What does it mean to be a man? Psychosocial undercurrents in the voices of incarcerated (violent) Scottish teenage offenders

Abstract

This article explores connections between social strain, constructions and practices of masculinity and the prevalence of violence among a white working-class male demographic. The study's evidence-base is qualitative research conducted in Scotland. It utilized life history interviews with a clinically significant sample of 40 incarcerated young male offenders convicted of violent crimes. Family, school and peer group 'pressures' coloured these young men's trajectories to persistent violent reoffending. Their language highlights attachment and betrayal issues. Masculinity associated with Scottish history is a resource within Scotland which may impact on contemporary practices of masculinity. The article's dominant thesis is that the young men's violence reflects immersion in traumatic life histories. The masculinized cultures they encounter are likely to produce violence and limit opportunities which could help ameliorate attachment trauma.

‘It's as if you're not in the Jail, as if you're not a Prisoner’: Young Male Offenders’ Experiences of Incarceration, Prison Chaplaincy, Religion and Spirituality in Scotland and Denmark

“…It has long been recognised that crime (and particularly violent crime) is often a generational and gendered phenomenon, most commonly associated with youth and masculinity (Honkatukia, Nyqvist and Poso ; Holligan and Deuchar ). In both Scotland and Denmark, where the data for our research were collected, evidence also suggests that young men are the most likely to reoffend (Audit Scotland ; Graunbøl et al .…”

“…It has been claimed that to ‘do crime’ is to ‘do masculinity’ (McFarlane , p.321), and that ‘young men experience life from a particular position in society and differentially construct cultural ideals of hegemonic masculinity’ (Messerschmidt , p.8). In contemporary western working class communities, hegemonic masculine characteristics typically prioritise physical strength, competitiveness, assertiveness and overt heterosexual behaviour combined with the rejection of femininity and weakness (McFarlane ; Holligan and Deuchar ).…”

The Semiotics of the Evolving Gang Masculinity and Glasgow

“…Scotland's martial tradition as a supplier of mercenary soldiers throughout history in Europe, for instance, during the Hundred Years War, and overseas in the New World including Canada is reflected in masculinity as fighting capacity. Masculine identity in the Glasgow context is bound with concepts of 'maleness' within working-class communities (Holligan and Deuchar 2015). Yet for marginalized youths now living in post-industrial Glasgow, such traits of maleness may become accentuated 16 , and even take on 'hypermasculine' or 'protest masculinity' value (Connell 1995).…”

“…Leo recognized that as a marginalized youth living in an isolated and deprived community, those traits associated with tough working-class manhood are damaging (Kupers 2005). In Glasgow hyper-masculinity amongst youths is most clearly evident through territorial conflicts between YSGs, attributes like toughness and bravery subsequently become both heightened and distorted in their expression (Deuchar 2009;Holligan and Deuchar 2015;Kupers 2005;Miller 2015;Patrick 1973;Whitehead 2002 Fighting well provides achievements at no financial cost. Whitehead (2002) suggests the cultural embedding of class dynamic helps aid a process whereby forms of street capital are seen as essential for attaining manhood.…”

The Cumulative Disadvantages of Socially Toxic Family Environments: A Comparison of Early Life Experiences of Incarcerated Men and University Students

“…Consistent with Holligan and Deuchar's (2015) approach and Klevens et al's (2001) case control method, life history interviews were conducted first with 38 male inmates imprisoned for violent offenses. Mostly in their midtwenties, these men were serving sentences generally of 40 months or longer in a medium-security federal correctional facility located in southern Ontario.…”