Boyhood Studies

On December 9, 2024, we the guest editors hosted an interactive online panel discussion on Global South Perspective on Youth Masculinities with scholars joining us from multiple countries, across multiple time zones. This global panel event was to mark the launch of Volume 1 of our Special Issue (eds. Mani and Philip, 2024) by the same name, which appeared in this journal. The discussion from the online panel produced several fruitful themes for thinking about youth masculinities in the Global South that we expand on here in this introduction to Volume 2 and are also themes that overlap with contributions that are part of this issue. Our authors reflected on the question about how their work challenges or contributes to Global North understandings of masculinities and youth. Their reflections, built on their articles, brought forward several nuances that cut across the articles both in the last issue and in this one. We want to reflect briefly on two important contributions that have emerged for us collectively—firstly, around the theme of context, and secondly, around the theme of young men's aspirations.

Global North theorizations of boyhood often overlook the exploitation and inequality that impacts men and boys from former colonies in the Global South. These theorizations may not acknowledge how institutions with colonial roots shape boys transition to manhood. This article then explores the construction of tunay na lalaki, a Filipino term for true manhood, by utilizing the case study of one historically colonial, elite-building, and public Filipino university. Utilizing a feminist methodology with staff and student leader interviews, the study reveals that universities purport a localized and neo-colonial form of hegemonic masculinity through tunay na lalaki. Fraternity men within the university strengthened by their barkada (egalitarian peer group) culture, embody this masculinity. While universities condone fraternity culture, they offer ways to decolonize this neo-colonial hegemony. The reconceptualization of hegemonic masculinity as tunay na lalaki furthers theorizations on non-marginalized masculinities from the Global South.

This article explores the power dynamics in the governance of talibé children involved in begging in Senegal and the complex interplay of sociological, economic, political, and ideological factors in this field. The article provides an analysis of how antagonistic conceptions of childhood influence the approaches regulating the lives of talibé children. It explores how daaras (Quranic schools) are perceived as one of the most favorable environments in which to allow boys to develop a particular masculine identity, highly valued by traditional Senegalese and Islamic education, suggesting that preparing children for adulthood in the context of daaras has a strong liminal dimension. The article also provides a broader analysis of the governance of childhood in Senegal, particularly the dynamics around the noncommittal response of the state and foreign intervention.

Research on Tunisia has increasingly focused on issues of youth unemployment since the 2011 revolution. One of the major causes of the revolution is attributed to the widespread disappointment and anger of educated unemployed Tunisians. Many young Tunisians had to postpone life plans such as marriage and home ownership or had to flee the country through legal or illegal migration. While unemployment stigmatizes both men and women, the socio-economic consequences differ significantly by gender; for men, it is a social death.

In this article, I ask: What type of masculinities and subjectivities emerged from the perpetual state of socio-economic and political death experienced by young Tunisian men? What are the strategies created to articulate their relations with space, time, and to reestablish their severed masculinity? To answer this, I draw on ethnographic fieldnotes and a collection of life stories of young Tunisian men gathered during my fieldwork in Tunisia (2021–2022).

Discussing my long-term research involvement in the world of fitness trainers and bodybuilders in India, I frequently get asked if these men's bodies resonate with a potentially toxic sense of masculinity. Horrific rape cases, dowry deaths, and the more general problem of eve-teasing or the harassment of women in public spaces have all contributed to the idea of the Indian male as entitled and with a deeply problematic masculine self. This article seeks to upset this idea by focusing on the trajectories of interlocutors hailing from new or lower middle-class backgrounds. Focusing on a bodybuilding federation where men of the gujjar-caste form the majority and a small neighborhood gym where the trainers are from an ‘urban village’ in Delhi dominated by the jat-caste, it centers on men who actively engage with their socioeconomic status in society and the way their “transformed” muscular bodies are perceived in urban space. Having been expected to follow in their fathers’ footsteps and/or join the family business, their journeys deviate markedly from that of their peers. Working out and developing their bodies therefore marks more than mere bodily transformation. It also entails a process whereby they need to rework their sense of (masculine) self and their place in society.

In an era of technological advancements and user-centric platforms, artistic expressions have emerged as powerful mediums, particularly in regions marked by uncertainty like Kashmir. This study examines the contemporary Kashmiri rap song “Downtown” by a young content creator, analyzing how youth masculinity is performed lyrically and visually. Garnering millions of YouTube views, the song transcends entertainment, serving as a critical tool for negotiating societal narratives and power structures. Through a qualitative approach, the research investigated the portrayal of masculinity and urban space in downtown Srinagar, revealing two key themes: women's marginalization within dissent narratives and the construction of downtown as a masculine space. The song strategically employed humor and cultural references, simultaneously elevating a patriarchal masculine narrative while marginalizing women's perspectives.