Identity, Masculinity and Spirituality: A Study of Australian Teenage Boys

Abstract

This paper presents data on the construction of masculinity among 965 boys aged 15–18 years, in six schools, in Melbourne, Australia. The data are part of a much larger research project on teenage boys and spirituality, and this paper presents data within the component of spirituality, which in the research is termed ‘connectedness with the self’. The boys responses to the question ‘What kind of man do you want to be?’ are presented in three categories: personal integrity and relationship values; success oriented values; and physical/personality values. It is argued that the dominance of personal integrity/relationship values in the boys’ responses suggests that a key component of their spirituality is a growing tendency to challenge the hegemonic ideal of masculinity, and to look towards a future where masculinity is defined in more varied and fulfilling ways.

Notes

1. Australian Catholic Bishops’ Conference, National Catholic Life Survey: figures provided by Mr Bob Dixon of the Australian Catholic Bishops’ Secretariat, July 2001.

2. It is important to avoid over-simplification of this phenomenon. Media reports do not necessarily give the whole picture. Deaths that appear to have other causes, such as fatal car crashes among young men or deaths from eating disorders among young women, may be suicidal in intent.

3. Note the concern with boys’ literacy that is the focus of the Victorian Government's Lighthouse project, to name only one example.

4. Neroni (2000) establishes a clear link between violence and ‘real masculinity’ as portrayed in films in her analysis of the Columbine massacre in the United States, ‘The men of Columbine: Violence and masculinity in American culture and film’.

5. Several discussions were conducted between the researcher and expert teachers of boys in relation to the data, and it is from these discussions that this claim comes.