Constructing Narco-masculinity: Perception of Masculinity and Narcoculture among Men in Culiacán, Sinaloa.

Abstract

In Sinaloa, studies on narcoculture in relation to gender do not abound, especially with a focus on masculinities. In that sense, this paper intends not only to continue with the line of research that some authors have drawn on this research approach, but also to propose a concept - narcomasculinity - in order to elucidate, with more clarity, the phenomenon of narcoculture in relation to masculinity. Through interviews and the use of concepts that explain both the hegemonic masculinity in contexts of drug trafficking - the endogenous subject -, its dissident forms and the narcoculture itself, a conception of the narcomasculine subject was constructed. The results show that narco-masculinity is a contradictory concept, because while it preserves many of the most exacerbated forms of violence characteristic of hegemonic forms of masculinity, it also presents traits that contradict the traditional expressions of a dominant masculinity.