Cyberpunks, Ronnie Biggs and the Culture of Masculinity: Getting Men Thinking
| Published date | 01 March 1994 |
| Date | 01 March 1994 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/026455059404100104 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Cyberpunks,
Ronnie Biggs and
the Culture of
Masculinity:
Getting Men Thinking
Increasing debate about the making of male identities has
particular resonance for probation workers but is difficult to address
both in effective probation practice and in helpful writing about
practice. John Bensted, Rick Wall and Carlton Forbes describe their
attempt to grapple with the issues in a men’s group at the Bristol
Probation Centre.
’The more
s
fragile a man feels internally,
the more hkely he is to build an outer
Anna Coote’ recently com-
JL
shell that hides that fragility.’
mented:
The experience of imprisonment, that ’iron
’The culture of masculinity is part and
cage of masculinity, plays a major part in
parcel of the culture of crime. Understan-
formulatmg the identity of many of the men
ding it will not solve the crime problem.
that probation officers work with. The op-
It will, however, shed useful light on it.’
pressively macho ethic seeps through the
In similar vein, this year’s Reith lecturer,
keyholes and bars and yet the view of the
Marina Warner, has addressed how male
present government is that ’prison works’.
*
identities are shaped by the relentless bom-
In attempting to uderstand the culture
bardment of macho culture images, from
of masculinity one cannot ignore the m-
Cyberpunks videos to The Terminator. A lot
fluence of social and economic policies of
of the men we have worked with over the
the past 15 years. The effects of unemploy-
past 30 months have described such a bom-
ment and the crumbling infrastructure have
bardment of brutalizmg and unemotive ex-
a devastating effect on personal relationships
periences that have contributed to a
and men and women’s expectations. Men
self-image of hardness, affirming Jimmy
who see their role as a provider for their
Boyle’s comment2:
family, experience unemployment as depriv-
18
ing them as part of their identity. Unable to
one 2-hour session a week. This split was
have financial control they may re-assert con-
ongmaliy conceived to provide separate
trol in abusive ways The huge increase m
space for the minority of women participants
white collar crime, eg mortgage fraud and
and is open to women on other forms of
corruption in the City, tells us as much about
supervision. The men’s group thus emerg-
masculinity as do offences of motor-related
ed as a bit of an after-thought. Both gender
crime, commercial burglary and many other,
groups have developed in a way which, with
if not all, crimes.
hindsight, counter-balances the structured
A
number of recent articles have urged
approach of the ’R & R’ course.
probation workers to ’make masculinity ex-
During its early stages the men’s group
plicit m work with male offeners’4. Surely
focused on specific issues such as
focusing simply on men’s offending without
discrimmation, substance misuse, victim
this element can only provide a one dimen-
awareness, identity and relationships.
sional solution to a three dimensional
Themes of masculinity constantly emerged
problem?
but it was the sessions on identity and rela-
In writing about our attempt to address
tionships that drew these themes together.
these issues we are acutely aware of possi-
We relied on our understanding of the
ble negative responses to the idea of male
development of our own identities as men,
probation officers working with male of-
as well as a board game Man’s Worlds to
fenders around issues of male...
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