In the narratives there were distinct ways in which participants described masculinity as something culturally achieved. This achievement was expressed through a discourse of being/becoming ‘a man’ and being/becoming ‘The Man’. In the interviews, the process of becoming a man was mentioned in many different ways, focusing generally on the symbolic values and gains that the individuals associated with becoming a man. Alongside this was the discussion from some of the participants of their achievements of becoming ‘The Man’, which is capitalized here because it was conveyed as a title, rather than a description itself. In becoming ‘The Man’ there were even more layers of symbolic representation that conveyed what it is to become the ultimate man in the gang context. Discourses of perceived hegemonic masculinity were revealed in the interviews through the distinction between ‘a man’ and ‘The Man’. Not all of the participants I interviewed had achieved this status, or at times were not certain if they had, but they all appeared to have an awareness and understanding of what ‘The Man’ was about. In the narratives, a distinction was often made between the qualities participants’ attribute to an everyday masculinity (‘a man’), which included independence, looking after one's responsibilities, a sense of being respected, and access to a type of power. As the participants referred to achieving the status of ‘The Man’, they then started talking about different elements of masculinity performance, including being feared, having power over others, enacting violence, and respect. As they then moved on to talk about being The Man from a retrospective position, several of the participants noted that, now looking back, they feel that they had conflated fear and respect at those times, which they now see as distinct.

In the interviews there were several references to the notion of ‘The Man’. This title was most commonly used; however, other related terms included ‘the boss’, ‘King’, ‘the guy’, ‘the man on the block’, ‘the man of the house’, ‘top man’.