ScribblesNest

Lamar mainly uses open vowels in the opening bars of HUMBLE. The open, and rounded nature of the vowel pulls the listener along with the music, until this tension is cut with the closed ɪs phonemes. For example, ‘some counterfits, now I’m countin’ this.’ Open vowels are so called because the mouth, and throat are at their most open. The /a/ phoneme is an open vowel, which is followed by a fronted plosive /t/ in ‘counterfits.’ The fronted plosive acts as percussion. Krims (2000), defined flow in three ways: sung, percussion-effusive, and speech-effusive. Percussion-effusive is, basically, using particularly consonants, but the mouth more broadly, as a percussive instrument. The main way most rappers flow is in a speech-effusive style. In terms of the internal rhymes in Humble, it is a similar technique to what Edgar Allan Poe was doing in The Raven. Lamar is using internal rhymes, and percussive-effusive flow to create the pace of the rap. These rhymes line up with the percussion, thus further emphasising it.

One other place percussion-effusive flow is seen is with the line ‘D’ussé with my boo bae, tastes like Kool-Aid for the analysts.’ /d/, /b/, /t/, /k/, and /α/, all act as plosives, creating an internal beat within the line. D’ussé is a high-end French cognac, backed by Jay-Z. This is juxtaposed with Kool-Aid, which is an affordable drink mix. For Lamar, and his ‘boo bae’, the cognac is an expensive, and luxurious drink. However for the ‘analysts’, whether that be financial analysts, or analysts of his music, and success, it tastes like Kool-Aid. For those who are already rich, the more expensive things in life are not luxuries, but, rather, day-to-day items. There is no reverence, or thought put towards possessing expensive things. Perhaps this is who Lamar is telling to be humble, those who already possess wealth. For those who have made it, who have reached success off of their own hard work, some flaunting is okay. However, for those who have possessed wealth all their life, they are the ones who should be humble. There is another layer to the Kool-Aid line. In 1978, the Jonestown Massacre occurred. 909 people, including 304 children, either suicided, or were murdered by cult leader Jim Jones, and other members of the People’s Temple. This event led to the, frankly, offensive, and insensitive phrase “drink the Kool-Aid.” This essentially means that one passively accepts a certain belief system, or ideology. “Drinking the Kool-Aid” of rap, and hip-hop music may mean to accept that bragging, and flaunting wealth is part of what makes a rap artist. However, Lamar is refuting that by encouraging people to do the opposite.

There is also the use of sibilance in Humble that very effectively draws in the next part of the line. Lamar says that he remembers ‘syrup sandwiches, and crime allowances’, and that there is a ‘soprano C’. Sibilance is the repetition of the /s/ sound, which is a voiceless fricative. In paralinguistic terms, it is typically used to get someone’s attention. We can see this through colloquialisms such as ‘shh,’ or ‘psst.’  It also slows down the text, making the reader pay more attention that way. Here, Lamar is pushing us to pay attention to ‘syrup sandwiches, and crime allowances.’ Syrup sandwiches are bread with syrup on it, a staple of a poverty food diet. It was also referenced on a Nas track, No Introduction. This is then, through the sibilance, coupled with the crime allowances. Crime, and the money earnt from it, is tied to poverty. Low-income is one of the biggest drivers of crime, not because those living in poverty are inherently criminal, but because desperate people will do desperate things. This focus on poverty then contrasts the grand aesthetics of the music video. Conspicuous consumption is the buying, and displaying of things that look/ are expensive. It is quite common among the nuevo riche (new money), especially in the Black American community. This is exemplified excellent in the music video for Ape Shit, The Carters. Displaying wealth is proof that you have made it. All of the wealth seen in the Humble music video, however, is undercut by the songs didactic message of maintaining grace, and modesty in the face of success.

Lamar is known to play with the down beat to create an interesting rhythm, as seen in To Pimp a Butterfly. Hip-hop is mainly in the metre of 4/4 time, this is four beats per bar. Typically, the first beat, the 1, is obvious, however in Alright this is not the case. This creates a restrained feeling that is later released with the chorus, ‘We gon’ be alright.’ The downbeat is on beat 4, with little emphasis to create a bouncy feeling without getting in the way of the lyrics. The half-time backbeat, with the snare being on beat 3, and 7 adds to this. The key chord progression slides down a semi-tone from Abm9 to Gm9. This, all together, gives the song a strong sense of arrival. The sense of arrival is further emphasised with the /ɹ/ in the word, ‘alright.’ Originally, Pharrell pronounced the phrase, ‘we gon’ be alright’ in a Louisiana accent: ‘we gon-be al-ight,’ however, Lamar pushed him to further annunciate the phrase to make the sounds clearer. This added to the sense of arrival captured in the music, as the /ɹ/ phoneme was emphasised as the music kicked in. The strong chorus is one of the best things about the song, and what makes it so iconic. In 2020, it was used as a protest chant to demonstrate, and support Black joy in the face of overwhelming oppression.

