Masculinity Theory

‘Post-crisis masculinities’ in Sierra Leone: revisiting masculinity theory

Kristen E. McLean

International Studies Program, College of Charleston, Charleston, SC, USA

ABSTRACT Hegemonic representations of African men have focused on the male breadwinner ideal. In today’s neoliberal con- text, characterized by economic insecurity and social inequality, African men are said to be experiencing a ‘crisis of masculinity,’ demonstrated by displays of violence, dom- inance, and denial of responsibility. This article builds upon research highlighting emergent masculinities that challenge stereotypical depictions of African men within this frame- work. Based upon ethnographic research with young, urban fathers in Sierra Leone, it demonstrates that masculinities are shifting in light of disruptions brought about by war and the recent Ebola epidemic. Despite tensions with exist- ing patriarchal norms, emerging are masculine ideals tied to love and care. I argue that masculinities in Sierra Leone, rather than being in crisis, reflect post-crisis social realities, and that more studies should attend to ‘post-crisis mascu- linities’—the notion that gender norms change in response to major societal disruptions. Such a focus will make space for more positive accounts of men’s lives.

ARTICLE HISTORY Received 7 July 2019 Accepted 25 August 2020

KEYWORDS crisis of masculinity; fatherhood; masculinities; post-conflict; Sierra Leone

Introduction

Hegemonic depictions of African men have focused primarily on provider- ship—the ability of men to financially cater for their families (Cornwall 2002; Hunter 2006). Due to rising rates of unemployment sweeping the continent, the notion of ‘masculinities in crisis’ has been used to describe disempow- ered men as violent, dominant, and irresponsible (Lindsay and Miescher 2003). Problematically, men are blamed for violence and its resulting social adversities, which can be exacerbated in post-conflict settings (Spall 2016). Given the large-scale social and economic disruptions brought about by war, more studies are needed that attend to the changing nature of masculinities following crisis (Spall 2016).

CONTACT Kristen E. McLean [email protected] International Studies Program, College of Charleston, 9 Glebe Street, Charleston, SC 29424, USA. � 2020 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group

GENDER, PLACE & CULTURE 2021, VOL. 28, NO. 6, 786–805 https://doi.org/10.1080/0966369X.2020.1825214

Recently, the ‘masculinity in crisis’ narrative has been criticized for its lack of attention to the dynamism and complexity of African masculinities (Wyrod 2016). Research points to newly emergent ways of being men that include a significant rethinking of patriarchal ideals tied to violence and oppression— for example, in regards to child-rearing and intimate relationships (Ouzgane and Morrell 2005; Richter and Morrell 2006). This article builds upon existing literature by examining masculinities in light of the everyday realities of being a young ‘man on the margins’ (Enria 2016, 140) of Sierra Leone’s post- war, post-Ebola economy. It is situated within a body of theory that recognizes the plurality of masculinities and their formation through social experiences, relationships, and practices (Connell 1995).

This article is based upon ethnographic research conducted among young, urban fathers in Eastern Sierra Leone. The study sought to understand what it means to be a young man and how masculinities and ideals of fatherhood are shifting against a backdrop of socioeconomic and political transforma- tions. Findings demonstrate that although Sierra Leonean men have lived through crisis, in the form of the country’s decade-long civil war (1991–2002) and recent Ebola epidemic (2014–2015), they are not necessarily ‘in crisis’ regarding their masculinities. Rather, many demonstrate growing tensions with hegemonic norms, displaying instead ideals of responsibility, love, and egalitarianism in their intimate relationships. Ultimately, I argue that the ‘crisis of masculinity’ discourse may not apply, even in settings affected by crisis. I propose the concept of ‘post-crisis masculinities’ to account for the ways in which ideologies of masculinity change, and new norms emerge, amidst the personal and societal ruptures that accompany crisis.

Emergent masculinities in Africa: moving beyond hegemony and crisis

Since Connell (1995) introduced the concept of hegemonic masculinity—the ‘culturally exalted’ form in a given context—scholars have attempted to slot groups of men into hierarchical categories (Beasley 2008). In the contempor- ary African context, hegemonic masculinities often include what Hunter (2006) refers to as ‘provider masculinity,’ where one’s capacity to be a good man is measured by his breadwinning abilities. However, rising unemploy- ment and expanding inequalities across sub-Saharan Africa often mean that men are unable to fulfill these normative expectations, and as a result experience anxieties as they navigate employment, marriage, and parent- hood (Adinkrah 2012; Langevang 2008). In Nigeria, for example, Cornwall (2002) and Smith (2017) note men’s fears of becoming ‘useless men.’ Similarly, Silberschmidt (2001) and Wyrod (2016) describe men in East Africa as disempowered by their economic circumstances and experiencing feelings

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of inadequacy and failure. Growing violence and insecurity, and the fact that men are generally held responsible, has led scholars to argue that African men are experiencing a ‘crisis of masculinity’ (Morrell 2001). According to this narrative, adverse economic conditions and expansions in women’s rights threaten male privilege and cause men to resort to destructive expres- sions of masculinity (Decoteau 2013).

