Building Up by Tearing Down

Abstract

This article analyzes mockery sequences among a group of friends to examine how this discursive practice mobilizes categories to manage stances toward differences and to construct group norms and boundaries. Using discourse analysis, I inspect how nonseriously tearing down or jocularly teasing/mocking participants within a peer group manages the practical problem of in-group difference by reaffirming shared stances and norms around masculinity. The analysis highlights some of the ways in which groups navigate difference and identity moment-to-moment in interaction, showing how the moral organization of in-group and out-group assessments are built in the mundane world of conversation.