ABSTRACT
As traditional structures have been eroded and the world has changed, North-Eastern working-class men have been forced to develop and recognize new means of masculine expression. Contemporary working-class men in the North East no longer have the established structures that provided reliable bases for identity and behaviour throughout the modern age. The transition from industrial to post-industrial work and masculinities, and from conflict to entrepreneurial criminal foundations has not been smooth, and much is left unresolved. In Sunderland much of the old industrial scenery on the Wear has disappeared. Sunderland, considered a mixture of rural backwater and urban slum by many, has a serious crime community and very professional professional criminals. The idea that Sunderland has produced criminals capable of masterminding the importation of large quantities of illegal drugs is a massive change in itself.
