Black Men Masculinity Essay
The culture of aggression and violence surrounding black men is a consequence of a psychological and sociological term known as hypermasculinity; associated with extremely negative connotations and contributions to harmful and damaging stereotypes about black men. “The hypermasculine image of the black male as a violent and aggressive being has been perpetuated throughout history and continues to be reinforced in contemporary society”(Wadley 60). Black men have adapted behaviors and attitudes, like the need to be aggressive, tough, and unemotional which are reinforced by societal pressures and expectations. These expectations stem from the legacy of slavery because of black men's need to assert masculinity in the face of oppression. The black …show more content…
During slavery, black men were literally and figuratively stripped of their masculinity and completely emasculated in front of their families. They were subject to innumerable amounts of torture, consisting of emotional, sexual, and physical abuse. While black men were enduring the abuse, they weren’t able to protect their families. To combat the issues they were facing, black men had to assert their masculinity in the face of oppression; ultimately resulting in the hypermasculinity we see today. The torture black men went through during slavery resulted in traits like aggression, dominance, and rejection of femininity in order to give their families some sort of impression of protection and safety. The necessary survival strategies lead to serious consequences in the modern day; like violence and discrimination towards women and members of the LQBTQ+ group. A renowned professor at Vanderbilt reinforces this stating, “the legacy of hypermasculinity in the black community has contributed to a culture of violence, misogyny, and homophobia that continues to plague men and women today” (Ikard …show more content…
Black men need to feel dominant and in control leads to unhealthy and toxic relationships. This leads to not only manipulation but gaslighting and abuse in said relationships, whether they are hetero or homosexual relationships. The long-term problems that come with this are not being able to communicate with your partners and being unable to emotionally connect with children involved in the relationship. Hypermasculinity affects relationships and also leads to the pressure of being a breadwinner and not allowing your spouse to share responsibilities. From this, we see things like single mothers because partners are unable to connect with their spouses. This leads to numerous problems for children involved in these relationships because they don’t know how to foster healthy
Summary Of Black Man And Public Space By Brent Staples
538 Words | 3 PagesBlog 2 Brent Staples - “Black Man and Public Spaces” Before you read my blog I want you to think about these questions; how do society perceive a black man walking in street as? And what does every black man have to face nowadays in society? This is an article wrote by Brent Staples, a black man who had an incident for frightening a white young woman late night and he tells us his story throughout the essay. The author made significant points during his essay about how the perception of people is affecting black Americans, and how are they getting affected such as isolation, change in behavior in consciousness and segregation.
Summary Of Black Men And Public Space By Brent Staples
1446 Words | 6 PagesThere are plenty of black men that have problems with the way society view and treat them. In the essay Black Men and Public Space, the author Brent Staples expressed how black men were perceived in the public’s eyes. He expressed this problem by giving examples of how a young man was perceived. Some of the solutions did not really solve the problem in general, but helped to change the mindset of those surrounding him.
Examples Of Black Men In Public Space By Brent Staples
1148 Words | 5 PagesThroughout history these human beings specifically black men and women have risen above this and achieved many different levels of success in sports, writing, politics, acting, and numerous other things. despite all of the achievements and qualifications black men have gained in life, Racism is still present. In Brent Staples’ Black Men
Blacks In The 1900's
1576 Words | 7 Pages(Souls, 2) Blacks are linked to the negative stereotypes of being uncivilized barbarians who have no etiquette in society. There negative image only continues further and further into the future because it is never broken by the white man. This negative imaging is only a constant trap to the black man because they are stuck in the constant cycle of degradation. This is one of the many ways that white Americans are constantly able to keep blacks in check because no matter what happens, blacks will continue to be born into this misfortune of being an outcaste at birth. Another misfortune that blacks cannot avoid is the natural clustering of social
Formulaic Cycle Of Child Abuse In Black Culture
2835 Words | 12 PagesA child only knows the boundaries that they are taught. Since they are naturally ignorant, this puts them in such a vulnerable position and makes it easy for them to trust the wrong people. Oftentimes, abusers will purposefully make it difficult to understand the difference between what is right and what is wrong in an attempt of manipulation. Child sexual abuse (CSA) is a widespread issue, as up to one in four girls experience CSA at one point in their life. And unfortunately, it is a significant fact that Black children have nearly twice the risk of sexual abuse as white children (“How Common Is Child Sexual Abuse?