Although the ‘crisis of masculinity’ trope is now widespread, it is flawed in several ways. First, masculinities cannot be ‘in crisis’ because such an inter- pretation assumes a single, coherent construction (Decoteau 2013); instead Connell (1995) acknowledges that masculinities develop in social practice, via men’s interactions and everyday enactments of gender. The current literature from Africa suggests that a wider variety of masculinities are evident beyond hegemonic forms, including queer and other non-heteronormative gender identities (Livermon 2012; Ratele 2014, 2015). Second, the categorical essen- tialism that results from such a static characterization is problematic in that it neglects the diversities and complexities of masculinities (Inhorn 2012). Such concerns have been voiced by a number of Africanists, who speak to the problematic stereotyping of African men as violent, sexually promiscu- ous, irresponsible, and wedded to ‘traditional’ patriarchal beliefs (Lindsay and Miescher 2003; Ouzgane and Morrell 2005). Scholars have further critiqued the concept in that it blames men for problems that are more political and economic in nature and because it may actually serve to perpetuate male privilege (Cornwall, Karioris, and Lindisfarne 2016; Smith 2017; Wyrod 2016).

Widely accepted now is the notion that masculine identities diverge, con- flict, and adapt to changing social dynamics (Connell and Messerschmidt 2005; Ratele 2015). Faria’s research on South-Sundanese men in the U.S., for example, demonstrates that masculinities can be at once patriarchal and incorporate ‘parallel, alternative and more progressive expressions of man- hood’ (2013, 97). Inhorn’s (2012) trope of ‘emergent masculinities’ is useful for revealing how men are rethinking what it means to be a man in today’s rapidly globalizing world. It draws from Williams’s (1978) concept of ‘emergence,’ the idea that new meanings, values, and practices are continu- ally created. Inherent in this understanding is that masculinities change over generations, over the life-course, and with entr�ee into new social contexts. In Africa, while ‘provider love’ is still an important component of masculinity, recent scholarship points to other, emergent ways of being men. Smith (2017), for instance, notes that in addition to being responsible for the finan- cial costs of raising children, Nigerian fathers are becoming more involved in the intimate aspects of caregiving. Others point to growing expectations of intimacy, love, trust, and cooperation within contemporary African marriages (Cole 2009; Hirsch and Wardlow 2006). Such trends have been attributed to broad social and structural changes, including urbanization, lower fertility,

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more nuclear family organization, and reconfigurations of gendered divisions of labor (Inhorn, Chavkin, and Navarro 2015).

Men and masculinities in ‘post-crisis’ Sierra Leone

Marrying and becoming a father are essential components of manhood in West Africa (Fortes 1978). Hegemonic masculinities in this context also require that an individual ‘stand like a man’ by providing for others (Enria 2016, 143)—from immediate family and kin, to neighbors and political patrons. However, social processes resulting from the war and the recent Ebola crisis have exacerbated economic insecurity, making it exceedingly dif- ficult for men to marry, establish a home, and provide for their families.

In the aftermath of both the civil war and the Ebola epidemic, Sierra Leone’s economy plummeted, unemployment rose, and mass displacement occurred. During the war, men described fleeing their home towns and vil- lages for urban centers, or leaving the country for refugee camps in Guinea. Those who remained in-country experienced a complete breakdown in social norms and institutions, an inversion of social hierarchies (Shepler 2014), with both men and women engaging in the reversal of gender roles in order to survive. In refugee camps and while on the run from rebel forces, men assisted their female kin with domestic and childcare activities. Conversely, women picked up arms or engaged in other ‘masculine’ behaviors (Denov and Ricard-Guay 2013). Similarly, during the Ebola epidemic it was not uncommon for men to engage in ‘feminine’ forms of care, while women par- ticipated in surveillance activities (McLean 2019).

Despite these trends, a ‘crisis of youth’ trope (Fanthorpe and Maconachie 2010) has been consistently used to describe young men in post-war Sierra Leone, quite similar to the ‘crisis of masculinity’ narrative. Specifically, it refers to the country’s socioeconomically marginalized male youths as poten- tial sources of violence. This framing builds upon existing associations between masculinities, conflict, and violence that result in a reductionist dichotomizing of women as victims and men as perpetrators (MacKenzie 2009).

