In recent years urban violence has become understood as a
'reproduced', multi-causal and socially generated phenomenon. Less is
understood about why young men reproduce the majority of this violence.
This thesis uses original empirical data based on thirty-two life-histories of
youths living in two poor and violent neighbourhoods in Medellín, Colombia. It
argues that urban violence is reproduced by male youths because it is linked
to 'masculinity'; that is, the process of 'becoming men' where youths strive to
fulfil productive or 'successful' models of masculinity. These processes are
related to contexts of poverty, inequality and exclusion, so this thesis does not
reduce the generation of urban violence to masculinity alone. Rather,
understanding masculinity provides us with further insight into the
reproduction of violence. This thesis further argues that male youths are
disposed by their habitus - after Pierre Bourdieu - to negotiate a pathway to
manhood that largely reflects traditional masculine values in their context.
Striving to achieve prevailing versions of manhood contributed to some of
these youths joining armed groups, such as gangs. The gang acted as a
mechanism to fulfil their dispositions to become men, by providing them with a
way to perform a version of 'successful' masculinity. This is prevalent in urban
contexts of exclusion and high levels of social violence, because there are
limited opportunities to achieve legal and dignified versions of manhood,
whilst there are significant opportunities to join the local gang. The youths
interviewed that did not join gangs tended to come from families that taught
them to reject violence at a young age, whilst supporting them in pursuing
alternative pathways to manhood. Youths that joined gangs tended to have
more problems at home and often had family members already in gangs. / ESRC, and University of Bradford
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BRADFORD/oai:bradscholars.brad.ac.uk:10454/5246 |
| Date | January 2011 |
| Creators | Baird, Adam D.S. |
| Contributors | Pearce, Jenny V. |
| Publisher | University of Bradford, Department of Peace Studies |
| Source Sets | Bradford Scholars |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis, doctoral, PhD |
| Rights | <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/"><img alt="Creative Commons License" style="border-width:0" src="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc-nd/3.0/88x31.png" /></a><br />The University of Bradford theses are licenced under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/">Creative Commons Licence</a>. |
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