‘Kidulthood’: Ethnography, juvenile prison violence and the transition from ‘boys’ to ‘men’

Abstract

The article explores how teenage boys (aged 15-17 years old) in an English young offender institution (YOI) engage in and construct prison violence. Focusing on the relationship between violence and the performance of adolescent prison masculinities, it presents three key findings. First, there are key differences between juvenile and adult prison violence, (behaviour that is framed in terms of being a 'real man' or a 'little boy'). Second, the performance of masculinity is complicated by the striking vulnerability of child prisoners and masks the real problems that all young people experience 'handling jail'. Third, the performance of 'manhood' is an unfinished, negotiated and incomplete work where young people exist in a state of liminality and 'kidulthood,' catapulted into premature adulthood but retaining aspects of their childhood sensibilities and needs. Thus, gendered performances are mediated and constructed in accordance to youth and adulthood.

‘Always gotta be two mans’: Lifers, risk, rehabilitation, and narrative labour

“…However, in this sense my history and ‘cultural competence’ (Hodkinson, 2005: 138) provided a lens through which others could discuss their own realities and experiences. It allowed many to discuss their position in terms of my experiences, thus allowing them to discuss vulnerabilities and concerns in ways that, due to masculinity norms in the prison (Gooch, 2017), they would ordinarily avoid so as not to communicate weakness to others. It allowed for a set of themes to emerge which shaped conversation from which participants could agree or disagree.…”

“Changing the channel”: Hybrid masculinity in a men’s prison

“…Finally, future research on masculinities should continue to investigate the significance of age in men’s prisons (Gooch, 2019). Investigations of how prison masculinities change over men’s life course would be particularly valuable because divergences between the sample used in this study and the broader statewide men’s prison population may have resulted in an overrepresentation of the perspective of older incarcerated men serving long sentences (over that of younger men with short sentences).…”

Vulnerable Prisoner Masculinities in an English Prison

“…Studies show that the particular age or stage of life of prisoners, and how it intersects with the type of carceral space, is also important. Masculine performances that are found among adult male prisoners are much less extreme than the hypermasculine identities (achieved almost daily through violence and fighting prowess) that are found in young prisoner establishments (Gooch, 2017;Tynan, 2019). Among adult 'cons', engaging in this constant, unpredictable and futile violence is often seen as a sign of immaturity and is perceived as an indicator of one's inability to handle doing their time (Crewe, 2009;Evans & Wallace, 2008).…”