How Young Schoolboys Become Somebody: The role of the body in the construction of masculinity

This paper explores the key role of the body in the construction of identity in school boys aged 10-11. The findings are based on data gathered from a 1-year empirical study set in three UK junior schools. I argue that the body is used by the boys as a means of classification, inclusion and differentiation, and is the principal resource to establish status and position within the pupil peer group. The most prevalent and esteemed resource is physicality and athleticism (found particularly in sports and informal playground games), but I also examine how the body is used in tough and intimidating ways, and show how boys construct identities by using their bodies as a social symbol to display items of sports-related and brand-inscribed clothing. Finally, I consider how the body forms a major component in the construction of dominant and subordinated forms of masculinity.