Paper short abstract:

In a wide range of virilities one of them is unique - not only because it excludes "classical" physical aesthetics, so important in forming many male identity stereotypes, but also because it exists alongside and "in opposition to" other expressions of masculinity.

Paper long abstract:

Hard-working men in a heavy industry milieu - e.g. shipyards, mines or metallurgy, have developed a specific attitude towards unhealthy, difficult and often very poorly paid jobs which created the very core of their masculine class identity. A high tolerance of danger and a propensity to take a wide range of risks was part and parcel of macho working culture which was often developed in defiance of and resistance to a managerial one. That is why it must be seen as part of Gramsci's propulsive concept of popular culture opposing the hegemonic one which is "born inside the factories"; i.e. "tough men" (and women e.g. Stakhanovism) were the industrial "version" of "progressive folklore". These virilities and manhood postures are largely constructed in workers' relations with each other, with their employers and with women. Here a fourth element should be introduced, which influenced their self-perception and perception of their class identity - an 'outsider's point of view'.