In a valuable addition to the debate on the nature of contemporary working-class culture, Thomas Dunk examines the ordinary weekend pursuits of working-class males in his home town of Thunder Bay, Ontario. He shows that the function and meaning of gender, ethnicity, popular leisure activities, and common-sense knowledge are intimately linked with the way an individual's experience is structured by class.

After reviewing the principal theoretical problems relating to the study of working-class culture and consciousness, Dunk provides a detailed ethnographic analysis of "the Boys" - the male working-class subjects of this study. Male working-class culture, he argues, contains both the seeds of a radical response to social inequality and a defensive reaction against alternative social practices and ideas.

North St, Lakehead

Thomas W. Dunk's profile page

"This well-written, revealing, and cogently argued community study adds to the knowledge of social inequality based on class, race, and gender." D.A. Chekki, Choice.
"Dunk builds a strong interplay between the mundane and common-sense social practices with structural issues such as sexism, racism, cultural hegemony, and resistance .... A strong case is made illustrating how important leisure practices are for understanding the interplay between culture and consciousness." Bill O'Grady, Critical Sociology.