From Boys to Gentlemen
Settler Masculinity in Colonial Natal, 1880-1920
Description:... A century ago there was a small white settler population in the colony of Natal. This book looks at that section concentrated around the capital, Pietermaritzburg. Most of the population lived on the farms of the picturesque Midlands. Here they developed into a tight-knit community. At its centre was the idealised unit called the 'Old Natal Family'. At its helm was the white man. This book is the first on South African history to focus on the concept of masculinity. It catalogues and explores the significance of the political and public dominance of white men. It argues that a particular type of masculinity, settler masculinity, was constructed and became dominant as a prescription for proper male behaviour. It excluded and silenced rival interpretations of 'being a man' and promoted the development of a closed and racially exclusive colonial society. Settlers aspired to be gentlemen. But from 1880 to 1920 they were also the soldiers who conducted the massacre of Mome Gorge and the men who denied women access to public positions and power. This book examines how the forces of race and class were expressed in gendered ways. How white men established their dominance and constructed their masculinity is its central concern. From childhood, the sons of settlers were brought up to be a particular type of man. Many institutions shaped them: school, cadets, sport. In adulthood, a related set of all-male institutions provided the social setting: the army, old boys organisations, sports clubs, farmer associations, leisure clubs. These institutions produced settler masculinity: rugged, competitive, sexist and tough, while at the same time, dutiful, hard-working and team-oriented.--publisher.
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