Street Masculinity Essay

To begin, masculinity is a central trait through which men try to compensate for their race and class subordination. Men use masculinity in an attempt to acquire social status and avoid being subordinated. However, among delinquent boys, masculinity is formed through negative encounters with probation officer, the police, juvenile hall, and school discipline. On the other hand, masculinities are also shaped positively by authority figures in the appropriate circumstances. Manhood is also accomplished through the subordination of women and through culture. Additionally, masculinity intersects with other factors including sexuality, race, and class, which leads to multiple forms of masculinity. The dominant form of masculinity is hegemonic masculinity through which privileged males have dominated women and other men. Accomplishing this form of masculinity is near impossible for minority men, which leads them to engage in compensatory masculinities. Street life-oriented young men are likely to engage in less superior forms of masculinity consisting of working-class masculinity, hypermasculinity, and street masculinity. Men who believe the police to be an obstacle in their ability to develop and integrate into the community, often hold hostile views against them as well. Many times, the police claim to be

Men must pass many, “…tests among, peers, family, and these institutions…to be assigned “real men” status by relevant others” (Rios and Sarabia, p. 173). Thus, it is likely easier for men in power to be able to pass these tests and prove their masculinity, than it is for men of lower status and resources. Therefore, the authors’ claim that masculinity is a socially assigned factor for the majority of men, is