Enria, in her study of post-war youth in Freetown, Sierra Leone, argues that men must be understood in terms of their ‘struggles to achieve social standing in the context of socioeconomic exclusion’ (2016, 148). By examin- ing men’s lived experiences, she reveals how poor, urban men have estab- lished unconventional forms of respect by engaging in forms of sociality tied to street culture. Other scholars have described Freetown youth as ‘straining’ to make ends meet in a tough economy by carving out provisional liveli- hoods (Finn and Oldfield 2015). This is similar to Kaufmann’s (2017) notion of ‘hustling’ in Liberia, which involves men collectively pursuing insecure

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income-generating activities as a form of agency. These depictions speak to myriad ways in which men react to dire circumstances, countering reified notions of masculinities tied to violence. Needed are further studies that emphasize other constructive forms of masculinity. To fill this gap, this article presents emergent masculinities tied to love and care in the context of fatherhood and men’s intimate social relations.

Ethnographic context and research methods

This study is based on fifteen months of ethnographic research with young fathers and their family members between 2015 and 2016 in the Kono District of Sierra Leone. Fieldwork was undertaken in Koidu Town, Kono’s largest urban center. Kono was heavily impacted by the country’s civil war from 1991 to 2002, as rebel groups sought control of its lucrative diamond mines. It continues to be one of the least developed areas of the country, with challenges including high rates of poverty and limited access to health and social services, which have worsened in light of the 2014–2015 Ebola epidemic (for a thorough review of the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone see Richards [2016]). Currently, Sierra Leone ranks 179th out of 188 countries on the Human Development Index, with over half its population of approxi- mately seven million living on less than $1.90 per day (UNDP 2018).

Participants included 106 fathers between the ages of eighteen and thirty- nine, and thirty-nine female family members. Some men were recruited with the assistance of local ‘youth chairmen’ or staff of local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) dedicated to ‘family issues.’ Others I met during my day-to-day activities in town. The fathers were a heterogeneous group, rang- ing in ethnicity, marital status, religious background, and employment status. Sixty-four percent were ethnic Kono, and all but one identified as Muslim (53%) or Christian (46%). Thirty-four percent of the men were married. While some (17%) held relatively formal jobs in the corporate or NGO sector, most engaged in non-formal work, including mining, farming, and commercial motorbike riding. Regardless of their job, nearly all men were precariously- employed and struggled to meet their families’ basic needs.

Study objectives were addressed via semi-structured interviews and life history narratives, which were carried out in Krio, Sierra Leone’s lingua franca. Questions related to men’s experiences as fathers and intimate partners, as well as their opinions regarding local norms and practices of masculinity. Fieldwork also included participant observation and informal interviews with young men and their families. I often spent time with men in their com- pounds or worksites, and I regularly attended weddings and burials, pul na do (naming ceremonies), school graduations, and religious events.

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Unstructured time was also spent in ataya bases, where men gather to socialize and drink Chinese green tea.

Interviews and life histories were audio-recorded, with permission, and observations were accompanied by hand-written note-taking. Data were ana- lyzed using an inductive approach, by which themes emerged from field- notes and participants’ own words. Themes were then used to produce a codebook, which was applied to interviews and fieldnotes. The study proto- col was approved by the Sierra Leone Ethics and Scientific Review Committee and the Human Subjects Committee of the Yale Human Research Protection Program. Written informed consent was obtained from all participants.

Entering any new space as a researcher, particularly a community in which one is not a member, deserves consideration of one’s positionality, which necessarily influences the kind of data one gathers. I acknowledge that my identity as a white, American woman invariably played a role in this project and that my position likely meant I was excluded from certain kinds of knowledge and experiences. For example, rarely did men share intimate details with me regarding their membership in ancient cultural institutions known as secret societies. They did, however, emphasize their monetary woes, with the likely anticipation that I might share their needs with those in positions of power. The ethnographic data presented below are thus undoubtedly colored by class and gender dynamics.

Manhood and ‘responsibility’

In describing masculinity, people in Kono often emphasized what men have to do in order to be men. Most men remarked how they work hard to care for their families and ‘develop’ their communities, stressing that masculinities were reflected in one’s actions. The most commonly cited component of masculinity was ‘responsibility.’ Put simply, ‘If you are not responsible, that means you are not a man.’ In this context, the concepts of ‘responsibility’ and ‘caring’ are intrinsically intertwined and linked to material provision— adequate shelter and food, and the ability to pay for children’s school fees. However, being responsible goes beyond financial obligations to include additional characteristics such as compassion and perseverance. In this con- text becoming a man means no longer being dependent on elders, but instead supporting dependents of one’s own. From a positive perspective, this frees men of pikin wok (boyish chores) and imbues their role in the fam- ily with greater standing. However, in Kono’s current economy, it often comes with a substantial material and psychological burden, especially for younger men. Many complained they had to assume independence while being financially or emotionally unprepared. This often happened in the

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context of unplanned pregnancy; once a couple revealed the news of their impending parenthood, they were often cut off from caregivers and forced to face life on their own. As a result, many young men dropped out of school to find work. They shared stories of being estranged from their fami- lies, and/or disappointing their child’s mother by failing to be responsible. Mark, a 19-year-old school drop-out, explained the hardships he faced at that time:

It was at the time when I got a woman pregnant that everybody ran away from me. Before I used to go to my uncle and cry for help and he would give me something small, which I used to buy clothing and go to school. But when the lady pointed at me that I was the one who got her pregnant, they said I have now become a big man. They would say, ‘Oh I have my own children that I’m responsible for, you too go and care for yours.’

