Many participants in our study identified the masculine norms of power, control, being in command and aggression as some of the defining factors of being 'top dogs' (izinja ze game in isiZulu). As our study confirms, being a 'real man' is about power and hierarchy. Gangs enable their members to assert their manhood. These results concur with those of other studies which have noted that gangs use violence as a tool to eradicate all traces of femininity or weakness within them. The gang members often lose their loved ones or put them in danger of revenge attacks while trying to prove that they are the better gangs and the better men.ДЄ former gang member explained (page 82): 'You feel like you are a man if your gang is powerful but there is so much violence and there is so much revenge.' It also spills over into sexual violence. This is because territory marking and revenge among rival gangs is not just about them fighting among themselves. Women in the areas are often caught in the crossfire of gang wars. We found that gangs use violence to construct and practice a toxic masculinity: it makes them engage in anti-social behavior, resulting in them being maimed or killed. And we examined how gang members think about masculinity. We asked questions about the development challenges facing youth in townships, as well as exploring what drives young people's attraction to gangs. We interviewed 15 unemployed youths and former gang members between the ages of 14 and 35, and 19 practitioners working on the issue of youth and gang violence. They show that in the face of marginalization and social exclusion, youth in gangs think they have no options except violence to prove that they are 'real' men in their communities. Our findings are important because they highlight the link between harmful definitions of masculinity and violence. The findings also highlight that the way young gang members think about and understand masculinity ultimately translates into gender-based violence.

High levels of violence are used to 'prove' gang members' masculinity. We found that, in the absence of socio-economic opportunities-recreational and cultural facilities, jobs, other economic opportunities and social networks-gangs use violence to dominate and subordinate rival gangs in order to maintain their place as the 'superior' men in their communities. The study, 'The Interconnection between Youth Gangs, Toxic Masculinity and Gender Based Violence in South Africa,' is a chapter in the book Negotiating Patriarchy and Gender in Africa: Discourses, Practices, and Policies. Townships are historically black urban residential areas, mostly characterized by underdevelopment and high levels of poverty. Our study explored the intricate connection between marginalized youth in gangs, toxic masculinity and gender-based violence in Bophelong, a township about 70 kilometers south of Johannesburg, in the Vaal area. It is also about the exercise of power by men over women and other men they consider weak.

Research has repeatedly shown how gender-based violence is closely linked to toxic masculinities-views about masculinity (what it means to be a man) that are harmful to the man himself and the people around him. Another grim side effect of gang violence is gender-based violence, which is one of the country's greatest concerns.

Text based gangster games