) and KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa), PhD dissertation. School of Politics, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Scottsville, South Africa.
Isike, C. (2011a). [Focus group discussions conducted by author with 12 working-class adult males randomly drawn from rural and urban settlements in Umthlathuze Municipality in South Africa held in lecture room A10, Richards Bay Campus, University of Zululand, South Africa]. Unpublished raw data.
Isike, C. (2011b). [Focus group discussions conducted by author with 22 undergraduate students of the department of political science and public administration held in faculty board room, D block, University of Zululand, South Africa] . Unpublished raw data.
Isike, C., & Okeke-Uzodike, U. (2008). Modernizing without westernizing: redefining African patriarchies in the quest to curb HIV and AIDS in Africa. Journal of Constructive Theology, 14(1), 3–20.
Kaufman, M. (2001). The construction of masculinity and the Triad of Men’s violence. London, England: Mayfield.
Leclerc-Madladla, S. (1997). Infect one, infect all: Zulu youth response to the AIDS epidemic in South Africa. Medical Anthropology, 17(363).
Mazurana, D. E., & McKay, S. R. (1999). Women and peace building. Montreal, Canada: International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development.
Mbiti, J. (1988). Flowers in the garden: The role of women in African religion. Cahiers des Religions Africaines, 22(43–44), 69–82.
Morrell, R. (2001). The times of change: Men and masculinity in South Africa. In R. Morrell (Ed.), Changing men in southern Africa. Pietermaritzburg, South Africa: University of Natal Press.
Nkrumah, K. (1965). Neo-colonialism, the last stage of imperialism. London, England: Thomas Nelson.
Nzeogwu, N. (2000). African women and the fire dance. West Africa Review, 2(1). Retrieved August 14, 2007, from http://www.westafricareview.com/vol2.1/nzegwu2
Okonjo, K. (1976). Igbo women and community politics. In N. J. Hafkin & E. G. Bay (Eds.), African women in changing perspectives. Stanford, CT: Stanford University Press.
Ouzgane, L. and Morrell, R. (2005). African masculinities: An introduction. In L. Ouzgane & R. Morrell (Eds.), African masculinities: Men in Africa from the late nineteenth century to the present. Scottsville, South Africa: University of KwaZulu-Natal Press.
Rummel, R. J. (1975). Understanding conflict and war: The dynamic psychological field (vol. 1). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Retrieved October 14, 2011, from http://www.hawaii.edu/powerkills/NOTE10.HTM#CHAP
Salamone, F. A. (2005). Hausa concepts of masculinity and the ‘Yan Daudu.’ In L. Ouzgane & R. Morrell (Eds.), African masculinities: Men in Africa from the late nineteenth century to the present. Scottsville, South Africa: University of KwaZulu-Natal Press.
Silberschmidt, M. (2005). Poverty, male disempowerment and male sexuality: Rethinking men and masculinities in rural and urban East Africa. In L. Ouzgane & R. Morrell (Eds.), African masculinities: Men in Africa from the late nineteenth century to the present. Scottsville, South Africa: University of KwaZulu-Natal Press.
Sudarkasa, N. (1987). The status of women in indigenous African societies. In R. Terborg-Penn & A. B. Rushing (Eds.), Women in Africa and the African diaspora. Washington, DC: Howard University Press.
Terborg-Penn, R., & Rushing, A. B. (Eds.). (1996). Women in Africa and the African diaspora (2nd ed.). Washington, DC: Howard University Press.
Toch, H. (1993). Violent men: An inquiry into the psychology of violence. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
UNESCO. (2003). Women and peace in Africa: Case studies on traditional conflict resolution practices. Paris, France: UNESCO
Vetten, L., & Bhana, K. (2001). Violence, vengeance and gender: A preliminary investigation into the links between violence against women and HIV/AIDS in South Africa. Johannesburg, South Africa: Center for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation in South Africa (CSVR).
Editor information
Copyright information
© 2012 Jane Freedman
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Isike, C. (2012). What Do Men Think?. In: Freedman, J. (eds) Engaging Men in the Fight against Gender Violence. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137014740_2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137014740_2
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, New York
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-43689-7
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-01474-0
eBook Packages: Palgrave Social Sciences CollectionSocial Sciences (R0)