The beginning of verse 2 opens: ‘What you want you, a house? You, a car?/ Forty acres, and a mule? A piano, a guitar?/ Anything, see my name is Lucy, I’m your dog/ Motherfucker, you can live at the mall.’ Lamar uses a series of open vowels here in rapid succession to bring the listener with him. The words in bold are these open vowels. These let the music step back from being percussive, as we are suspended for these few lines with the song. Then the percussive-effusive flow, and percussion in the music kick in, making it hit the listener harder. This gives the song more weight, and impact then it might have possessed otherwise. Alright is a hard hitting song because of the unity between the flow, and the music.

I grew up very Gentile. My last name is super Christian. But I remember the first time someone called me a Jewess. I remember when I was having sex with a guy, and he began screeching about having an “ariyan dick”. My family is mixed, one parent a Jew, the other parent a leader in a church. Since October 7th, I have found myself longing for a Jewish community. Whilst most would turn to Chabad, that is not an option for me. Do you know what it does to your self-esteem to be rejected, as a Jew, by Chabad?! I live rurally in a village of three hundred people, in a county where I am sure I am the only Jew. I live with my Christian family who sit silently during a Seder. I live with a heart torn. The Jewish community has always seemed like a huge family, like honey and milk pouring from the dawn of the soul. But, aside from Progressive synagogues who, in all honesty, don’t offer that much community, I have felt like the dog eating crumbs from under the table. I want- no. I yearn for my Jewish community. For a collection of Jewish women who I can finally breathe around. I had this briefly whilst at university. I was studying to be a teacher, facing antisemitism from the students and staff. But I didn’t care. I had my people. But what does it mean to be a person without a people. How do we grieve alone?

I have a poster of Andrea Dworkin in my room. She is not someone who I agree with on everything, but she is right most of the time – especially on Allen Ginsberg. I have her there because she is a big Jew. A huge Jew! She is the most feminist Jewish Jew that I can think of. She keeps me company. The only thing I did for Pesach this year was eat some matzo for seven days. After last years silent Seder, I could not face it again. My Christian parent has always been supportive of my Jewishness, after all, it is my choice and my soul. “G-d has a plan.” But their support is limited to Fiddler on the Roof references, and sitting quietly. This Chanukah just gone, they asked questions. That meant the world to me. I began to explain the difference between Hillel and Shammai, about that story with the convert, about eight candles on night one versus one candle. They listened, and nodded, pulling faces at the behaviour of Shammai. But that was it. There was no further comments. Just silence.

I remember when I lived in Manchester for a short while. The synagogue did not tell me what time the Chanukah service was, so I hooked up with a guy instead. He was Greek, and proud of it. As he was holding me, I talked about Chanukah. I said ,“you know, your people oppressed my people.” He said, “no. We wouldn’t do that.” I fell silent. I am ashamed of that. I would not say that I am a woman in the Gentile sense. I am not quiet. I am not subservient. I am not to be ignored. In fact, my Mother bought all us kids jumpers that had Shakespeare quotes on them (yes, we were that type of family, we wore them to go see A Midsummer Night’s Dream). Mine said “though she be but little, she is fierce.” I am fierce. I would say, I am a Jewish woman. I am loud. I am proud. I am in charge, because HaShem knows if anyone else is, it will be a mess. But that time, with that man’s arms around me, I was quiet. I never expect antisemitism in a weird way. Yet every time I encounter it, I fall silent. What gives them the right to talk to me that way?