In addition to independence, manhood in this setting is also tied to leader- ship—both within the family and community. Within the family a man is expected to act as edman (the head), responsible for making important deci- sions or solving disputes. In everyday reality, however, men receive substan- tial assistance from their wives and female kin. Within the community as well a man is to be a model citizen, which requires knowing how to speak to eld- ers with respect and showing compassion for others, often referred to as having ‘humanitarian feelings.’ This aspect of manhood is often accompanied by an expectation of generosity and an intention to put the needs of the community at times before one’s own. As one man explained, ‘You respond to calls from your neighbors within your environment. This means you have a helping hand to offer; then at that time everybody will say, “hey, that guy is a real man.”’Acknowledging that providing can be difficult, men and women highlighted acceptable alternative elements of masculinity, for example, demonstrations of ‘trying’ or doing one’s best. Being a man in Sierra Leone comes with an assumption of hard work and perseverance— that it takes effort and patience to be responsible. Thus, if a man is unable to cater for his family financially, he is still recognized for trying. This was deemed acceptable within a context where many men do indeed abandon their responsibilities for fear they cannot meet them, a phenomenon that was relayed by many women. Importantly, a man’s family should know that he is struggling on their behalf. As one man explained:

If you don’t have money, even the community or even the family can look at your output. People will say, ‘this man, even though he doesn’t have anything, he tries for the family…He tries to do something for the family even though he doesn’t have money.’ Then, if you don’t have anything but you want to be a man, you don’t always sit around and fold your legs, you go in search of something for the family. If you don’t, they will say, ‘he is a useless man, he is a man but he is not responsible.’ They will say you just want to sit and wait for others to bring it to you, for your wife to strive for you.

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According to this explanation, and others like it, idleness is seen as laziness, especially if it means that a man’s wife must ‘pick up the slack’ (for example, women often tot makit [sell items in/around a market or from the home] to compensate for men’s unstable employment). Instead, a man must take ini- tiative and be ‘developmentally oriented,’ as one individual remarked. This phenomenon may help explain why many young men, if not preoccupied with work, cite helping their wives with childcare and other domestic tasks. They do not want to be seen idly sitting by as their female partners struggle on their behalf. At the other extreme, and as attested to by both men and women, the shame a man feels when unable to provide chop moni (the daily allowance for food) often drives him to spaces outside the home. Many men, for example, enjoy spending time with peers in traditionally male spaces, drinking poyo (palm wine) or ataya (a Chinese green tea), although too much time in such spaces may be viewed as irresponsible. How do men han- dle expectations of responsibility when opportunities for employment are limited? Importantly, men adapt norms whereby to be a man is not to be perfect; in fact, there may be no such thing in Sierra Leone. A very proud mechanic said that he considers himself ‘a 90% complete man,’ elaborating that, ‘Nobody is 100% in this country.’ It is more often than not simply impossible to live up to ideals of providership given economic realities, and men—as well as some of their female counterparts—do allow leniency, although the extent to which women are willing to sympathize with men has its limits. What is key is a concerted effort to cater for the family, and men employed numerous resources and strategies to do so. Countless men told me that ‘to be a man is to struggle’; it is this persistent struggle over time that seems to matter most.

Marriage and fatherhood

Marrying and having children are also important components of masculinity in Sierra Leone. As one young man explained:

As long as you, a male, are alive in this world, you are supposed to be a father. Here in this community where we live, if you are not a father they will not take you seriously. They will say that you are not a man. But as long as you have a wife, you will carry responsibility. When you are out on the street, those who see you will have great respect for you.

Such norms were often tied to religious doctrine, as in, ‘You should want a family because that is what God wants,’ or lineage: ‘If you don’t have a child your name will get lost when you die.’ Although both Christian and Muslim men noted the significance of marriage and fatherhood for their religion or their bloodline, they also acknowledged how religious doctrine sometimes

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conflicted with everyday realities. These conflicting feelings are captured in the following passage by a 21-year-old Muslim father:

What people talk about in the Qur’an, they said the only way to become a complete man is to get married. In the other way around, not everybody is capable of marrying because of their situation. Some men do not want to marry, because they are thinking of the stress involved… He is a man, but not like a married man, because as for the married man he has understanding, he has compassion, he will learn to give, but as for the single man, he cannot.

