This thesis is based upon research conducted in Maputo (Mozambique) among a group of young men that referred to the market of Xipamanine, as their “hang-out” place and as a place of sustenance, where they “got by”. The shared subjective experience of the anthropologist and her interlocutors and how this particular relationship contributes to the production of knowledge is evidenced throughout the text. This research aims to offer an “ethnographic portrait” of the everyday lives, dreams and contingencies of these young men. How their masculinities were strategically performed in attempting to subvert dominant discourses and to improve their social standing. In an effort to depart from victimizing discourses, which often explore young men’s marginalization, I projected the collaborative use of digital image-making technology as a means by which to reach a “shared understanding” of their lives. In the process, the young men re-inscribe the public vulnerability of their lives with a new kind of performance that is both heightened in masculinity and gender fluidity.
