Walking the Line: Southern Sudanese masculinities and reconciling one’s past with the present

Abstract

This paper discusses an ethnographic engagement with Southern Sudanese men and their experiences of resettlement as refugees in Adelaide, Australia. They use the phrase ‘walking the line’ to convey the multiple challenges of reconciling one’s past within the present contexts of life in a new host country. This geographic metaphor hints at the contested borderlands of masculinity, social relations and raising children that highlight the dynamic complexities related to gender and institutional power. The participant voices provide helpful perspectives on the endeavour of forging one’s identity in forced migration and resettlement contexts.