Paper short abstract:

This paper explores conceptions of selfhood among men in Namibia and the ways that these are made and unmade in relation to others. It focuses on relatively short periods of isolation that men would sometimes subject themselves to, as a time of intense self-reflection on identity and belonging.

Paper long abstract:

This paper explores conceptions of selfhood among young men and the ways that these are made and unmade in relation to others. Based on ethnographic fieldwork in Swakopmund and Windhoek, Namibia, the paper focuses specifically on relatively short periods of isolation which men would sometimes submit themselves to, most usually after significant major life events such as a death of a close relative, or other times of major life stresses. Known by several names – uudhigu (Oshindonga) or uupakadhi (Oshikwanyama) – these periods were times removed from friends and family (indeed, from all other people) and of intense reflection on matters of the heart, as well as self-identity and belonging. Described to me as a distinctly ‘masculine’ way of handling emotional issues in a highly gendered society, self-isolation as way of navigating such times was also seen as problematic by men themselves – as well as self-reflection, it was also a time of danger. The paper elaborates the social and cultural factors that enable these periods of isolation to occur, as well as men’s reported thought processes and experiences during those times.

Paper long abstract:

Gender essentialism is a school of thought that has been present in Western culture throughout the centuries, generally serving as a tool to justify inequality between women and men. With the

passage of time and social, cultural and scientific advances, essentialist thinking has evolved and

modified its discourse and foundations, in such a way that it has remained latent to this day. In this way, the essentialist discourse predominant today, far from relying on religious or philosophical postulates, as it did in the past, has sought refuge and legitimization in certain branches of science, one of the most prominent since its beginnings being psychology.

Through this work, I propose to analyze the role that psychology has played in the dissemination of gender essentialist ideas during the last century, as well as the survival of this current of thought until today, the postulates and influence held by its main defenders and its impact at a social level as a “scientific” explanation of inequalities between the sexes. To do this, I have made a selection of some of the authors who have most influenced the development of psychology and who have maintained essentialist positions. Regarding the modern authors that I consider representatives of this discourse, they have been selected based on their academic prestige and the impact that their theses have, both on a scientific and social level.