According to Shilling (2003), the male body has, until relatively recently, been largely ignored except for examinations which highlight the relationship between physicality and power (Connell, 1995, Peterson, 1998). Therefore, whilst feminists have made links between the male body and dominance (Tong, 1998),
embodiment has not featured significantly in pro-feminist accounts of masculinities (Whitehead, 2002, Stephens & Lorentzen, 2007). Poststructuralist theorists such as Butler (1990) question the very existence of the corporeal body and posit that bodily identifications with gender are artificial and constructed only through
prevailing discourses. However, the issue of the body is important to this study as whilst epistemological assumptions are made about the social construction of
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gender, it is still recognised that the body is central to identity and so an element of materialism is needed in the conceptualisation of what it is to be a boy. Whilst the construction of gender may be ‘fluid’ it is accepted that some of the prevailing discourses which boys are subject to are positioned peripherally to adult
communities of masculinity practice (Paechter, 2007) which dictate ‘who or what is ‘allowed’ to count as masculine’ (Paechter, 2011:235). Consequently, all of the boys in this study, being a product of their environment and culture, are subject to various kinds of ‘policing’ to ensure they choose legitimised forms of masculinity as dictated by the norm- enforcing influence of the media, sport and various icons of popular culture which point towards the ideal male physique. It is therefore important to acknowledge a strongly embodied account of gender which recognises that the body itself, as argued by Peterson (1998), is socially constructed as well as materially given.
Old ideas of biological determinism or ‘hardwiring’ may no longer stand up to scrutiny (Connell, 2005) but the metaphors they have created still influence our perception and the ideal of the strong, athletic, muscular, male body still
dominates popular culture. This is particularly relevant to younger boys as,
arguably, a great deal of the social interaction experienced by them now occurs at the helm of the media which plays an ever increasingly important role in lives and hence, in the creating, maintaining and circulating of hegemonic male stereotypes. Gee (2013) points out that whilst it appears that the media seems to allow for a greater number of contemporary alternatives for male identities these can often be
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‘constructed to adapt to the ever-changing climate of consumer capitalism’ and may not necessarily be open to all men, as demonstrated in the widely reported incident of David Beckham wearing a ‘skirt’. The media therefore ‘whilst appearing to accommodate a range of masculinities, also plays a key role in restricting and channelling how masculinity is experienced and performed’ (2013:3).
As the role of the media’s influence becomes more comprehensive, young boys are often subjected to hypermasculine norms through popular games such as ‘Call of Duty’. This is particularly pertinent for boys such as the ones participating in this study, who have grown up against a backdrop of unrest in the Middle East as the news coverage becomes increasingly graphic and is more easily accessible via YouTube. Soldiering is often presented as exciting or heroic and this
perpetuates the popular identification between war and masculinity. Morgan (1994) contends that the focus on the heroic soldier centres largely around the body, both its control and its surrendering, and offers a model where victory is dependent on greater physical stamina and prowess than the enemy. In order to achieve this, men subject themselves to a regime of regulation which is focussed on extreme physical training but also the subjugation of the body to military
regulation which includes rigorous personal grooming and uniform. This model is seen in several recent reality shows where young men have been seen to achieve ‘manhood’ or ‘turn their lives around’ by being subjected to the regime of national service or being sent to the East to be initiated into the world of martial arts; their heads are shaved, their clothes are taken and a physical regime is imposed. This
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is a stark contrast to similar modern programmes showing women having their lives changed by being offered a ‘make-over’.
Seidler (2007) contends that the idea that men need to prove their masculinity by showing they can endure pain is rooted in the early Christian distain for the body but is now reproduced in the postmodern gym culture which offers a forum where men are able to demonstrate physical endurance, thus confirming their superiority over other men. Such a hierarchy is also outlined by Theberge (1991) who
describes the disciplinary regulation of the body which is achieved through participation in sport; a focus which is perhaps driven by the decrease in jobs where it is possible to prove one’s masculinity through hard toil and physical endurance. These body-reflexive practices are described by Connell as symbolic through which ‘more than individual lives are formed: a social world is formed’ (2000:26) and could account for the global rise of the use of competitive sport as a dominant symbol of hegemonic masculinity whilst at the same time, in the world of business, the model appears to be moving towards a similarly competitive and target driven individual. Through sport, Sabo (1994) argues that boys are taught to conform to the ‘pain principle’; socialisation which teaches them to ignore their own physical discomfort for fear of being labelled as not being ‘manly’ enough. Indeed, the world of sport is one in which ‘homophobia polices the boundaries of acceptable masculine practices’ (Messner in Kimmel, 2005:317) and engenders a culture of displays of physical dominance and oppression of the weak, in particular women and gay men (Messner, 2001). It could also be argued that the ‘locker
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room’ culture described by Messner (2005, 2007), of initiations, laddish behaviour and bravado is now seen in wider popular culture and is reflected in the media through reality shows such as ‘Geordie Shore’ and ‘the Valleys.’
In contemporary culture, boys are bombarded with representations of the male physique, particularly through advertising, which are often exaggerated examples of dominant male stereotypes. The impact of this cannot be underestimated as, according to Patterson and Elliot (2002:231), ‘the negotiation and renegotiation of male identities is made all the more possible by the increasing visualisation of male bodies in advertising and the media’. Boys are often viewed as members of brand communities which are driven by sports heroes who are regarded as the epitome of masculinity because they are ‘strong, tough, handsome, competitive, and dating or married to the most desirable women’ (Griffin, 1998:25).
‘Body-reflexive practices, like all practices, are governed by, and constitute, social structures’ (Connell 2000:59) and the approach of exploring the materiality of the male body therefore offers a framework for understanding the social embodiment of masculinities. In this study is it certainly a useful framework for understanding the pressures brought to bear on young boys and the choices they are able to make. For certain body-reflexive practices construct particular gender identities and therefore there is a value in drawing on both materialist and poststructuralist accounts in order to explore how male identities in younger boys are negotiated.
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