Although manhood is indeed linked to starting a family, it was not necessar- ily a requirement, according to many of the men with whom I spoke. Rather, most important is the experience of providing for someone. Men thus dis- played mixed and sometimes contradicting feelings about the relationship between masculinity and paternity. Some men felt strongly that impotence was a threat to their manhood, for example men like Steven, a 31-year-old Muslim man and father of six. ‘There are people who have married but still they are not men because they are impotent,’ he told me. ‘They are not able to produce anything, so they are not men.’ However, only a handful of indi- viduals expressed these views; most did not feel that the inability to have children precluded them from attaining manhood.

One reason for this may be due to the belief that ‘having a child is a gift from God,’ not a function of a man’s own doing. As one man explained, regarding why some men do not father children: ‘It is left to you and God, because it is God who determines who will be this and who will be that, you cannot decide for yourself.’ Most men in this society do want to have children, and although it may be receding in recent times, there is certainly a stigma associated with the inability to have them. However, because fatherhood and masculinity are so tied to one’s actions, many men felt that having children was less important than the willingness to perform the social roles required of a father—things like educating children, or raising them to be ‘good’ people.

Thus, men who cared for their families and communities in a broader sense—e.g. by attending to parents, siblings, nieces, nephews, and neigh- bors, were still considered to be beteh man dem (real men). Take for example the comments of a 35-year-old miner and father of four:

It can be that you don’t have children, but you are still a man in other ways… .It’s based on what you do. You see some people who don’t have children but you’ve built [a house], you do big things that other men aren’t able to do. Maybe you take good care of your mom and dad. You’re always by their side. When problems come their way you fight them until they’re solved. That’s a man. It’s not just those who have children.

These ‘other ways of being men’ make sense for a context in which it is incredibly difficult to fulfill expectations of financial responsibility. In these

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circumstances, where many men do abandon their responsibilities, the meaning of ‘caring’ for others is expanding to include more than provision- ing. Caring increasingly means performing carework, for example, assisting children with school work, taking sick family members to the clinic, and fetching charcoal to heat water for cooking or bathing. Many young men now see it as their role to perform childcare activities such as feeding, bath- ing, and dressing children. In fact, simply ‘being there’ seems to be taking precedence over biological paternity. I witnessed many men attending school functions, bringing children along to the cinema or to watch a foot- ball match, and toting them on their bikes or in their arms.

According to some, it is also possible to realize manhood via displays of wealth or power, for example, by owning a house or car or by performing acts of generosity towards others. This resonates with other African depic- tions of the ‘big man’ ideal, where authoritative males spend money to dem- onstrate social status or political influence (Daloz 2003; Lindsay and Miescher 2003). However, these factors alone, without ties to responsibility—for chil- dren and spouses, extended kin, or the community—are more or less mean- ingless. Most important was knowing how to wield power in appropriate ways, namely, by demonstrating support and compassion for others.

Love and unity in the home

Men spoke at length and with emotion about the love they had for their partners and children, as well as the importance for them, as men, to foster an environment of harmony and peace within the home. They acknowl- edged that ‘showing love’ requires faithfulness, patience, and effective com- munication. It means spending time in the company of family, interacting with them, confiding in them, and listening to their concerns. It also demands balance: a careful display of gentleness alongside sternness, so to be seen as an ally rather than a strict authoritarian, yet still serious. In order to practice such balance, a man must be self-disciplined. Using a common proverb to describe an important quality of manhood, Joseph, a lab techni- cian at a local clinic, said: ‘Tek tem kil anch, yu go si in gut’ (if you take your time in killing an ant you will see its innards). ‘As a man you have to be patient with so many things,’ explained Joseph. ‘If your wife angers you, you should not react in the moment of heat and beat her. This shows you are not a responsible man but a foolish man.’ Joseph was speaking from per- sonal experience in this case; a recent dispute with his wife had ended with her hospitalization, an arrest that cost him over one million Leones (approxi- mately $143 USD), and a job suspension.

Although gender-based violence is indeed prevalent in Sierra Leone, most men indicated changing norms around its acceptability, with family and

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community members more likely to intercede in the case of violence against a spouse or child. Women largely agreed, and expressed growing recognition of their right to leave men who maltreated them. While many men denied the use of violence in the home (which was generally confirmed by their partners), others were quite forthcoming about their use of violence. Mark, who spoke to me about the need for love and unity within the home, admit- ted occasionally using violence with his wife, especially when he felt his manhood being threatened:

There are some times, when I am disgruntled, when I am discouraged… I beat her severely. Like, one day, when I came home she started shouting at me, ‘big man, idle man like you, you can’t afford to buy trousers for your child!’ So she started to use those words with me and I became angry and punched her in the face.

