University of Johannesburg (UJ) Professor Malehoko Tshoaedi said on Tuesday that the way in which society raises male children impacts gender-based violence issues.

Speaking during a webinar organised by the Government Communication and Information System in partnership with the Agape Youth Movement, she said, in practice, not everyone lives up to the ideals of hegemonic masculinity.

She said in South African society boys are expected to be “tough” and not shed tears.

As a result, most of boys grow up suppressing their emotions, living up to the ideals of hegemonic masculinities because of the idea that "a man needs to be tough".

"We have to think about the dangers of suppressing all these emotions throughout your lifetime as a human being," she stated.

On the issue of marginalised masculinities linked to race, class and ability, Tshoaedi explained that they are not all equal, as it also displays how men are classified in the patriarchal system.

She highlighted that the colonial order introduced the hierarchy system in terms of humanity which put white men at the top, followed by white women, while black people were at the bottom.

This is evidenced when looking at the history of colonialism on black bodies, the assumption was that the black bodies were not human enough, she explained.

"This order that we still have within the patriarchal system has huge problems as it still links to the ideals around humanity and hence the violence  that we still see in our society,” she added.