Durban - Primary school boys use sport, violence and bullying to exert their power over those they see as being "gay".
This is according to research conducted at a Mariannhill primary school and presented at a national violence conference earlier this month.
The research, conducted by University of KwaZulu-Natal Professor Deevia Bhana and co-author Dr Emmanuel Mayeza, looked at the way boys at the school expressed their masculinity on the school playground through the use of violence.
The boys who were part of the study were between the ages of 10 and 13, and identified themselves during sessions with the researchers as "real boys" who play football and can fight.
According to the research, boys who were small in build, effeminate, played gently or played "girls' games" and did not fight back when provoked were considered to be "gay" by the "real boys" in the study.
The boys in the study said they would not play with these other boys and used violence, bullying and ostracism as ways of exerting and wielding power over them.
When asked why the other boys were beaten up at school, one boy said his grandmother had told him that "being gay" was very bad and he had to grow up to be a "real Zulu man".
The boys identified fighting and being able to fight as an important factor of being a "real boy".
The study suggested that patriarchal views in society and violence within homes played an important role in how these young boys shaped their identities.
The study suggested that schools needed to do more to reduce violence by monitoring pupils during lunch breaks and by speaking with parents to come up with solutions that did not include children being violently disciplined.
It was also suggested that the Life Orientation curriculum needed to be transformed so that teachers could respond to violence more effectively, particularly "homophobic violence" described by the boys in the study.
Responding to questions from The Mercury, Mayeza said education about gender and related issues of identity should begin at home, before children start attending school.
"It is very important for parents and guardians to talk openly and in non-judgemental ways with their children about gender and gender-related violence at school including homophobic bullying."
Mayeza said it was possible for the boys who were part of the study to change.
"It is very possible to change behaviour and attitude. Gender is a product of society, culture and upbringing. It is something that is learnt. The negative attitudes and acts of violence expressed by the real boys' towards non-conforming boys can be unlearned or challenged through the reinforcement of new and non-violent ways of thinking about what it means to be a real boy'.
"Parents and teachers are particularly important role players in terms of influencing behavioural and attitudinal change among children."
Clinical psychologist Diante Fuchs said children pick up on their parents and caregivers' attitudes to others.
She said the older generation still viewed homosexuality (and any other sexuality other than heterosexuality) as being "dirty", "wrong" or "sick".
"While the older generation holds these attitudes and beliefs about gender roles and sexuality, it is unlikely that the younger generation will treat them with more tolerance and acceptance."
She said parents and guardians needed to create a new dialogue with children around gender roles.
The Mercury