Status Hierarchies and Hegemonic Masculinity: A General Theory of Prison Violence

The current paper examines the extent to which the pursuit of status, the social construction of masculinity and violence are linked. The main argument suggests that in a world where inmates have only the most limited forms of economic and political power, social status as a resource assumes far greater significance. The acquisition of status, though, depends upon the ability to navigate successfully the competition linked to securing one’s reputation as a ‘real man’. Milner’s (1994; 2004) theory of status relations within a resource structuralism framework offers an innovative explanatory strategy for understanding prison violence in the context of hegemonic masculinity. The paper offers exemplars from the comparative literature on prison violence to help illustrate the logic of the approach. The final section identifies a series of theoretical propositions derived from the general theory that purport to explain prison violence cross-culturally.