“Stammering less so that I can be more of a man”: Discourses of masculinities among young adult men in the Western Cape, South Africa, who stutter.

Abstract

The past 3 decades have seen researchers increasingly examine masculinity within the context of disability. However, there remains a gap in impairment-specific research. The present study seeks to examine the discourses of masculinities among young adult men in Western Cape Province who stutter. Semistructured interviews and focus groups were used to collect data from 15 men who stutter. In analyzing the data, a combination of discursive and applied psychological perspectives was used. Specific attention was given to the emotional processes that men experience ascribing to, resisting and challenging hegemonic ideals of masculinity. The findings revealed that men predominantly drew on hegemonic norms to construct their masculinities, emphasizing the importance of occupying a position of power and control, especially when interacting with other heterosexual men and potential dating and sexual partners. Men at times also presented contrary and competing subject positions, simultaneously accepting and rejecting certain practices of dominant masculinity in their daily lives, specifically in relation to female figures (such as mothers and friends) and homosexual men. It was evident that the process of negotiating these multiple versions of masculinity was not easy. At times, men indicated struggling to negotiate their stutter with dominant masculine ideals, which led to reduced self-esteem and self-confidence and negative emotions and feelings of shame, weakness, emasculation, and inadequacy. In instances where participants resisted hegemonic ideals, they formulated affirmative masculinities in line with, and accepting of, their impairment. Implications for future masculinities research in the context of disability are discussed. Public Significance StatementResearch regarding disabled masculinities in the context of specific impairments is lacking. The study aims to examine how men who stutter construct their masculinities. The results demonstrated that men either ascribed to or rejected dominant masculine ideals, or formulated affirmative masculinities in line with their speech impairment. Future research is encouraged to move toward a more impairment-specific analysis and use discursive and applied psychological perspectives to gain new and critical insights into the complexities associated with disabled masculinities.

Deploying hegemonic masculinity: A study of uses of the concept in the journal Psychology of Men & Masculinities.

“…Although hegemonic masculinity was originally conceptualized in terms of a hierarchy among multiple masculinities, most of the papers address hegemonic masculinity separately from other masculinities. There are however valuable exceptions, including the Isaacs and Swartz (2022) study of stutterers. Taking a discursive psychology approach, Isaacs & Swartz illuminate the contradictions in constructing masculinity and the varied responses, including the construction of alternative, affirmative masculinities.…”

“…None of our group of studies provided a class analysis, exploring the role of hegemony in the lives of men with differing levels of socioeconomic dis/advantage. Only one of our studies deliberately recruited people with disability (Isaacs & Swartz, 2022). Two of our studies focused specifically on heterosexual men, two studied gay men in particular and one studied bisexual men.…”

Examining the understandings of young adult South African men who stutter: The question of disability

“…Recent South African research with South African men demonstrates the ways in which men who stutter experience stuttering in relation to their masculinities. Isaacs and Swartz ( 2020b ) explored the discourses of masculinities among 15 young adult South African men who stutter. The authors found that stuttering had largely a negative impact on men's construction of their masculine identities.…”

“…For example, they struggled to negotiate their stutter with hegemonic or dominant practices of masculinities. This resulted in a reduced self‐esteem and self‐confidence and negative emotions and feelings of weakness, powerlessness, shame and emasculation (Isaacs & Swartz, 2020b ). Occupying this marginalized position, resulted in men who stutter to improve their performance of hegemonic masculinities by gaining control over their stuttering through the attendance of speech therapy and self‐help groups.…”

“…Occupying this marginalized position, resulted in men who stutter to improve their performance of hegemonic masculinities by gaining control over their stuttering through the attendance of speech therapy and self‐help groups. For other men, experiences of oppression and marginalization resulted in the rejection of hegemonic ideals of masculinities and the construction of positive, affirmative identities accepting of their stutter (Isaacs & Swartz, 2020b ).…”