Citation

Lukhele F. Crit. Arts 2017; 31(3): 106-122.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, Africa Journals Online)

DOI

10.1080/02560046.2017.1383493

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Why do the Swazi people call the condom lijazi lemkhwenyana--the son-in-law's coat? Why is a man prohibited from entering the precincts of his in-laws if he is not wearing a coat or jacket or at least some long-sleeved item of clothing? Why is a man whose mental faculties have been enfeebled by a love spell said to be wearing a metallic coat? Why does David Masondo give a prospective one-night stand his jacket to ensure that she cannot slip through his fingers as she has done before? What empowers Can Themba's character Philemon in The Suit (To Kill a Man's Pride and Other Short Stories from South Africa. Johannesburg: Ravan, 1984) to drive his wife to suicide by torturing her through her secret lover's suit? In this article, I explore the sartorial valence of what is essentially a single item of men's dress: the coat/suit jacket/jacket. The black masculinities in question here are predominantly Swazi, although other southern African groups are touched upon. I argue that this thick upper-body covering of the male body, initially introduced by colonial modernity, has become so entrenched in the dress ethics of Swazi (and other) masculinities that, as a wardrobe item, it has come to embody the force of the masculine subject. © 2017 Unisa Press.

Language: en

Keywords

coat/suit jacket/jacket; in-laws; kuhlonipha; sartorial masculinities; sexuality; subversion