Masculinity, whiteness, and the new economy: An exploration of privilege and loss

This article takes up the varying ways in which white working-class men remake class and masculinity in the context of massive changes in the global economy. Situated in the northeast rust belt in the United States, the piece draws upon data gathered at two points in time - during the men's third year of secondary school in 1985, and again when these same men reached the ages of 30-31. Data gathered via participant observation and in-depth interviews in 1985 and a set of follow-up in-depth interviews in 2000-2001 suggest that it is the movement off the space of hegemonically constructed white working-class masculinity - that masculinity which emerged in relation to the old industrial economy - that now encourages "stable" working-class lives.