From the Hood to the Home: Masculinity Maturation of Chicago Street Gang Members

Abstract

This study draws on interviews with 29 former gang members to investigate changes in masculinity practices over time, which we term masculinity maturation. We find that perceptions of masculinity embodied dominant values while in the gang as well as later in the life course. For instance, respondents expressed that men should always act with respect, honor, and integrity toward others. We observed changes, however, in the ways that men accomplished their masculinities reflecting individuals’ shifting perceptions about the gang’s ability to be a resource to gain a masculine identity. Perceptions that the gang was not upholding masculine values spurred masculinity dilemmas that were associated with new dominant practices of masculinity centered on different social institutions like family, work, and religion as they grew older. The level of masculinity maturation that took place was linked to the strength of incongruence between perceptions of age-appropriate masculinity and gang masculinity.