Although men did admit to using violence, they also acknowledged its nega- tive effect on harmony within the home and the extended family. Many reported having used violence in the past, but having since ‘learned their lesson,’ noting that violence either did not solve their problem (often ampli- fying it instead), or made them feel guilty for having done something con- sidered morally wrong. David, a 29-year-old Kono and father of two, explained how he has substituted violence with love, with better results:

When you’ve assigned a task and someone fails, it should not be about violence, because I’ve compared violence to love and when you apply love to direct someone, it becomes easier to learn than when you apply violence.

In addition to sentiments of non-violence, love was often tied to notions of sacrifice and egalitarian ideology. Sometimes, in the name of ‘showing love’ men may choose to cede some of their power to please their wives and maintain peace in the home. The fact that men have power to cede in the first place speaks to the institutionalization of patriarchy still deeply ingrained in Sierra Leonean society. Still, out of love and respect towards the women in their lives, many men admitted to being willing and even happy to share some of their authority, at least some of the time. They often spoke of their home as being a ‘democracy,’ sharing ideas and discussing plans with their wives before making decisions. Again, some women confirmed these behaviors. In one scenario, a young woman blatantly defied her parents’ wishes that she marry an older, wealthier man so that she could be with the man she loved, someone poor but who treated her with respect. In fact this man had taken to calling her the ‘household evaluation officer’ because she was admittedly better at handling their finances. He told me that in a healthy home, ‘Two hands should come together for the family to move forward.’

Men and women also spoke to the importance of communication for a happy, unified home. Being able to confide in a partner or another family

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member when falling short of social obligations was seen by many as a ‘big’ thing to do, worthy of admiration. ‘That shows that I am a man because I’m bold enough to tell the woman the situation,’ explained one man.

It’s about communication, and also not being so prideful that you don’t tell your spouse. And this way she can help you… If I don’t have [money], I don’t hide it from her. I tell her. I say, but let’s bear with what we have. This shows that you are a man.

Open communication fostered trust and prevented unwanted conflict within the home, as did behaviors associated with monogamy, practices many men attributed to definitions of manliness. Although these ideologies often con- flicted with their everyday behaviors—as attested to by women who sus- pected or complained of infidelity—many men still felt it ideal to be devoted husbands by ‘controlling their nature.’ However, these views were often tied not to a sense of morality, but to practicality—how was a man supposed to fulfill responsibilities to his family if he impregnated women outside of the home? Such practical concerns were also responsible for men’s changing views regarding the desire for polygamous marriages. While Sierra Leone has historically been a predominantly polygamous society, with both Muslim and indigenous beliefs allowing this practice, recently monog- amous unions have become more desirable (Coulter 2009).

Although displays of love and concern for unity were important to most men, for some, it was not enough. Indeed, many felt that responsibility and love must go hand-in-hand. Furthermore, showing love and engaging in shared carework was still considered by many to be ‘womanly.’ Although men admitted to and even boasted about helping their wives with domestic activities, they mostly acknowledged that these activities were not indicative of manliness, but instead, demonstrated love for their wife and children. ‘You know it is the heart that can do all these things, as long as the heart is sweet,’ explained one man. Similarly, many women saw it as their role to perform such domestic tasks, although they appreciated it when men helped. As one woman explained, ‘A man can help the woman…he will do those few domestic works. He is a real man because he is showing love to his wife.’ When asked whether her husband did such things, she laughed, indicating that he in fact did not. Some men admitted to only taking part in such activities when their female partner was ill, tired, postpartum or other- wise occupied with work, acknowledging that though domestic activities fall within the female realm, ‘women are not slaves’ and deserve assistance. ‘Well, I know it’s wrong [not helping her],’ said David:

I need to help her because the task of fetching water, taking care of the child, bathing him, taking him to school… from there come home, cook, clean the house, do this and that… .it’s very difficult… sometimes I help her. When I see that it has become so difficult for her then I say, ‘okay, you go to the market while I clean the

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room.’ Then I will clean the room, clean around the place, bathe the child, dress him and send someone to drop him off at school.

Several men, however, felt that performing carework and other domestic activities were profoundly tied to their sense of themselves as men. Put sim- ply, ‘Doing domestic work adds another feather to your cap as a man,’ said one man, a single father. These trends are similar to Evans’ (2016) findings among a subset of Zambian men, who, though in the minority, saw shared carework within the home as part of their own identity, some even taking pride in their behaviors. Within my own study, some men prided themselves in engaging in carework, which they associated with altruism. They often used neoliberal language and rights-based discourse when describing their actions: ‘It’s about helping your female partner to develop herself. And you also make sure that you allow the woman to express her own views. Then you are a man,’ explained a young student.

Accounting for emergent masculinities

When I asked men to explain recent changes in gender norms they often noted sweeping societal changes, as in ‘it’s the way the world is going’. Others noted, more specifically, the spread of Christianity, access to educa- tion, urbanization, and the importation of Western discourses related to human rights and gender equity, which have flooded the country alongside international NGOs and humanitarian organizations in the post-conflict (and then Ebola-stricken) context. These were often referred to as promoting advancement and development, and reflect what scholars have described elsewhere as contributing to changing masculinities in Africa and globally (Cornwall, Karioris, and Lindisfarne 2016).

