Blue Collar Brawlers and Harley Vagabonds: Masculinity in the Tavern and on the Road

Abstract

Outlaw motorcycle clubs, such as the Hells Angels, provide a modern interpretation of male working-class culture. Most notably, 19th century working-class taverns and fraternal orders can be seen as forerunners to the culture of outlaw motorcycle clubs, or ‘bikers.’ Within the confines of these spaces, men were able not only to learn male behaviour from others, but to reinforce their own masculinity through ritualized acts, such as drinking, singing, and fighting, resulting in an earned image for the culture and the space as one of violence, filth, and danger to those outside of the culture. This cultural reputation has carried over into the modern context of bikers. Originally formed to provide an adventurous outlet to, predominantly, young white men, biker culture has now become a complex and powerful subculture and image. Where early tavern culture was practiced largely in private, biker culture is defined and practiced in the public space, reinforcing its own reputation and image in the process. Despite, or perhaps because, of this public image, bikers have become deeply rooted in our collective subconscious, and represent, to some, a modern reinterpretation of the lone cowboy, making their own society in the face of all challenges. Bikers provide a modern examination of gendered spaces and masculinity. They have an element of danger and homosocial activities that make them particularly appealing to men looking for a masculine identity within a culture that they otherwise found less than welcoming – and which, in turn, did not welcome them.