TY - JOUR
T1 - Snakes and leaders
T2 - Hegemonic masculinity in ruling-class boys' boarding schools
AU - Poynting, Scott
AU - Donaldson, Mike
PY - 2005/4/1
Y1 - 2005/4/1
N2 - Recent events in a ruling-class boys'boarding school college in Sydney prompted public discussion about "bullying." Debate ranged between those seeing an endemic problem to be cured and those who saw minor, unfortunate, and atypical incidents in a system where bullying is under control. It is argued here that such practice is inherent in ruling-class boys' education. It is an important part of making ruling-class men. Using life-history methods with available biographical material, the article shows that ruling-class schooling of boys in boarding schools involves "sending away" and initial loneliness, bonding in groups demanding allegiance, attachment to tradition, subjection to hierarchy and progress upward through it, group ridiculing and punishment of sensitiveness and close relationships, severe sanctions against difference, brutal bodily discipline, and inculcating competitive individualism. Brutalization and "hardening" are essential to all these processes and are characteristic of ruling-class masculinity.
AB - Recent events in a ruling-class boys'boarding school college in Sydney prompted public discussion about "bullying." Debate ranged between those seeing an endemic problem to be cured and those who saw minor, unfortunate, and atypical incidents in a system where bullying is under control. It is argued here that such practice is inherent in ruling-class boys' education. It is an important part of making ruling-class men. Using life-history methods with available biographical material, the article shows that ruling-class schooling of boys in boarding schools involves "sending away" and initial loneliness, bonding in groups demanding allegiance, attachment to tradition, subjection to hierarchy and progress upward through it, group ridiculing and punishment of sensitiveness and close relationships, severe sanctions against difference, brutal bodily discipline, and inculcating competitive individualism. Brutalization and "hardening" are essential to all these processes and are characteristic of ruling-class masculinity.
KW - Boarding schools
KW - Boys' schools
KW - Bullying
KW - Hegemonic masculinity
KW - Private schools
KW - Ruling class
KW - Sexual assault
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=21644487678&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=21644487678&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/1097184X03260968
DO - 10.1177/1097184X03260968
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:21644487678
VL - 7
SP - 325
EP - 346
JO - Men and Masculinities
JF - Men and Masculinities
SN - 1097-184X
IS - 4
ER -