Confronting Toxic Masculinity in South African Society: A Review of Jeffery Rakabe’s Led by Shepherds: An Initiate’s Memoir (Jacana Media 2025)

Abstract

As South Africans, we have all wondered what lessons are imparted during initiation; how do they help boys become men? While it is common lore to protect the challenges that young boys face, the protection means that it also gets clouded in silence, making it difficult to interrogate its effectiveness.