The Modern Passage from Boyhood to Manhood and Its Relationship to Bullying and Harassment

Gender looms large in school-based bullying and harassment. Deeply-entrenched taboos and obligations position gender as a prime vehicle for elevating the status of some boys and offering a potent weapon against rivals and outcasts. Moreover, gender taboos are particularly important in the passage to manhood. This transition has long been recognized as a key site for the social engineering of boys into men – when ‘real men’ are made. While traditional societies have stage-managed this transition through the ritualised mentoring of young males by older men, modern societies have handed much of this responsibility to schooling and there has been a progressive decline in the involvement of adult males. However, the passage to manhood remains as important as ever and in the absence of older mentors, boys have found alternative ways to navigate this high-pressure period. Much of the boys’ gendered learning takes place in the school ground and on the streets, at arms length from adults and with peer groups policing their own ‘in-house’ masculinities. These peer-based codes of conduct are relayed to younger generations in the school ground, again at arms length from adults. While there are considerable class and cultural variations, there are also overarching, widely-shared codes. These arrangements can be both positive and negative. On the one hand, greater latitude is possible as boys re-work traditional masculinities. However, boys can also act-out masculinity in extreme ways and punish transgressions severely. At its worst , peer group aggression can spill onto the streets and form gangs.