Where the boys are-teenagers, masculinity and a sense of place

Recent research on the social and gendered geographies of children and young people is filled with new insights into the social and cultural conditions under which their presence in urban space is moderated and their identity constructed. This study seeks to contribute to this research area, by exploring the ways in which teenage boys acquire and maintain a particularly gendered sense of place. The paper demonstrates that this sense of place is regulated by the support structures of all male schooling, by patriarchal family structures, and through the marshalling of the boundaries of heterosexuality amongst the boy's peer group. The paper concludes that due consideration of these issues needs to be evaluated if the experience of teenagers in urban space is to be effectively understood by social geographers.