Leaving the street alone: Contesting street manhood as a gender project

Abstract

This study examines the gender project at an after-school program for low-income black boys in which officials and workers contested street manhood as a legitimate form of masculinity. Acting street involves establishing respect and status through physical intimidation, usually when race- or class-disadvantaged boys lack other resources. For programmers and direct-care workers concerned about boys' well-being, changing the definition of manhood potentially offered boys freedom from harm and a route to success. This study analyzes the life-skills programs designed to promote alternatives to acting street. It finds that while trying to protect boys from race- and class-based injury, these programs reinforced male entitlement to authority, status, and freedom from scrutiny by legitimizing rationality, responsibility, achievement, and traditional male roles. Furthermore, workers who implemented the programs often reinforced boys' gender privilege even when they undercut the definition of manhood inherent in the programs. The findings illustrate how addressing gender's internal hegemony reproduced external hegemony (Demetriou 2001).

Keywords:

• masculinity
• boys
• race
• US blacks
• street culture

Acknowledgements

A grant from the Institute for Nonprofits, North Carolina State University, funded this research in part. Thank you to Barbara Risman and Michael Schwalbe for their instrumental roles in shaping my dissertation, out of which this paper developed. Thank you to Blu Tirohl and anonymous reviewers for their thoughtful feedback.