There was a time, also in Manchester, where I was stood up. The guy made me shlep to my local Wetherspoons, in the cold, just to call me a “kike” and block me. I had met this guy on a dating app. I always make it clear that I am a Jew. It is everything I am. In the word of Miriam Margolyes, it is “cultural vomit.” This time too, I stayed silent, but only because I was my own date. I messaged my brother, who is on his own spiritual journey, how many pints could I have before it got weird. My brother is a bartender, so he should know. He said six or seven. I, to my pride, managed four. I went home, picking up some cider on the way…

Since October 7th, I have been filmed, had things thrown at me, been yelled at, stood up, had to defend the word antisemitism, have lost family and friends, and my Jewish parent and I aren’t talking. We have not talked since I was seventeen. Every morning, I say my prayers. Every night, I say my prayers. Sometimes, if I remember, I say my prayers in the middle of the day. But Judaism sucks when you are alone. A TikToker, Zachery, compared being Jewish to cleaning the dishes. The world lives in a house, and it is up to the Jews to wash the dishes. We do not want to do it. But, if it is not done, nobody eats. With someone else, cleaning the dishes is fun. Put on some music, have a little party, split the washing and drying. But, on your own, it is a chore. It is exhausting. That is what it has been like for me. Exhausting. I wanted to write something positive, perhaps I still will, but I would be a liar if I denied the tiredness I feel.

I was in a situationship with a man. Not quite a relationship, but we were exclusive. He got too comfortable. He made jokes about me enjoying war crimes, about me hating Palestinians. The first time we talked was about whether Hamas were freedom fighters. I said they were not. He said they were. I argued, but eventually, I fell silent. I accepted it. It was not until over a year after we had met that I finally dropped him as a situationship/ friend. His housemate was even worse…

In Appalachia, they say “when the insects fall silent, get out of the woods.” I think about that a lot. Not just because I am a chronic overthinker, but also because it scares me. As I said before, I live rurally. I know what the insects sound like here. If they fell silent, I would take myself back home as soon as possible. They know more than I do. But, I have been thinking about it not just as practical advice, or not just because I am neurotic. I have been feeling it in my heart. When I fall silent, I should run. I remember reading that article “screaming without sound,” I think it was called. It was a New York Times article, I think. It was over Chanukah in 2023. I was alone in the lounge, Chanukiah lit, wood fire burning. I cried. I screamed without sound. My sister was railing against the war, and all I could feel, as I could not think, was how dare you? There are still women being held hostage. I could feel my abusers hands on me all over again. I could feel that quiet poison in my throat. I wanted to scream, and cry, and throw myself against the wall. But I fell silent. Just staring at this woman I thought I understood. When the insects fall silent, get out of the woods.

We used to play this game when we were kids, stuck in the mud. I hated it because it involved touching, or crawling between someone’s legs. I did not want to be touched like that, but I did not want to be in trouble even more. Silent. Stay silent. I hated that game because I did not need to imagine what it was like to be stuck in the mud. Every day, on that cursed walk home, I would shlep through mud. I would attempt to swim through it at home. I guess, I have always felt like that little girl. I was always the closest (and the favourite) of my Jewish parent. We got along the best. I was with them every other weekend they could be bothered to be a parent. I guess October 7th brought it all back for me. It also brought back a sense of guilt. How dare I make this moment about myself? How dare I take the suffering of others and focus it on me?! But that is what we do as Jewish women. We beat with one heart, and we breathe with one soul. Ruach.

Did you know that a strong eastern wind could have parted the Red Sea, and that is what is said in Exodus 14:21-2? I am not much of a believer in these things, but it is good to know. Breath. Not quite silent. That is what I have been focussing on as of late. When all the hostages came home, I felt that breath through me once again. It was miraculous. Out of all the religions and peoples in the world, the Jewish community is the one still experiencing miracles. We are still living and breathing after six thousand years of torment. This has given me strength. Sometimes I use this fact flippantly, “Oh, come on Sion. Your people lived through six thousand years of torment. You can call the doctors.” I fear my ancestors would be ashamed of me.

Why Andrea Dworkin? That is the question I come back to. Well, because she is Andrea Dworkin. She needs no introduction. She is off the beaten track. She commits to her principals to the point of impacting her life. Some find her work unreadable (something I want to experience so bad). She is so fully and emphatically herself.  That is what I saw in Jewish women. In Golde (Fiddler on the Roof), she is a Jewish woman who runs her household, has everything under control even when things are falling apart. She always takes that extra step to search for her daughters, to learn, to pray, to grow, to change. I have no idea why Tevye is looking for a scholar when his wife is right there. In Yentl (Yentl). Her self-possession and drive. Her earnestness and passion. Her everything! How could you not want to be a Jewish woman when this is what is represented?

