I recently came across an interesting article by Patricia Vettel Tom that analyzes some photographs that Bruce Davidson had taken in 1958. The article entitled Bad Boys was published in a 1997 art journal and takes an in depth look at the gang culture portrayed in Davidson’s photos. On top of that, Tom goes on to relate the pictures to ideas of anti-conformity and outlaw masculinity. Her notions and ideas are not only pertinent to the late 1950’s, they ring true for the 90’s when she wrote it, and remain valid even today. If you are able to separate gangsters and thugs from their criminality, upon close inspection, they may just be the last real masculine males.
“Man is a rebel by nature who cannot conform”
Tom’s article raises a point: conformity is bogus and emasculating; if you want to be a sheep and follow the herd then you are a sheep and not a man. Makes sense. Gangsters may be criminal in their anti-conformity but at least they are doing something to preserve their masculinity. Tom quoted Norman Mailer in her article, saying:
“If their conversation runs the predictable riverbed of sex, gang war, drugs, [and] weapons, well, at least they live out a part of their conversational obsession, which is more than one can say for the quiet, inhibited, middle-aged desperadoes of the corporation and the suburbs.”
Thugs, rebels, cut-ups, gangsters, they have the courage and guile to walk on the other side. Maybe we are all a little bit jealous of these people, not only because they seem to have money, cars and girls, but because they truly possess the masculine qualities that we can only claim to have.
“[G]ang culture provides a space for active masculinity, a site in which to play warrior”
People fear criminals and thugs because you are never quite sure what they are capable of; they have no fear but manage to instill it in us. They are warriors of the street, fighting for their own, while we are part of the herd, slaves to the “man”. It seems strange that the punks corrupting our streets are the new model for masculinity, the reincarnates of Stalky, but that is the way it is. They have more in common with the old school masculine world than any straight shooting “good” citizen could ever dream of. They are courageous and cunning, they have the will to rebel, they have coded speech, tightly knit-groups, they are masculine. Maybe it is time to look up your local crack slinging chapter and start wearing gang colours in an attempt to redeem some masculine qualities that may have gotten lost in the stacks of paper piling up from your desk job, or forgotten about after countless hours of gaming.
Article:
Tom, Patricia Vettel. "Bad Boys."Art Journal; Summer97, Vol. 56 Issue 2, p69, 6p, 5bw
-SS
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1 comment:
It is a intriguing concept, however I disagree with it. My reasons are simple. Though the Stocky model that has been presented in class has at this point and time faded almost completely, one thing will always remain, and that is the society structure we live. In the stocky model, the society structure allows for rebellion and it is in fact encouraged. This rebellion, and this is the part I agree with in the post, is a part of being masculine. The reason it is a part of being masculine is because it shows independence, the ability to take care of yourself and others. Criminals violate this part of the model. They do not work within the system but instead chip away at it, and scavenge on the outskirts. The fact that they resort to crime, simply shows that they are unable to perform and have to instead create their own structure in which they are at the top. The second reason for disagreeing is related to the first. The Stocky model is very Darwin in nature. Those who can perform are elevated and glorified and those unable to perform are shunned. Part of the reason they are criminals is that they are unable to adapt to the society structure. I mentioned that there will always be a society structure, and this is true, however society is a living organism and changes very rapidly. And I would argue that one part of being a criminal is the inability to adapt to this change. Or at the very least their inability to adapt is one of the reasons they are criminals.
To conclude, criminals are not masculine, they may engage in what appears to be masculine activities, however, the mere fact that they are unable to co-exist with the rest of society proves their lack of masculinity.
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