**8. Conclusions**

The coming of age of the Panjabi undocumented migrants that occupy the center stage of this paper and the subsequent construction of their gender identity are deeply shaped by their irregular status and the resulting administrative and socio-economic precariousness. Their life experience in France is tragically remote from the fantasies about migration to Europe that Panjabi popular culture nurtures. Their subordinate position within the labor regime of the host society as well within their own community makes it very di fficult for them to uphold values and aspirations on a daily basis, that are regarded as essential components of Panjabi masculinity—autonomy, self-reliance, *izzat*, power, and providing for one's family. Nonetheless, with a grea<sup>t</sup> deal of creativity and resilience, they strive to circumvent the unprecedented set of constraints they face and to recoup some form of respectable manhood: this includes specific forms of all-male sociability, the value placed on manual labor and work ethics, the cultivation of their bodies and the solace they seek in an ethical and religious horizon grounded in Sikh teachings and religious institutions.

**Funding:** This research received no external funding.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The author declares no conflict of interest.
