How “Real Boys” Construct Heterosexuality on the Primary School Playground

Abstract

This study draws on focus group discussions to explore how 12- to 14-year-old boys in a low economic township primary school in South Africa construct their hegemonic identity as “real boys” in the school playground during break. Addressing masculinity and boys’ investment in power is now a major research development in the country, especially in light of boys’ and men’s culpability in sexual and gender violence. What is often missing, however, is attention to younger boys and the construction of gender and sexuality in the primary school. Analysis of the data reveals that heterosexual masculine power is a major element in the construction of being a “real boy.” “Real boys” express their power-based heterosexual identity in ways that objectify girls, while, at the same time, promoting a culture of gender violence through heterosexual competition and the policing of girls’ sexual agency. The major finding in our article is that the school playground is an important site for hegemonic and heterosexual identities, where a “real boy” is displayed and given dominance during break time. Implications for addressing heterosexual masculinity among younger boys is vital.

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