Masculinity Habitus: The Socialization of Adolescent Black Males' Masculinity Ideologies

• In Event: 29.082 - Roundtable Session 9
  In Roundtable Session: 29.082-2 - Black and Latino Men Overcoming Obstacles to Equitable Education Opportunities

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to explore the socialization of masculinity for adolescent Black males enrolled in a General Education Diploma (GED) program offered by the National Guard in the Midwest. A case study utilizing qualitative methods - a questionnaire, participant observations, and focus groups - allowed for an multi-faceted analysis of the participants’ conscious views along with their subconscious enactment, discourse and behavior, of their masculinity ideologies. The study resulted in rich data granting insight into: (1) the participants’ masculinity ideologies; (2) the agents of socialization that shaped their masculinity ideologies; and (3) the ways in which their masculinity ideologies had impacted their lives thus far.

Author

• Nino Rodriguez, University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign