The UJ School of Communication and the Library, in collaboration with the Human Science Research Council (HSRC) invite you to a book launch: PERFORMING MASCULINITIES: Izikhothane in a South African Township.

Performing Masculinities: Izikhothane in a South African Township explores the vibrant and controversial world of ukukhothana, a subculture that shocked South African townships in the early 2000s. This book gives the reader a view into the lives of these township youth as they are known to buy expensive clothes, sip on premium alcohol, and engage in high- energy dance-offs and verbal showdowns during mock battles. This book offers a gripping ethnographic account of how young men from impoverished backgrounds use conspicuous consumption to shape their identities and assert their masculinity. All of this unfolds against a backdrop of poverty, where most participants come from working-class families, with some parents employed as domestic workers, general labourers, small informal business owners, administrative clerks, or are unemployed.

DATE: 29 May 2025

TIME: 12:00

VENUE: Hybrid – University of Johannesburg Library, Nadine Gordimer Auditorium, Level 5, Auckland Park Kingsway Campus

REGISTRATION: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_nk6xLzHhT3aIMmk9c5kdiQ