Abstract
Amit and Dyck’s edited volume “Young Men in Uncertain times” is an interesting collection of qualitative studies of geographically and culturally diverse groups of young men. The chapters in this collection focus on the experiences of boys and young men living in a range of contexts (China, Ethiopia, France, Georgia, India, the Society Islands, the United States, and the United Kingdom), as well as a study of Canadian soldiers deployed in Afghanistan. Although the particular settings include nonurban locales, the predominant focus is on men in urban areas.
The collection commences with an overview of some theoretical perspectives to economic and social influences on young men and representations of young men in the media and broader social discourses. This is followed by three sections: just trying to fit in; making do in changing times; and dealing with being “trouble.” I was disappointed that there was no description or discussion of a unifying theory of masculinities in the introduction, and little attention to such theories in any of the subsequent chapters. There was barely any mention of R. W. Connell’s influential work, and no mention of later studies of pluralities in masculinity. Although the editors and some contributors mention the importance of acknowledging diversity in masculinities, there was little examination of the viability of different modes of masculinity within and between different social fields. I also thought that better use could be made of Arnett’s theory of emerging adulthood.
For me, the highlights were the chapters by Roche (Northern Ireland), Evans and Armstrong and Rosbrook-Thomson (both London, United Kingdom), Rios and Rodriguez (Oakland and Santa Barbara, United States), and Terrio (Paris, France). These chapters give a clear presentation of the background and context, and then examine the subjective experiences of boys and young men living within these contexts. In these chapters, the authors exhibit an empathy with young men that is often lacking in discussions of issues which affect them. They also highlight how different men may experience and respond to similar circumstances in different ways. Some of the other chapters could have been strengthened by applying such a structure and process.
Although the collection of papers gives a good overview of the similarities and differences in men’s experiences in different contexts, very few of the authors offered any suggestions for how to improve the lot of young men. One way to have done this may have been for authors to have given more attention to young men who are not struggling and/or are not seen as a “problem” or “trouble.” However, there were very few accounts of boys and men’s positive experiences. Thus, one limitation is that despite the contributors’ common criticism of a tendency to make boys and young men a “problem,” most of the authors ended up focusing on problems rather than solutions.
There were some unresolved tensions in how the different chapters were framed. For example, whereas Rios and Rodriguez focus exclusively on “black and brown men” with the implicit assumption that issues of unemployment and negative credentialing are fundamentally different for them than for white men, two chapters later Evans claims that white and black working class boys face “remarkably similar” challenges (although later in the chapter there is a more qualified statement that issues of ethnicity intertwine with social deprivation). It may well be that the specific settings—west coast United States and London—explain these differences, but some clarification would have helped the reader.
I was surprised by some examples of “sexist” and “racist” language. In many of the chapters, it was not often made clear whether people referred to as Somali, Bengali, and so on were first- or second-generation migrants, and nor was there discussion of the impact of the persistence of such labeling as a foreigner even when young men are born in their country of residence. In other chapters, the unexplained use of the words “he,” “him,” and “his” to refer to generic trouble makers in schools and defendants in criminal trials only serves to reinforce negative stereotypes of young men.
Despite some limitations, I was stimulated and engaged by this book. It would be of use to academics and other professionals interested in understanding the psychological, social, cultural, and economic challenges facing young men in the early twenty-first century. This book makes a useful contribution to the literature by paying attention to the experiences of young men in diverse settings across the world.