The Badge, the Blazer and Those Who Came Before us: A Sociological Study on Hazing in Former Model C All-Boys Schools in the Eastern Cape

Abstract

This study sought to explore the understanding and experiences of hazing of seven Black men, 18–25 years of age, who attended all-boys ex-Model C schools in South Africa to describe what it might reveal about masculinities and cultural heteronormativity. This study aims to understand the institutional culture of boys' high schools including sport and the factors that inform, produce and reproduce heteronormative culture. This study used a retrospective ethnographic method of inquiry to explore participants' memories of their experiences and perceptions about the initiation/hazing they were subjected to during their school years. As points of entry into the extensive and broad theoretical discussions, I discuss hazing in sports, institutional culture and heteronormative ideals that have shaped the narratives around hazing in boys' schools, as well as the racial issues that exist within these structures. This illustrates how the issue of hazing is a systematic one that relies heavily on the reproduction of a system based on values and ideals that continue to be perpetuated and are reflected here.

Citation

Gobodo, B. (2024), "The Badge, the Blazer and Those Who Came Before us: A Sociological Study on Hazing in Former Model C All-Boys Schools in the Eastern Cape", johnson, j. and Chin, J.W. (Ed.) Cultures of Sport Hazing and Anti-Hazing Initiatives for the 21st Century (Research in the Sociology of Sport, Vol. 23), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 47-67. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1476-285420240000023004