This article is based on an ethnographic exploration into the construction of masculinities among ten-and eleven-year-old boys in three schools in the United Kingdom between 1998 and 1999. The research found that there were different patterns of masculinity both between and within each setting that drew on the resources and storylines available. The author discusses the way the research was theorized, particularly in relation to the concept of hegemonic masculinity and its link with the body. He interrogates the use of typologies and outlines the reasons why he found them unsatisfactory. Although the terms “hegemonic,” “complicit,” and “subordinate” masculinity are borrowed from Connell, the author found it necessary to propose another form of masculinity, which he calls “personalized.” This was made up from boys who appeared content to pursue their own types of identity, and did not aspire to, or imitate, the leading form. Finally, the author briefly discusses the implications of this research for schools.
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