I have met two influential Jewish women in my life. One was a Rebbetzin. She made the best potato salad. It had little pickles cut up into it. She made some of the best challah in the world – not necessarily better then mine, but we will leave it up to HaShem to judge. She was so put together at every moment. Her children listened to her. She could cook perfectly. She knew everything. I guess I have always wanted that for myself. I always wanted that kind of mother, friend, companion. When I was around her, I got a little bit envious. I wish I was that. I wish that one day I could be that. In my daydreams of my future, I am a badass Jewish mother, doing everything I need to support my family. But that is a weigh of its own, is it not?

I do not know whether I could be a mother anymore.

I cannot watch my children suffer. Hagar, cast out into the wilderness, clinged to her son, and to her life. She abandoned her son as she cannot bear to see him suffer. As the cries of the infant ring out, Hagar turns around to comfort him. It is at this moment, when Hagar faces her suffering that she sees the well of water. I remember this being told to me on the Jewish-Feminist podcast Can We Talk?. It has stuck with me. Could I bear to see my child suffer? Could I bear to see them taken away from me? HaShem said to Abraham “Go out from your land, your birthplace, and your father’s house… And I will make you a great nation.” HaShem said to Abraham, “I will make your children like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust of the earth, so shall your offspring be counted.” HaShem said to Abraham, “[G-d] took him outside and said, ‘Look at the heaven and count the stars – if indeed you can count them…’ So shall your children be.” HaShem said to Abraham, “Your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations.” I feel this implicit pressure to have children… I wonder why?

Love. I suppose that is why people have children. There are four types of love: Ahavah, Dod, Yichud, and Racham. Ahavah is non-romantic, non-erotic love. It is a brotherly love for your fellow person. Its root is in hav, meaning to give. We give love. We act love. We do love. It is not a simple thing of passively feeling love, but rather actively doing love. We may not always feel the emotion, but our actions can bridge that gap. Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev said that he saw two drunks talking. One says, ‘I love you’, the other denies this. The first protested, ‘I love you with all my heart.’ The second responds, ‘if you love me, why don’t you know what hurts me?’ Dod means romantic love. It is the beloved. It is a simple, school-yard crush type of love. Yichud is the uniting of two into one. It means together alone. Yichud to echad, together alone to one. Racham is infinite love. The love of HaShem for us. It is a love we cannot reach. It is tied to the womb, from whence we came.

Infamous TikToker, JonsBones, started a (unaccredited) museum from his private bone collection. His pride and joy is his wall of human spines. Jon is an artist by trade, using primarily animal remains in his art. His background is not in osteoarchaeology or anthropology. This is important to note as part of this education is the ethics around displaying human remains and interacting with them. Lacking this education means that the labelling of bones cannot be done and the ethical issues with displaying human remains are untouched. Jon displays medical specimens, typically from before the 1980s. Many of these skeletons, from the Bone Museum’s own website, come from Kolkata, India. This area was instrumental in the British colonisation of India. It’s a costal region of the country that suffered heavily, with many churches being built to convert the Hindu and Muslim population. It was also a centre for the independence campaign, witnessing the Revolt of 1857. During colonisation, most acutely after the passing of the U.K. Anatomy Act 1832, those who worked cremating the dead were pressured and forced by the British Regime to turn over the bodies to companies that traded bones. This is where a lot of the bones in the Bone Museum come from: colonisation. The Bones Museum also sell human bones. One time, the Museum tried to sell the mislabelled skull of what they believed to be a Saami person. The Saami are indigenous to Sampi, the northern regions of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and parts of Russia. Selling an indigenous skull is… a bad look. It is self-evidently unethical. The listing was taken down, but only after there was wide-spread backlash on social media. In the 1980s, India made the exporting of human remains illegal. This is why most bones possessed by the Bone Museum come from before that time. Now, in the U.K., most bones come from historic collections, or, with bodies, are donated for dissection. However, the bones trade in India still carries on, just more illegally than before.

“Other cultures do it.” Yes. But you’re probably not part of those cultures, are you? Día de las Ñatitas is practised by the indigenous Aymara in Bolivia. It’s a type of folk-Catholicism that blends indigenous practises with Catholic belief. The skulls used for this are decorated and act as influencers for protection, health, wealth, e.t.c.. Anything you can think of. This mirrors the ways saints are often revered, with each saint being given a specific purview over an aspect of life. The Church obviously has issues with this, but the Ñatitas are brought to mass and people want them to be blessed. Tsantsa are another indigenous practise that has to be taken by white people. Commonly known as “shrunken heads”, Tsantsa are from Shuar/ Achuar peoples in Ecuador and Peru. These were stolen and held by Euro-Americans and Europeans during the 1800s and 1900s. The stealing of these heads led to violence amongst the Shuar and Achuar peoples. But why do it? What is the appeal of having these things? Well, it’s the material culture of colonialism. When regular people had oddity cabinets, they were often full of trinkets and tid-bits related to colonialism. It was a visual representation of the knowledge possessed by an individual. These cabinets were to show off, and the more “exotic” the stuff, the more travelled and interesting you were.