Citing Christian norms related to interpersonal relationships, one 33-year- old man said, ‘I listen to the teachings of the Bible, how to be at peace with your family.’ Christian principles have encouraged many men, for example, to desire only one wife and to be able to adequately care for her, diminish- ing normative ties between the number of wives and offspring to notions of manliness. Men also cited the Biblical ideal that ‘two shall become one.’ For many of these men, monogamy was important for promoting unity within the home. Several others mentioned the difficulty within polygamous mar- riages of keeping the family safe amidst situations of crisis. Such comments were often motivated by personal experiences of loss and displacement dur- ing the civil war or the Ebola epidemic. A young man named Lansana reflected on this theme by posing the following question: ‘When they ask you to run after your wife and it happens that each of them runs in a differ- ent direction, which one of them will you chase?’

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Urbanization may also be responsible for shifts in norms and practices of masculinities. Geographers working in Africa have pointed to trends where gender dynamics tend to be more variable and egalitarian in urban areas (Boateng et al. 2014; Giddings and Hovorka 2010). As Evans (2018) posits, cities may be important catalysts of gendered social change, as in interconnected, heterogeneous, and densely populated settings people’s perceptions of normative thoughts and behaviors are more readily dis- rupted. In urban Zambia, she argues, people are more likely to see women performing socially valued roles such as provisioning for children, and this exposure unsettles gender ideologies, increasing flexibility in gen- dered divisions of labor (Evans 2018). While this argument did not hold for Zambian men’s engagement in unpaid carework, which is generally undertaken in private (Evans 2016), in Sierra Leone people are exposed to male involvement in such work, as it is commonly done outdoors, in open compounds.

In Sierra Leone, education in the ‘English system’ is associated with advancement—in knowledge, as well as different ways of thinking—and exposure to formal education may additionally influence gendered norm per- ceptions. Men recounted taking courses on home economics where they were taught that to launder and cook would not ‘spoil’ them as men. In school, they also reported being increasingly exposed to neoliberal concepts of human rights that have permeated Sierra Leonean society, creating fric- tions—or what Aboim (2009) refers to as ‘entanglements’— with existing patriarchal norms. Aboim (2009) refers to this process as a ‘mixing’ of mascu- linities, where marks of change and modernization alter customary ways of life. Men cited changes in policies and the creation of new governmental programs related to these issues, especially targeted towards men who engaged in violence during the war. As one man noted, ‘You are having human rights, so the parents are now scared to treat their children in that kind of way [referring to corporal punishment], because they have the Child Protection Agencies.’

This emphasis on rights was said to be especially prominent in the post- war environment. According to many men, this ‘greater awareness about the world’ came with the democracy that followed the war, as well as the abun- dance of NGOs and their Western-biased programs and agendas. Consider, for example, Komba, a 21-year-old miner, who completed a human-rights themed training offered by a development organization. Komba, along with 25 other young men, participated in a Men’s Dialogue Group for four months, where they were taught how to take care of their wives, maintain peace within the home, and resolve conflict in the community via non-vio- lent means. Conversations about human rights were also accompanied by expectations that men contribute to ‘the common good.’

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‘Post-crisis masculinities’ in Sierra Leone: revisiting masculinity theory

My research demonstrates that young, marginalized men continue to value the breadwinner role despite their precarious circumstances, speaking to the power of hegemonic gender norms. However, when they inevitably fall short of expectations, rather than succumbing to violence or shirking responsibil- ity—as the ‘crisis of masculinity’ narrative would suggest—many exhibit alternative masculinities tied to love and care. This work contrasts with exist- ing research from Africa that suggests men react to circumstances of poverty and disempowerment via violent or hypersexualized masculinities (Groes- Green 2009; Ramphele 2000; Silberschmidt 2001). Rather, in line with other emerging research (Baral 2016; Izugbara 2015), many young Sierra Leoneans are reconfiguring their masculinities in ways that are explicitly non-violent. Indeed, many are reformulating ideas and practices that allow them to care for their families in more supportive ways. These ‘post-crisis masculinities’ have emerged alongside the socioeconomic and political ruptures that accompany crises.

Elements of the post-crisis environment have seeped into men’s imagina- tions of themselves, as depicted by their language. Words such as ‘development’ and ‘empowerment’ have entered their everyday vernacular. Someone who is generous or compassionate is described as having ‘humanitarian feelings.’ Men are now expected to be altruistic, and to hold sentiments of a ‘common good.’ According to one participant, to be a man you are like a ‘peace ambassador—developmentally oriented, always helping others.’ This may be related to the current climate, where the Sierra Leonean state struggles to provide adequate social services to its citizens. Given the impoverishment brought by war, people may also be experiencing a decline in mutual help tied to traditional kin networks, as has happened in other post-conflict settings (Robson and Roque 2001). As Fanthorpe and Maconachie (2010) argue, wartime displacement has fostered a new sense of self-reliance among people in Kono, weakening unquestioning deference towards traditional forms of authority.

