of the assembly line in Mexico’s GM plant by bursting into tears, his workmates ridiculed him with the nickname Llorona, the long-suffering Woman” in Mexican oral tradition ‘La “Weeping (Bachelor, 2001: 290). According to Bachelor (2001: 294), it was this worker’s to ‘inability endure the travails of autowork’, rather than his tears alone that led to his rechristening a ‘after female figure’. Explicitly equating physical weakness with femininity, this language making contrasted starkly with the notion of masculinity, which prevailed in this workplace and which centered on and physical endurance’, both of which the core of the ‘craftsmanship ‘represented autoworkers’ identity as workers and as men’. This helps us to make sense of the way that workers use speech’ to and reaffirm the and tough” image of an ‘profane ‘reinforce “rough industry’ (Fortado, 1998: 16). Moreover, when linked to intimidatory humour, derogatory name calling not only generates and maintains a sense of unity and community against a hostile world but also provides workers with a language through which they can control each other’s behaviour by defining and maintaining a shared sense of masculinity in a language that excludes outsiders (Collinson, 1988: 185; Green, 1991: 126). In referring to the joking culture in the lorry factory he studied, Collinson linked humour and ridicule to the retention of pride in ... manual, productive skills and practical ‘masculine experience’, display of tough masculinity and the testing of these same qualities in others’. ‘the He also pointed to the with sexuality and the differentiation of working class men ‘preoccupation from women’, which was evident in the shop-floor discourse in all-male environment of the ‘the components division’ (Collinson, 1988: 190) and which deployed two specific forms of masculinity: the and the family breadwinner’. According to Collinson (1988:191) ‘superstud’ these images contributed to male unity on the shop-floor and constituted a powerful pressure, to which shop-floor workers were required to conform’. As the Beast of Belsen case will show,
of the assembly line in Mexico’s GM plant by bursting into tears, his workmates ridiculed him with the nickname ‘La Llorona, the long-suffering “Weeping Woman” in Mexican oral tradition (Bachelor, 2001: 290). According to Bachelor (2001: 294), it was this worker’s ‘inability to endure the travails of autowork’, rather than his tears alone that led to his rechristening ‘after a female figure’. Explicitly equating physical weakness with femininity, this language making contrasted starkly with the notion of masculinity, which prevailed in this workplace and which centered on ‘craftsmanship and physical endurance’, both of which ‘represented the core of the autoworkers’ identity as workers and as men’. This helps us to make sense of the way that workers use ‘profane speech’ to ‘reinforce and reaffirm the “rough and tough” image of an industry’ (Fortado, 1998: 16). Moreover, when linked to intimidatory humour, derogatory name calling not only generates and maintains a sense of unity and community against a hostile world but also provides workers with a language through which they can control each other’s behaviour by defining and maintaining a shared sense of masculinity in a language that excludes outsiders (Collinson, 1988: 185; Green, 1991: 126). In referring to the joking culture in the lorry factory he studied, Collinson linked humour and ridicule to the retention of ‘masculine pride in ... manual, productive skills and practical experience’, ‘the display of tough masculinity and the testing of these same qualities in others’. He also pointed to the ‘preoccupation with sexuality and the differentiation of working class men from women’, which was evident in the shop-floor discourse in ‘the all-male environment of the components division’ (Collinson, 1988: 190) and which deployed two specific forms of masculinity: the ‘superstud’ and the family breadwinner’. According to Collinson (1988:191) these images contributed to male unity on the shop-floor and constituted a powerful pressure, to which shop-floor workers were required to conform’. As the Beast of Belsen case will show,