So, why have bones? You will notice with those that collect bones that they are stubborn in their position. I believe this is because collecting human bones is more than just a hobby, it’s an identity. There is a feeling of security and safety in possessing a defined sense of self. It is also something quirky and unique. This reminds me of the “pick-me”, “I’m not like other girls” people. Standing in opposition to wider society can enrich someone’s identity. It makes them unique, which is something everyone wants to feel. There is an honesty to it. You are who you show yourself to be. This is a similar mindset to anyone who collects anything. There is also a sense of community. The bone collecting community is very tight-knit and close, with constant trading going on. Feeling a sense of community is a natural human desire, but the ethics of bone collecting is… well, you’ve read what I’ve written. It’s also expensive to buy human bones. A fully articulated skeleton is worth around £6500! Selling that could set you up for a month. It’s financially lucrative, but also expresses something about yourself. Like the oddity cabinets of the past, it’s a visual representation of who you are. You are quirky, different, and morbid. But all of this comes off the backs of exploited bodies who should be laid to rest. That’s the ultimate point here. These are the bodies of people, often disabled bodies that are strung up like exotic oddities. These people deserve to be returned home. They shouldn’t be on a mantel piece, they should be where they want to be.

‘1832: 2 & 3 William 4 c. 75: The Anatomy Act’, The Statutes Project, 10 February 2019 <https://statutes.org.uk/site/the-statutes/nineteenth-century/1832-2-3-william-4-c-75-the-anatomy-act/> [accessed 24 February 2026]

Agarwal, Sabrina C., ‘The Bioethics of Skeletal Anatomy Collections from India’, Nature Communications, 15.1 (2024), p. 1692, doi:10.1038/s41467-024-45738-6

Bednarz, Christine, ‘Pictures of Bolivia’s Skull Festival Called Día de Las Ñatitas’, Travel, National Geographic, 17 December 2018 <https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/la-paz-natitas-things-to-do-skull-festival-cemetery> [accessed 24 February 2026]

Carington, Francesca, ‘Death and the Salesman: The 22-Year-Old Selling Human Bones for a Living’, Life and Style, The Guardian, 29 November 2022 <https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2022/nov/29/jonsbones-tiktok-human-bone-seller-jon-ferry> [accessed 24 February 2026]

Coman, Jonathan, Simon S. Craig, and Anne‐Maree Kelly, ‘Skeletons in the Closet: Time to Give Human Bones Acquired by Health Practitioners for Educational Purposes the Respect They Deserve’, Medical Journal of Australia, 216.8 (2022), pp. 392–96, doi:10.5694/mja2.51477

Doughty, Caitlin, and Landis Blair, From Here to Eternity: Travelling the World to Find the Good Death (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2019)

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Dr Tyson actually examined patients when they were admitted. Like physically examined them. I know, why wasn’t that done previously? If there was a physical ailment, then that was treated first before any psychological illness was. This was very important in providing a holistic care regiment that did not write-off unwell patients as all mad. He ordered there be hot baths for patients, well-balanced meals, and medical treatments if the patient was physically unwell. All these things must have made the people being treated in Bedlam feel like real people. Their dignity was suddenly important. Clothes were provided for those who couldn’t afford them. Female nurses were introduced, who didn’t just act like jailers, but acted almost like our modern healthcare professionals. This would have also gone some way in preventing sexual and physical violence against the patients.

Most amazingly was the outpatients and post-discharge treatment of patients. With two-thirds (that’s right, two-thirds) of patients being cured and discharged, there needed to be effective post-discharge management. Jobs, clothing and money were given to those that were discharged to help keep them well whilst out of hospital. Poverty is a key factor in poor mental health. By preventing people from falling into poverty, Tyson improved their mental health outcomes. Furthermore, there were outpatient treatment programs to support those who have been discharged. Maybe it’s just me, but I am dying to see Tyson and this Bedlam in action.

