The formation of hegemonic masculinities among the ruling class. The case of sexuality in Chilean elite private schools

Abstract

Based on 41 life-history interviews with men and women (19-45 years-old), former students of three different types of elite private schools in Santiago, this paper analyses the construction of hegemonic masculinities in the Chilean ruling class. The paper examines the way in which the production of different patterns of masculinities is related to changes in the top-end of the social structure, and analyzes the way in which sexuality connects the simultaneous making of these masculinities and the ruling class. The ways schools address sexuality is contrasted with former students’ sexual practices with women from different social classes, particularly, the practice that they call “chaneo”. Finally, the paper discusses the implications of these findings for the study of power and privilege in a market society.