In contrast to ample negative representations of Muslim men as too violent, too masculine, and as security threats in the making, in this paper, I provide a cultural analysis of one form of hegemonic masculinity practices in Morocco, namely that of men who chose to stay behind and work in the informal sector, and are “breadwinners” within not only a compromised ethical order but also within systems of exclusion and contempt, called al-hogra. I argue that far from the popular anxiety over Muslim men, they are men in pain struggling to earn “a piece of bread”, and in so doing, are chasing after respect and dignity in precarity. More importantly, I claim that the concept of al-hogra provides a useful theoretical framework to bring society’s unresolved political development issues, persistent poverty, and unemployment knot into better focus.