What makes this so amazing is the closeness we can feel at seeing Tyson’s methods. They feel unnaturally and unusually humane for what was such a bloody and awful time. Edward Tyson should be remembered as a forefather of modern psychology and nursing. Sadly, he is not.

Andrews, Jonathan, ‘A Respectable Mad-Doctor? Dr Richard Hale, F.R.S. (1670-1728)’, Notes and Records of the Royal Society of London, 44.2 (1990), pp. 169–204 <https://www.jstor.org/stable/531606> [accessed 19 February 2026]

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The argument has been made that Highland masculinity, at least up until the 1820s in some areas, was characterised by violence.[2] Indeed, if we take Tosh’s opinion that masculinity is an identity that exists and is affirmed in the public sphere, then it makes sense that public displays of violence have been commonplace.[3] If masculinity is to be policed by other men, then the physical altercations or military  conquests that have been written about in the Highlands then can be used to explore what these communities valued in terms of masculinity. This type of analysis of gender is not unheard of, however it is rarely applied to masculinity. Tosh writes that boys acquire masculine traits and that is how they become men.[4] Or, in the vein of Simone de Beauvoir,  man is not born, he is made.[5] Judith Butler’s theory of gender performativity is applicable here too, as men perform the violent masculine identity in order to be seen as men.[6] I mention these theories here because John Dewars collection is a folklore collection. Folklore can represent the ways in which those who participated in events, or their descendants – metaphorical or literal – interpret the past, and what values they want remembered and disseminated.[7] Folklore reveals a performance of masculinity, in the public sphere, that can be analysed to see what the communities and cultures it belongs to value.

Most notable for the purposes of this essay, of Dewar’s collection is Clan Nail, which details a fight within the Clan that no one knows the origin or justification of.[8] This details the somewhat senseless violence that seemed to be key in Highland masculinity. Abrams notes that when Highland men, particularly unmarried men, moved into more urban areas, they participated in brawls with other men, sometimes along Clan lines.[9] The violence was usually also accompanied with alcohol. However, there was also a class element here. With the distablising of the Clan system in the early to mid-19th century, men with unstable social statuses used violence more often, possibly as a way to soothe the insecurity of losing your place in the social order.[10] Without stable employment in a time where masculinity was becoming more of a capitalist identity, as in being in respectable employment was becoming more important in defining masculinity, violence may have been the main way these men could affirm their identity.[11]  

Violence in Highland masculinity did not just extend to interpersonal violence, as in brawls or other physical altercations, but also acts of military violence. Dewar’s collection feature numerous stories that include this as a theme, such as: The Great Strait of the Feinn, Charles Stuart of Ardsheil, Big Dunca Mackenzie, The Battle of Gladsmiur, and The Battle of Culloden.[12] Military as part of masculine identity was becoming more common from the late-17th century onwards, though this often clashed with conceptualisations of the polite, respectable man.[13] Particularly as the British empire expanded, and Highland men became more involved with working in the colonies, so do did masculine militarism.[14] Therefore, after the Battle of Culloden and what was effectively the end of political-militaristic Jacobitism the anti-Jacobite policies brought into place worked to Anglicise and feminise Scotland.[15] Through state-mandated violence, destruction of crops, seizing of land, outlawing of men carrying weapons, or wearing the kilt, Highland masculinity, and the Clan system was effectively eroded.[16] Militaristic violence was then not for preserving or defending Highland culture, or specific clans, but funnelled into supporting Britain abroad in its imperialistic acts. It was no longer Highland violence for Highland men, but British violence for the British empire.

In terms of taming Highland masculinity, the courts became instrumental in resolving issues that were previously resolved with violence. Abrams explores this, and argues convincingly in its favour, with Victorian masculinity turning inwards and emphasising civility.[17] However, this was only true for a few. For example, the practice of duelling, though not as common as it once was, was still found amongst the upper classes.[18] Victorian masculinity is one that also embodies assumptions about the man’s class, race, religion, employment status, and sexuality.[19] In other words, masculinity had an internal hierarchy centred on who was more of a man. Jewish men, for example, were often feminised and, therefore, not seen as participating in British conceptualisations of masculinity, which in this instance were predicated on Christian identity.[20] Violence was also found in some working-class performances of masculinity. Here, the head of the household, the man, would use violence against women and children in order to defend his position and gain respect and authority.[21] This is reminiscent of the previously mentioned use of violence by bachelor’s with unstable social status. When masculine traits cannot be achieved or performed through class, income, or marriage, they have to be achieved through violence. Militaristic violence was still valued by many Victorian men, even though such violence was seen by some to undermine the gentlemanly, emotionally-controlled aspects of masculinity.[22] Past times such as boxing were publicly reviled as being unmasculine, yet they still remained popular, no matter how much they were publicly criticised.[23] The limitations with describing masculinity as tamed is that it both suggests a homogeneity of masculine identities and excludes the evidence that exists of violence. It is fair to say that the ritual of violence as it existed within the Clan system subsided, as too did the Clan system. However, violence remained part of masculinity more generally, and within specific masculine identities - such as bachelors, working class men, upper class men, men working in the colonies – it could be crucial to these identities.[24]

