Constructing Masculinities in Juvenile Corrections

¹ University of California, Los Angeles
² Portland State University, Oregon
³ University of Minnesota, Twin Cities

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: abrams{at}spa.ucla.edu.

	Abstract

Juvenile reoffending is a costly and perplexing social problem. However, research and theory concerning juvenile reoffending have neglected to examine how young men's gender identities are constructed in the context of a juvenile justice system in which behavior reform through various therapies is a primary goal. This study draws on observational fieldwork in two residential correctional facilities and interviews with incarcerated juvenile male offenders to understand how masculinities are shaped within these institutional settings. They find that in the two settings, hegemonic forms of masculinities involving competition, hierarchy, stoicism, sexism, and homophobia were reinforced through institutional and interpersonal mechanisms. While alternative gender identity expressions were offered through various therapies, they were largely suppressed. This illustration of how masculinities are constructed in juvenile corrections provides a new way to examine the inner workings of institutions that are geared to change the attitudes and behaviors of the young men whom they serve.

First published on March 9, 2007, doi:10.1177/1097184X06291893

Men and Masculinities 2008;11:22.

A more recent version of this article appeared on October 1, 2008


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				L. S. Abrams and A. Hyun Mapping a Process of Negotiated Identity Among Incarcerated Male Juvenile Offenders Youth Society, September 1, 2009; 41(1): 26 - 52. [Abstract] [PDF]