Hierarchy without hegemony: Locating boys in an inclusive school setting

McCormack, M.

doi:10.1525/sop.2011.54.1.83

Hierarchy without hegemony: Locating boys in an inclusive school setting

McCormack, M.

Authors

M. McCormack

Abstract

In this article, the author details how 16–18-year-old boys ascribe to the tenets of inclusive masculinity in a U.K. secondary school that the author calls "Standard High." Drawing on five months of participant observation and twelve in-depth interviews, this article demonstrates that the boys' masculinities are predicated in opposition to the orthodox values of homophobia, misogyny, and aggressiveness. Accordingly, the practices of subordination and marginalization described in hegemonic masculinity theory are not used to regulate masculine behaviors or obtain dominance in this setting. At Standard High, boys ascribing to different masculine archetypes can each maintain high social status. Nonetheless, a social hierarchy still exists. Here, boys are stratified in accordance to a popularity ranking, which is determined by the possession of a matrix of variables: namely, charisma, authenticity, emotional support, and social fluidity.

Citation

McCormack, M. (2011). Hierarchy without hegemony: Locating boys in an inclusive school setting. Sociological Perspectives, 54(1), 83-101. https://doi.org/10.1525/sop.2011.54.1.83

Journal Article Type	Article
Publication Date	Jan 1, 2011
Deposit Date	Sep 10, 2012
Publicly Available Date	Jul 5, 2013
Journal	Sociological Perspectives
Print ISSN	0731-1214
Electronic ISSN	1533-8673
Publisher	SAGE Publications
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	54
Issue	1
Pages	83-101
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1525/sop.2011.54.1.83

Files

Published Journal Article (211 Kb)
PDF

Copyright Statement
Published as Sociological Perspectives, Vol. 54, Issue 1, pp. 83–101, ISSN 0731-1214, electronic ISSN 1533-8673. © 2011 by Pacific Sociological Association.
Copying and permissions notice: Authorization to copy this content beyond fair use (as specified in Sections 107 and 108 of the U. S. Copyright Law) for internal or personal use, or the internal or personal use of specific clients, is granted by [the Regents of the University of California/on behalf of the Sponsoring Society] for libraries and other users, provided that they are registered with and pay the specified fee via Rightslink® on [JSTOR (http://www.jstor.org/r/ucal)] or directly with the Copyright Clearance Center, http://www.copyright.com.