The language used to describe the transition in Highland masculinity from violent to civil is connected to the wider way in which the Romantics and Enlightenment thinkers conceptualised the Highlands. The Romanticised image of the Highlands sees it as an uncontrolled, wild and majestic landscape.[25] This image is somewhat problematic as it is one that primarily has been created and popularised by non-Highlanders, and it erases the identities of Highlanders and their contribution to their communities. It is also found within the language used by Abrams, specifically the idea of ‘taming’ Highland masculinity.[26] The taming being described here, as I have shown, is the Anglicising of Highland culture, the eroding of the Clan system, and the importation of a gentlemanly masculine identity. Whilst Abrams did consult legal records regarding violent assaults, she excluded Gaelic-language records which removed a lot of source that would be important to include.[27] Caimbeul said in an interview with The Herald, that it would be ‘difficult’ to fully understand Highland society in the period without Gaelic sources.[28]

The transition from untamed, violent masculinity to tamed, civil masculinity is reminiscent of Enlightenment thinking on civilisation. The state before civilisation is ‘uneducated and untamed “savage”’ state that needs to be tamed and moulded in the image of the invading force, in this instance, England.[29] The use of this framework implies that the state prior to being tamed was not a civilisation, when, in actuality, the Clan system was a civilisation. It was one way a society can function, so to dismiss it as uncivil does a disservice to the complexities within the Clan system. However, it may not be a coincidence that during the time of the British empire’s expansion and the growing number of countries it occupied, that the Clan system was being dissolved, or that Highland masculinity was being tamed. The Highland Clearances have been more recently seen as a form of internal colonialism, bringing the empire home.[30] Therefore, language such as taming Highland masculinity can be problematic in perpetuating the idea that Highland masculinity was something that needed to be tamed, or was something that existed prior to civilisation in the Highlands.

Whilst Highland masculinity undoubtedly included violence as part of its performance and affirmation of manhood, it is reductive to suggest that violence was minimised through the eroding of the Clan system. Instead, violence may have taken outlets that were more in keeping with Anglicised masculine identities. These outlets included militarism, domestic violence, brawling, and duelling. The assumption, too, that masculinity could be homogenised down to one performance of it is quite inaccurate as well. Abrams’s work on this topic, though excellent and instrumental, excludes the Gaelic sources that offer a well-rounded view of Highland life. Furthermore, the language and framework used seems to continue a Romanticised ideal of the Highlands and imply that the Highlands under the Clan system was a place before civilisation. This is problematic as it erases the complexities within Highland culture and implies that Highland masculinity was in need of Anglicising. At a time of increasing colonisation through the British empire, it is little wonder that colonialism came home, in the form of the Highland Clearances and Anglicisation of Highland culture. There is more nuance to the changes that Highland masculinity underwent, and an argument to be made that violence never disappeared, but went into the private sphere instead of the public. Though, such as with the Bachelors, sometimes that violence remained in the public sphere. So, was Highland masculinity ever really tamed?

[1] Lynn Abrams, ‘The Taming of Highland Masculinity: Interpersonal Violence and Shifting Codes of Manhood, c. 1760–1840’, in Nine Centuries of Man: Manhood and Masculinity in Scottish History, ed. by Lynn Abrams and Elizabeth L. Ewan (Edinburgh University Press, 2017), p. 0 <https://doi.org/10.3366/edinburgh/9781474403894.003.0005>.

[2] Abrams.

[3] John Tosh, ‘What Should Historians Do with Masculinity? Reflections on Nineteenth-Century Britain’, History Workshop, 38, 1994, 179–202 <https://www.jstor.org/stable/4289324> [accessed 15 April 2024].

[4] Tosh.

[5] Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 2015 <https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/360348/the-second-sex-by-simone-de-beauvoir/9780099595731> [accessed 15 April 2024].

