|
Matthew: |
Going in the infants playground/ |
|
Richard: |
Yeah, they go into the infants, hide behind the trees, and |
|
JS: |
[...] So they do silly things, what else? |
|
Robin: |
They play silly games...like, they chase the girls all the way |
|
Richard: |
And kiss them |
|
Matthew: |
Yeah |
|
JS: |
But you say, you chase the girls as well? |
|
Richard: |
Yeah, but we don’t try and get them, we just try and beat |
|
JS: |
Right, so it’s a different form of game with the girls |
|
Richard/Matthew: |
Yeah |
Although there was more resistance to the hegemonic agenda than at Highwoods (and at
Westmoor Abbey) the subordinated type of masculinity found itself swamped by the
sheer numbers of boys embracing the dominant form. The differences were also
recognised by the girls who also categorised the boys into two main groups. They saw
one (group) as ‘trendy’ and ‘new’ in terms of clothing/appearance, linguistic locutions,
and socio-cultural knowledge, and therefore, the ‘popular’ ones; while the other (group)
was the opposite of this and, hence, ‘sad’ and ‘annoying’. The popular group had a
certain style which was seen as a symbolic expression of masculinity, ‘a collective
evocation of an attitude embodied in their movements and appearance’ (Radley 1995:9).
|
Julia: |
They’re the more popular ones...like everyone wants to hang |
|
Fiona: |
And, I’m not meaning to be rude, but they’re a bit sad |
|
JS: |
Right, OK...so sad in what way? |
|
Julia: |
Er, they go around annoying the girls |
|
Fiona: |
They spread rumours, and try and break the girls up |
17