Abstract
Imagine the scene. It’s the late nineteenth century and you’re stood at the top of Fargate, the main thoroughfare through Sheffield city centre. Thousands of people are crammed in around you, talking and jostling and waiting for something to start. This is clearly a big event in the city, and something that people have been looking forward to. Surreptitious bets are being placed in hidden areas of the mostly male crowd and anticipation is high. A cheer goes up, and things are finally moving. All of a sudden, a group of young, working-class men come running down the strip that has been left empty by the spectators. You recognise some of them from work and the pub. They are completely naked, apart from some who have a small strip of material covering their crotches, and, of course, their hob-nailed running shoes. It’s a hard-fought race that is taken seriously until it is finished. Then, the winner is treated like a hero and the other competitors laugh and joke and head off with friends for a celebratory pint. It is not clear whether they get dressed or not.
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Notes
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© 2015 Helen Smith
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Smith, H. (2015). Working-Class Culture. In: Masculinity, Class and Same-Sex Desire in Industrial England, 1895–1957. Genders and Sexualities in History. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137470997_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137470997_3
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