[6] Judith Butler, Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity (New York: Routledge, 2006) <https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203824979>.

[7] Amy Gazin-Schwartz and Cornelius J. Holtorf, ‘“AS LONG AS EVER I’VE KNOWN IT…”’, in Archaeology and Folklore (Routledge, 1999).

[8] John Dewar, The Dewar Manuscripts (W. MacLellan, 1964).

[9] Abrams.

[10] Abrams.

[11] Tosh.

[12] Dewar.

[13] Julia Banister, Masculinity, Militarism and Eighteenth-Century Culture, 1689–1815 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018) <https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108163927>.

[14] Kenneth McNeil, Scotland, Britain, Empire: Writing the Highlands, 1760-1860 (Ohio State University Press, 2007).

[15] Abrams.

[16] Allan I. Macinnes, Clanship, Commerce and the House of Stuart, 1603-1788 (Tuckwell Press, 1996).

[17] Abrams.

[18] Margery Masterson, ‘Dueling, Conflicting Masculinities, and the Victorian Gentleman’, Journal of British Studies, 56.3 (2017), 605–28 <https://doi.org/10.1017/jbr.2017.63>.

[19] Tosh; Dustin Friedman, ‘Unsettling the Normative: Articulations of Masculinity in Victorian Literature and Culture’, Literature Compass, 7.12 (2010), 1077–88 <https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-4113.2010.00762.x>.

[20] Noelle Gallagher, ‘The Jew’s Penis: Circumcision and Sexual Pathology in Eighteenth-Century England’, BMJ <https://doi.org/10.1136/ medhum-2021-012362>.

[21] Ginger Frost, ‘“I Am Master Here”: Illegitimacy, Masculinity, and Violence in Victorian England’, in The Politics of Domestic Authority in Britain since 1800, ed. by Lucy Delap, Ben Griffin, and Abigail Wills (London: Palgrave Macmillan UK, 2009), pp. 27–42 <https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230250796_2>.

[22] Holly Furneaux, ‘Victorian Masculinities, or Military Men of Feeling: Domesticity, Militarism, and Manly Sensibility’, in The Oxford Handbook of Victorian Literary Culture, ed. by Juliet John (Oxford University Press, 2016), p. 0 <https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199593736.013.010>.

[23] Jane Moore, ‘Modern Manners: Regency Boxing and Romantic Sociability’, Romanticism, 19.3 (2013), 273–90 <https://www.academia.edu/73862574/Modern_Manners_Regency_Boxing_and_Romantic_Sociability> [accessed 17 November 2022].

[24] Graeme Smart and Amelia Yeates, ‘Introduction: Victorian Masculinities’, Critical Survey, 20.3 (2008), 1–5 <https://www.jstor.org/stable/41556280> [accessed 15 April 2024].

[25] Stella Moretti, ‘The Highlands in the Romantic Novel: Culture and Identity in Early 19th-Century Scottish Literature’ <https://www.academia.edu/30154871/The_Highlands_in_the_Romantic_Novel_Culture_and_Identity_in_Early_19th_century_Scottish_Literature> [accessed 15 April 2024]; Domhnall Uilleam Stiubhart, ‘Highland Rogues and the Roots of Highland Romanticism’ <https://www.academia.edu/18538963/_Highland_Rogues_and_the_Roots_of_Highland_Romanticism_?auto=download> [accessed 15 April 2024]; National Museums Scotland, ‘Wild and Majestic: Romantic Visions of Scotland’, National Museums Scotland <https://www.nms.ac.uk/exhibitions-events/past-exhibitions/wild-and-majestic/> [accessed 15 April 2024].

[26] Abrams.

[27] Ryan Dziadoweic, ‘Shifting Code of Highland Masculinity in John Dewars Gaelic Folklore Collection’ (University of Glasgow, 2018) <https://dewarproject.com/Commentaries/Masculinity.pdf>.

[28] David, ‘Backlash after “wild Men of the Highlands” Study’, The Herald, 16 April 2013 <https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/13100395.backlash-wild-men-highlands-study/> [accessed 15 April 2024].

[29] Murray K. Simpson, ‘From Savage to Citizen: Education, Colonialism and Idiocy’, British Journal of Sociology of Education, 28.5 (2007), 561–74 <https://www.jstor.org/stable/30036235> [accessed 15 April 2024].; David Armitage, The Ideological Origins of the British Empire, Ideas in Context (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000) <https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511755965>.