Dr Brendan King ⚧️📚

This paper narrates an induction process about how adolescents and young men are drawn into living and practising a distinctive and often violent cultural form of street masculinity on an inner-city estate in London. The paper sets out to counteract dominant discourses which often portray young black men from working-class and impoverished backgrounds as ‘hypermasculine perpetrators of violence’. Developing the concepts of caring and personalized masculinities shows that, in the right… Show more

This paper narrates an induction process about how adolescents and young men are drawn into living and practising a distinctive and often violent cultural form of street masculinity on an inner-city estate in London. The paper sets out to counteract dominant discourses which often portray young black men from working-class and impoverished backgrounds as ‘hypermasculine perpetrators of violence’. Developing the concepts of caring and personalized masculinities shows that, in the right conditions, young men exercise agency to perform different masculinities in different contexts and times, fashion more inclusive identities, and create new trajectories and lifestyles. The ethnographic fieldwork took place over nine months in 2019. It involved around 50 young men who were Black, Asian and minority ethnic. The paper focuses on two particular young men, aged 19 and 22, who appear as exemplars of ways of enacting different patterns of masculinity. Show less

This paper delineates the resources and strategies that three young black men use to gain status and construct and perform an often-violent street masculinity on a London (UK) housing estate. Ethnographic fieldwork occurred in 2019 during a growing moral panic about youth violence and knife crime. Referring to resources as types of capital, they are categorised under the four headings of economic, social, linguistic, cultural, and physical. Central to the research is the material body, which we… Show more

This paper delineates the resources and strategies that three young black men use to gain status and construct and perform an often-violent street masculinity on a London (UK) housing estate. Ethnographic fieldwork occurred in 2019 during a growing moral panic about youth violence and knife crime. Referring to resources as types of capital, they are categorised under the four headings of economic, social, linguistic, cultural, and physical. Central to the research is the material body, which we view as both an agent and object of the practices through which young black men produce their masculinities. Show less

Fighting Knife Crime London (FKCL) is now a well-established and increasingly respected part of the work being done in Greater London to empower young Londoners and change their lives for the better.

FKCL was founded by Bruce Houlder CB KC DL

With analysis occurring during a heightened concern with the Black Lives Matter movement and knife crime in the U.K., this paper aims to delineate the characteristics of a street code, constituting a specific dominant and often hegemonic form of ‘street masculinity’ found on an inner-city housing estate in London called Maxwell. The fieldwork ran over nine months in 2019, involving 48 Black, Asian, and minority ethnic men aged 18–22. Using an ethnographic methodology, the principal methods of… Show more

With analysis occurring during a heightened concern with the Black Lives Matter movement and knife crime in the U.K., this paper aims to delineate the characteristics of a street code, constituting a specific dominant and often hegemonic form of ‘street masculinity’ found on an inner-city housing estate in London called Maxwell. The fieldwork ran over nine months in 2019, involving 48 Black, Asian, and minority ethnic men aged 18–22. Using an ethnographic methodology, the principal methods of data generation were observations, interviews and informal conversations. The main theories this study draws on to understand ‘street masculinity’ were Connell’s and Messerschmidt’s dominant, hegemonic, subordinate and complicit masculinity forms. Findings centre on data from two young men who exemplify different patterns of masculinity performing the street code. Findings are presented under a series of characteristics that make up the game of the ‘on-road’ street masculinity and include (1) authenticity, ‘swagger’ and not being ‘pussy’; (2) a preparedness for violence; (3) knife-carrying; (4) a presence on the digital street. Although this way of living drove a desire for respect and group status, there was also an underlying and pervasive sense of vulnerability derived from risk-taking and anticipation of danger. Show less

A livestream discussion with Ray Douglas from the National Youth Agency about the challenges and value of undertaking research with young Black men as a White researcher.

This paper promotes a greater use of informal conversations in qualitative research. Although not a new innovation, we posit that they are a neglected innovation and a method that should become more widely employed.

Incorporates urban ethnography methods including observation, informal conversations, interviews, and focus groups
Offers insight into the diverse range of masculinities experienced by a particularly vulnerable population
Features discussion questions and annotated bibliographies for current youth work students and practitioners

Doctoral thesis exploring young men's constructions of knife-carrying masculine ideals and the pressures they face to perform violent street masculinities.

An exploration of how hospital-based youth workers are combatting youth violence. The article also explores some of the crucial points of intervention in a young person's trauma - the teachable moment - and the challenges that youth workers and clinicians face.

Following World Mental Health Day 2016, and the resounding call for students' mental well-being to be prioritised, what are the challenges that sport can help overcome?

In the wake of the furore surrounding Brexit, how can sport help bring society back together?

A look at the perception of Physical Education practitioners in our schools, and the impact that these perceptions may have on the future of school sport delivery.