Veronika Burcar Alm

Balancing Contradictory Identities—Performing Masculinity in Victim Narratives

Modern sociological identity analysis argues that people perform a preferred identity, rather than revealing an essential self. But what if a given situation necessitates performance of apparently incompatible identities? Earlier research seems to suggest that people will resist one identity and foreground another. Here, the authors present another strategy of delicately balancing the performance of conflicting identities. Their interviews of Swedish young men who were victims of violence reveal that this identity balance occurs through emphasizing and defending the threatened but seemingly preferred identity, with reference to the other identity in more subtle terms. As they elaborated on their experiences, these men did not reject a victim identity altogether but subtly or implicitly modified it. They discursively positioned themselves as both “masculine men” and “victims,” combining seemingly mismatched identities. They achieve the identity work by describing initiative and defense, accounting for non-resistance, and describing injuries, fear, and sympathy from others.

Doing masculinity in narratives about reporting violent crime: young male victims talk about contacting and encountering the police

Reporting criminal victimization to the police is no obvious act. The decision to file a complaint varies depending on the specific situation. This article discusses 10 young Swedish mens narratives about contacting the police when mugged or assaulted. Although all of them have contacted the police it has not been self-obvious. Rather, they present reasons for not filing a complaint. However, after persuasion and careful consideration they decided that contacting the police is ‘the right thing to do’. This article discusses how the young men by use of their narratives about reporting crime present identities where victim worthiness is balanced against hegemonic masculinity norms.