This article looks at the transition to higher education made by a group of male undergraduates. The data were collected though one-to-one interviews with 24 students, who were asked questions designed to elicit data about their positioning in relation to hegemonic masculinities. The evidence presented here supports the view that gender operates as a salient and accessible means of identifying an in-group of peers and that "laddish" practices are enacted as a function of the initial stages of peer group formation. However, such practices are described by many respondents as a "front" or performance. In distancing themselves from such practices, these students did not succeed in articulating "alternative masculinities", but many articulated a strong underlying value for an authentic self, providing an important insight into the experiencing of identity. (Contains 1 table and 5 notes.)