Masculinity and Sexual Proclivities: Ethnography from Ghana

Anita Gyekye, University of Cape Coast
Daniel Y Fiaveh, University of Cape Coast, Ghana

Using the hegemonic masculinity theory and African feminism, we engaged in observations and individual and group discussions with men from a suburb of Ghana about what we regard as sexual proclivities (sexual ideals and obligations) to understand Ghanaian men’s conceptions of manhood and their sexual conduct. We discovered that men’s sexual ideals and cultural obligations are not only explained by financial abilities to woo a woman but also revolve around women’s approval of manhood, i.e., erectile capabilities, prowess of peno-vaginal sex, and women’s approval of their own sexual pleasure with the help of the penis. We conclude that perceptions about manhood in terms of its ideals and obligations have intersectional consequences for men’s sexual and reproductive health not only in Ghana but across sub-Saharan Africa. Therefore, studies interested in understanding West African men need to pay very close attention to conceptions of the male penis and cultural expectations of it.