By Derrick L. McMahon, Jr.
As a black man living in the United States, I know all too well the prison that Black Patriarchal Masculinity can be. Growing up, the cell that I was placed in was small and rigid, a place for conformity rather than creativity. My masculinity was policed at almost every turn. My wrists were too limp I was told. My walk was not boyish enough I was told. And my interests were in all the wrong places: dolls and balls as opposed to just dolls.
What brings me to the topic of black patriarchal masculinity is a chance encounter I had the opportunity to witness. A black male was walking by and I overheard a young Hispanic girl, no more than 12 years old, remark that he “walked like a girl.” As I heard the young girl utter that the black man “walked like a girl,” something in my mind went off. I began to think about what black masculinity was in the society I live in. What about the black man walking by made the young girl feel he was crossing some threshold of masculine acceptability? What had made a young girl, a Hispanic one at that, recognize something in that black man that went against whatever she had been taught in her own community and society?
The prevailing narrative of black masculinity in this society seems to be predicated on a few things. Black men are to be full of rage and always apt to commit violent crimes. We’re supposed to be hyper masculine and hyper sexual; willing to fuck anything and be the carrier of superhuman sexual abilities. Also, due to our race, it seems, we are supposed to embody an idealized version of masculinity. Both the dominant culture and many blacks themselves have internalized this false notion of black men embodying a “true” definition of masculinity.
There seems to be an endless barrage of black men depicted in the media as fitting into the narrow narratives constructed around black masculinity. Incidents of crime are reported on frequently, remarking on the latest black man to kill, maim, or rape someone. Sports and music provide the perfect backdrop for introducing the narrative that black males are hyper masculine and hyper sexual. Videos by popular artists populate mass media wherein black men brag about their sexual prowess and their heightened masculinity. The black man is conditioned to believe that he embodies the very best of patriarchal masculinity, and that this is a virtue.
That an eleven year old girl could recognize a random black man as embodying something that she had been taught to pinpoint, to see as an anomaly, was striking to me. It is a testament to the fact that our children are being conditioned from a very early age to police the gender of themselves and others. What business does an eleven year old need with policing gender? Adolescence is, and should be, a time of much experimentation and exploration, not the site of rigidity and policing. That this young girl was a member of a different racial group indicates that patriarchal black masculinity is being communicated to other communities. It’s not unusual to meet someone of another group who is surprised or disappointed that a particular black man does not embody a particular masculine ideal. When I tell people that I don’t play football or basketball, and that I don’t have a bad chick by my side, they seem let down. I’ve destroyed some illusion of black masculinity and manhood that they had harbored.
Masculinity, in my opinion, should be a site for creativity and diversity. No black man should be forced into a prison of rigidity by a society expecting his masculinity to be one dimensional and one note. As a black man who is an advocate of feminism, I know that I have a responsibility to make my masculinity a site of resistance. I make sure that my thoughts and actions promote a view of black masculinity that is rooted in a respect for femininity, and anchored in a multifaceted harbor.
It is imperative for black men to fight for our right to be free of the prison of black patriarchal masculinity. We are more than rage, anger, violence, and sexual conquest. Our masculinity, much like we are, is and has always been diverse. We must make room in our cell for a diverse black masculinity.
The future of black masculinity lies in its ability to break free of the prison cell it has been forced to reside in. Black masculinity must seek out a wide open field where diversity and creativity is celebrated and fostered. We must resist those who insist on our singularity as black men. The prison cell that is patriarchal masculinity must no longer be the site where black masculinity resides.
Derrick L. McMahon Jr. has a Bachelor of Science in History from Florida A&M University. His blog is the antiintellect
What an excellent analysis, thank you. Adding this place to my blogroll. :)
ReplyDeleteWow, this was a great post. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteMany of the points brought up are interesting, apt, and intriguing. However, allow me to bring up a few things. I came across this blog while trying to google reasons why minority men who embrace gang or racial concepts of machismo fall so short of embodying anything remotely masculine. For example, my definition of a man is somebody who possesses the will and power to provide for, support, and protect his chosen mate and his progeny. A man possesses the strength to do what's right or stand up for his beliefs when it's harder to do so than to fall in line. A man is full of pride- pride in himself and in his family. A man makes the hard choices, views sacrifice as a noble pursuit instead of something to avoid, and doesn't shirk at accepting personal responsibility or accountability. A man fosters his own individuality and is proud of who he is.
ReplyDeleteAfter watching a documentary about the epidemic of rape on Indian reservations, and hearing the males rationalizing their behavior as a product of following an ideal of "machismo," it couldn't become more obvious that in fact, these self professed "men" shared nothing in common with real men. What's manly about raping, alcoholism, violence, and gangs? Yet in interviews, these rapist gang members claim they were fostering their masculinity. It's kind of like the baggy clothes-wearing hoodrat, struggling to hold up his sagging boxers and jeans while running from the cops with the rest of his Ilk, who are often dressed in the same style. Looks more like a cowardly, scared child, afraid to accept responsibility and the consequences for committing whichever crime he had just committed. Yet he holds his head up with a sense of undeserved self esteem, trying to bed as many "females" as they are referred to in gang culture.
One of the most poignant examples of shirking accountability is the high rate of forfeiting parental responsibility. Like cowards, the ghetto mentality is to a) refuse to wear a condom and b) refuse to deal with the consequence. Then, it falls on the backs of American taxpayers to fund planned parenthood, as the minority sense of entitlement raises its head. They don't hesitate thinking " Make everybody else prop me up and pay the piper for my decisions."
To summarize, it is only when these gang affiliated men start acting like men, and not like cowardly self entitled children, will they have real pride, not pride lent to them on credit by the medias glamorization and perpetuation of these stereotypes.
Hmmm, interesting comment Anonymous. We agree on a lot of things, but
ReplyDeleteWhat exactly is the "minority sense of entitlement?
And since Planned Parenthood offer far more services than whatever you are probably referring to here, and gets most of its revenue from non taxpayer sources, and plenty of working people in this country don't have affordable access to healthcare, this taxpaper doesn't have a problem with a few of my pennies going to Planned Parenthood.
@ZenMamaPolitic I revisited this blog post today, in honor of 'The 50 Cent' performance on 'The Voice' tonight. Hypermasculinity at its best..or worst, depending on how you look at it. Sad that there are so many people still believing that Black males can succeed within a society, where there is a false sense of entitlement for both themselves and Black women. I cringed as the crowd stood up and roared. And then I asked myself, how far have we really come?
ReplyDeleteAs a sidenote: I applaud youR standing up for spiritual rights. And although; I am agnostic and not atheist; I can agree that there are serious issues within current Patriarchal religious societies. Serious. Kudos to you.