The made man

An unwritten principle of gang membership is that it affords a young man the opportunity to look and act tough, communicating a sense of strength and bravery that has traditionally been associated with legendary bandit heroes. This is a masculinity myth that implies that the made man is someone who must comport himself honorably and adopt a certain “look” that befits the public image that the gang aims to promote. To become a made man, one must act, look, and talk like one. This chapter will deal with the importance of dress, language, and appearance in crafting the persona of the “made man” – an expression that surfaced in Cosa Nostra culture but can be used generally to refer to any gangster who “re-makes himself” into an image of manliness that is consistent with the perceptions of virility that the gang of which he is a part promotes.