Becoming a Man: Working-Class Masculinity, Machismo and Substance Abuse

Abstract

In her study on the pathway’s into youth substance abuse, Daley uncovers gender differences. For young men, their understanding of masculinity is integral to their substance abuse. Daley draws on Connell’s concept of hegemonic masculinity, along with Goffman’s dramaturgical model of self, to explain how the young men were constrained by the understandings of what a “real man” ought to do. Living in subcultural working-class worlds where machismo, crime, drug use and aggression were celebrated, the young men had little ability to express emotions such as sadness or fear, as this demonstrated their vulnerability—a trait not associated with a “real man”. This inability to be vulnerable often became unbearable for the young men, culminating in psychological breakdowns or violent outbursts. Young men discussed falling in with the “wrong crowd” but it appeared that this crowd gave the young men a sense of belonging that was otherwise lacking in their lives.