In understanding shifts in discourses and practices of gender, it is import- ant to examine how masculinities emerge—the process of change itself—in addition to the structural factors that foster change. As Spall argues about post-war Angola, the speed of social change accompanying the conflict, including its war-torn economy and mass urbanization, led to corresponding changes in gender discourses (2016). He also notes a ‘social fissure’ (Lindsay and Miescher 2003) between generations of men brought on by war-inspired change, where the ‘youth’ generation has incorporated a masculinity tied increasingly to material wealth, urbanity, and a global youth culture (2016).

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A similar case can be made for Sierra Leone, where crises have sparked rapid adaptation to changing social circumstances.

While these ‘post-crisis masculinities’ I describe have been depicted as ‘emerging,’ it is important to consider that what we are witnessing may not be entirely new, but rather, a reversion to older masculine norms. As numer- ous scholars have argued, the male breadwinner ideal is a colonial invention in most African societies, where prior to the colonial encounter labor tended to be more evenly shared and women contributed substantially to forms of production (Evans 2016; Matlon 2016). Thus, the postcolonial economic cli- mate calling upon men to provision was likely a product of imported capital- ist ideologies, which were then largely reinforced through Christian churches (Abramowitz and Moran 2012). Hence, while my research collaborators noted the role of Christianity in fueling emerging masculinities, the potential down- sides of these forces must also be considered insofar as they may have func- tioned to erase preexisting gender ideologies that were more egalitarian in nature. Recent scholarship has noted the patriarchal nature of gender ideolo- gies articulated by both Christian and Muslim communities in sub-Saharan Africa, which may serve to reproduce hegemonic forms even as they foster new ‘liberal masculinities’ (Burchardt 2018; Schultz and Janson 2016).

Conclusion

In eastern Sierra Leone what it means to be a man is shifting in light of soci- etal disruptions following recent crises. Although individual men differ regarding the extent to which they embrace emergent gender ideologies, broad-scale shifts in masculinities have been explicitly shaped and continue to be shaped by the country’s status as a ‘post-conflict’ and ‘developing’ state. Among young, urban men, manhood is increasingly defined by one’s ability to ‘try’ for his family and exhibit love and compassion for others.

While arguing that urban masculinities are increasingly conflicting with hegemonic norms, this article does not claim that patriarchy is no longer a problem, nor that harmful masculine types no longer exist. In eastern Sierra Leone, men’s power over women is still very much alive, and men continue to benefit from patriarchal norms investing them with authority over women. However, the findings presented here also indicate that new masculinities are emerging that reflect how men’s power is becoming increasingly ques- tioned—and at times willingly shared. Even as men are unable to uphold the breadwinner ideal, this does not translate to a direct correlation with vio- lence or irresponsibility. Rather, Sierra Leonean men are practicing alternative ways of being men in order to carve out positive identities for themselves. Further studies are warranted that focus less upon crises of masculinity, and

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that instead demonstrate how masculinities are reconfigured post-crisis—by changing societal norms and men’s individual experiences.

The concept of ‘post-crisis masculinities’ speaks to how processes of socio- economic and political change that accompany crisis contribute to changing ideologies of gender. It importantly recognizes the transformative nature of masculinities and calls for further accounts of men’s lives that make space for masculine norms tied to love and care, for example, within the context of fatherhood. Such a focus will hopefully discourage the continued demoniz- ing of men that tends to occur within development discourses in post-con- flict settings where ‘male’ is so commonly linked to ‘violence’ (Abramowitz and Moran 2012).

Acknowledgements

Field work for this research benefited from the generous funding of multiple agencies including The National Science Foundation (Grant No. 1528395), the Wenner-Gren Foundation (Grant No. 9216), the Yale MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies, and the Yale Anthropology Department. I further benefited from dedicated time to write and reflect on this work from a P.E.O. Scholar Award and a Minerva–United States Institute of Peace Scholar Award. I am particularly grateful to Sahr J. Kellie and Sigismond Gbandeh for their research assistance throughout my field work in Sierra Leone. I would also like to thank Carole Ammann and Sandra Staudacher for the oppor- tunity to present this work at the Conference of the African Studies Association in Germany and for reviewing an early draft of this manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on contributor

Kristen McLean, PhD, MPH is an Assistant Professor of International Studies at the College of Charleston. She is also a recent Peace and Security Scholar with the United States Institute of Peace. Her work focuses on issues related to youth, gender, violence, and health in post-conflict and humanitarian settings, most recently in Sierra Leone.

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