Brotherhoods of power: whiteness, masculinity, and elite identity in all-boys schools

This article examines the intricate and interwoven relationship between whiteness, masculinity, and elite status within U.S. secondary elite all-boys schools. Drawing on a study of 127 recent alumni from these institutions, the authors explore how brotherhoods within these schools act as a relational infrastructure for the production and reinforcement of eliteness. The study investigates how adherence to these norms requires students to navigate and uphold particular practices and relations that sustain systems of power. Findings highlight two interlocking dynamics: peer policing and conformity that secure belonging, and everyday routines of tradition, banter, and “just joking” that render racialized exclusions ordinary and dismissible. The article further examines how these brotherhoods enforce conformity to a specific form of masculinity intertwined with whiteness. The findings underscore the need for a critical expansion of scholarly frameworks to fully understand the complex intersectionality of whiteness, masculinity, and eliteness within elite educational settings.