The Masculinity-Fix: Space, Gender, and Power in South-South Migration in Africa

• In Event: Open Refereed Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (90 minute): Table 22: Sociological and Social Theory

Abstract

This paper introduces the concept of the ‘masculinity-fix’ to examine how masculinities are shaped and exploited within transnational migration systems in Africa. Drawing on David Harvey's spatial fix and Raewyn Connell's hegemonic masculinity, the masculinity-fix explains how masculinities are commodified, tied to aspirational ideals, and spatially organised to sustain global capitalism. Using data from multi-generational interviews and ethnographic fieldwork, the study focuses on two intra-African migration corridors: Mozambique-South Africa, shaped by colonial labour regimes and enduring racialised hierarchies, and West Africa-Cape Verde, impacted by postcolonial dependencies and neoliberal globalisation. Through a comparative analysis, findings reveal that masculinities are central to how economic pressures are managed within migration systems. Migrant masculinities are reconfigured through precarious labour, racialised exploitation, and aspirations for mobility and provision, producing hybrid identities that adapt to and resist global capitalist demands. By situating masculinities within broader structures of labour and power, the masculinity-fix advances feminist scholarship by showing how gender operates as a mechanism of both exploitation and resistance in transnational systems. The research highlights the colonial and postcolonial legacies that shape migration patterns, labour hierarchies, and gendered identities, offering new insights into the intersections of migration, masculinities, and global power structures.

Author

• Sofia Aboim