Interned hegemonic masculinity. Masculinity workshops for young men in penitentiary centers in Guanajuato and Mexico City

Abstract

This article analyzes the masculinities of young men in penitentiary centers in Guanajuato and Mexico City. The research material comes from their participation in workshops given in these centers, obtained through participant observation, field diaries, conversations with them and resources they developed as part of these activities. Through narrative analysis of the different ways in which masculinities are enunciated and communicated, we found that these narratives are grounded in orality, but also in corporeality and interaction, and are often linked to different types of violence. We examined their masculinities at the individual level, in relation to other young inmates, as well as to various representations, especially of hegemonic masculinity. The latter appeared as a predominant guideline, generally linked to a system of hierarchies and subordinations in the construction of masculine identities, but which is interpreted dissonantly inside and outside these centers.