ABSTRACT
Deindustrialisation and profound changes in education are seen to have particularly affected contemporary young men. These underscore one part of a recurring obsession in the popular press and, indeed, the public imagination across western contexts: the ‘crisis of masculinity’. The first half of the chapter engages with the enduring prevalence in the political and public imagination of this crisis talk. The second half of the chapter argues that while academic critiques of this crisis have been very effective, the key academic work on masculinity and youth transitions inadvertently caricatures young working-class men. Emphasising sexism, homophobia and resistance to authority as key features of working-class culture, these depictions create a singular vision of static, traditional gender performances that are at odds with the contemporary world. Yet, are these actually representative of working-class young men?
