RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
CHAPTER 4 DATA ANALYSIS
4.3 Manning Up – The Impact of the School on the Boys’ Masculine Identity
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relationships between fathers and sons. Being accepted as part of a large friendship group is seen as an acknowledgement of the sharing of a similar sense of what it means to be a man. Those history boys who spoke of losing their friends or being rejected by other boys undoubtedly suffered setbacks in their masculine gender identity – “there must be something wrong with me if I do not have friends.” This leads to a feeling of being different or not the same as other boys – the perceived me versus the ideal me comes into conflict. This is when the boys’ perception of their own reflections do not match up to the mirror image of the ideal boy. However, it is clear that boys are profoundly affected by their relationships with male family figures and male friends as these unofficial lessons have the greatest influence on these history boys’ masculine identity.
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are, in your own right, in your own life, in your own talent, and that you can still have from that your own authority and reputation.”
However, in essence the institution serves to produce boys who essentially are the same; with the same values; the same outlook and ultimately the same masculinity.
Conformity serves to achieve that. Those who conform are accepted and those who do not are rejected. The one way that a boy can get accepted is if he conforms to the masculine ideal as espoused by the institution. But this is where the conflict begins.
More often than not the conflict resides within the boy as he struggles to define his own masculinity in the face of the masculine hierarchy. This was touched upon by Jaryd:
“[Balcomb’s] got this wonderful kind of habit where boys all expect each other to fit into this line or box, and everybody’s concept or image of what the box looks like is completely different and that causes tension.” This leads to the conflict of the real me versus the image of the ideal me.
In addition the masculinity hierarchy is supplemented by the unofficial lessons that the history boys picked up on what it means to be a man. At Balcomb Academy the ability to stand on your own two feet, to become independent of your parents, to face consequences for your actions and to control your emotions are characteristics of the ideal boy. In short, this is what it means to “man up!” Independence is a value emphasized particularly as the institution is a boarding school and the boys are physically separated from their parents. They are required to grow from boys to men without the constant presence of their parents. The institution with its masculinity hierarchy takes over the role of moulding the boys. It is a hugely impactful source of unofficial lessons on what it means to be a man.
Punishment is the means by which the institution enforces its rules but was also used by the boys to regulate desirable attributes of masculinity. This was highlighted by Allan:
“Sort of overcoming difficulties and if you get a punishment just take it and grow from it.”
The ability to own up, stomach punishment without complaint achieves stoicism which was another attribute associated with the form of masculinity valued by this institution.
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Complaining or showing emotions were considered to be undesirable or weaknesses.
As Jeffrey stated: “I’ll own up and take the punishment for it rather. I think like I’m gonna get in trouble if I do this and decide whether it’s worth it or not instead of just doing it and just crying when I get the punishment.” In so doing the history boys learnt that real men do not complain or show emotions but accept hardship. However, this is not natural for the boys and is a hard lesson. Thabo described his confusion seeing other boys crying when such things were considered taboo at the school especially from those at the top of the masculinity hierarchy: “Every man has emotions … black people say ‘ja men don’t cry. Why you crying? You supposed to be a man. That type thing, but then recently we went on like a choir tour we came second by 0.5% and it was amazing to see which guys actually cried, because the people you’d actually think were the hard okes like the guys you’d never ever seen cry, they’re just men, the one’s that play first team rugby, so ja.” Paradoxically the history boys also learnt that if there was an issue on which they disagreed with someone, they should not ignore it but should rather confront the person. However, this did not seem to extend to the person within whose authority the boys fell. Once judgment is passed and punishment given there is no longer any speaking out. To do so would not be masculine. Such are the contradictions within the formation of the masculinity hierarchy.
The history boys therefore learn many lessons on what it means to be a man from the independent boys’ only boarding school in which they all find themselves and which forms part of the unofficial history curriculum. These lessons, however, are contradictory: being independent but learning how to be accepted as part of the group;
accepting your punishment like a man but confronting those who have caused you an injustice. However, in a sense these contradictory lessons all lead to the conflicting and ambiguous notions of what it means to be a man. Through their definition of their own masculinity some of the history boys hinted at a rejection of patriarchal hegemonic versions of masculinities and acknowledged other forms of masculinities. Through their narratives of the lessons learnt at their independent boys’ boarding school some of the history boys had begun to see through the false conclusions drawn by the masculine hierarchies that are established within all-boys’ schools. Furthermore, these history
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boys were able to determine for themselves the existence of hegemonic masculine gender construction and some suggested a rejection of it as they determined for themselves a fair and just sense of masculine construction. There is therefore a clash in the lessons learnt through the official school history curriculum and the unofficial masculine gender forming curriculum.
4.4. Every Man for Himself – Reasons Why Boys Choose History as a Subject in