The 21st Century Ladz : Continuity and Changes among Marginalised Young Men from the South Wales Valleys

Abstract

The ebook edition of this title is Open Access and freely available to read online.

School-to-work transition studies have a rich sociological history that has traditionally focused on marginalised young men, until recently. Returning the focus to the most marginalised working-class young within a contemporary context, The 21st Century Ladz explores changing ideas of manhood, masculinities and social class identity.

Drawing on a qualitative study, Gater studies the school-to-work transition and formation of masculinity of a group of marginalised working-class young men from the South Wales Valleys. Filling a gap in the literature by challenging the notion that marginalised working-class young men are synonymous with protest masculinity and historically associated behaviours and views including anti-learning, manual employment aspirations, homophobia, sexism, suppression of emotion and avoidance of physical tactility, this work identifies key continuity and changes in young men's views and behavior. The author offers a new concept to masculinities studies in the form of amalgamated masculinities, which is understood as a fusion of locally constructed protest masculine characteristics and softer masculine attributes adopted through external cultural influence. Chronicling a “rupturing process” or the destabilisation of masculine beliefs associated with protest masculinity, Gater highlights softer displays of masculinity in this sub-group.

Delving into the intersections of marginalised working-class young men, social class, education, employment and masculinities, this era-defining text offers a fresh perspective on the study of working-class young men.