Stereotypes In Brent Staples's 'Just Walk On By'
1129 Words | 5 PagesStereotypes have the power to label someone and rob them of all their hard work or strike fear into others. One such stereotype is that of black men being more dangerous;yet, one black writer voices his opinion on such a stereotype. In the essay “Just Walk On By” by Brent Staples, Staples describes his experience of being a large black man and how it affects the people around him. From people locking their doors to pedestrians crossing the street to avoid a confrontation, people seem to be afraid of Staples just from a glance. Yet Staples does nothing to cause this fear, rather his stereotype is to blame.
Examples Of Black Men In Public Space By Brent Staples
530 Words | 3 PagesThese examples all play a part in why someone may fear a black male. Exposure to negative media about black males can spark fear in people. Coming in contact with a black man right after hearing the news about a black man doing something horrific can make you afraid of them. Like what Staples says in his article “At dark shadowy intersections, I could cross in front of a car stopped at a traffic light and elicit the thunk, thunk, thunk of the driver – black, white, male, or female- hammering down the door locks”.(p.2) Perhaps those people have heard of black men
African American Gender Roles
1826 Words | 8 PagesIt all comes down to how what type of ideas they have of being masculine. The male figures represented by African Americans in the media are usually negative. Movies and music tell African American males that masculinity is in drugs, sex, violence, and gangs. The poses they
Summary Of Just Walk On By Brent Staples
628 Words | 3 PagesBrent Staples discusses how young black men are made into young thugs based on “the male romance with the power to intimidate” (Staples 240). He also mentioned that young black men use this power to intimidate in order to commit crimes and that “poor and powerless young men seem to take all of this nonsense literally” (Staples 240). Staples is simply stating that young, black men, that are raised on the streets, look for power through intimidation and that every male fights for dominance. They then grow up to use this intimidation and showing of dominance in order to commit crimes and rob other people. Staples explains that intimidation and dominance become daily life and
Black Men And Public Space Rhetorical Analysis
621 Words | 3 Pages“Black Men and Public Spaces” Diagnostic Essay Brent Staples in “Black Men and Public Spaces,” illustrates the inescapable prejudices and stereotyping that African-American men face in America. He does this by relating to his audience through his personal experiences with stereotyping, and sharing his malcontent on how these events have made him alter his way of living. From “victimizing” woman, watching people lock themselves away, and having to whistle classical music to calm the nerves of people around him; Staples builds a picture to help people better sympathize and understand his frustration. Although Staples describes himself as a college graduate, a journalist, and a softy in the face of violence, he details that the overall public deems him a dangerous criminal.
Analysis Of Chokehold By Paul Butler
1418 Words | 6 PagesWill society ever view African-Americans as people and not as less than? In “Chokehold” Paul Butler will discuss this very idea depth. Butler provides history on why and how society sees African-American men as violent thugs. Butler goes on to explain in detail how the chokehold plays a part in oppressing African-American men and how to avoid the ramifications of the Chokehold, if possible.
Police Brutality Synthesis Essay
1491 Words | 6 PagesSynthesis Research Paper Everyday growing up as a young black male we have a target on our back. Society was set out for black males not to succeed in life. I would always hear my dad talk about how police in his younger days would roam around the town looking for people to arrest or get into an altercation with. As a young boy growing up I couldn’t believe some of the things he said was happening. However as I got older I would frequently hear about someone getting killed by the police force.
Masculinity In American Culture Essay
699 Words | 3 PagesIn present American culture the traditional idea of masculinity differs vastly from what masculinity was in the Okonkwo’s culture. Currently in America when one hears the words manly, masculine, man, father, brother, or husband they associate it with an individual who is physically strong and dominant in the traditional American household. A masculine individual is known to have strengthen and power in society and will not assert or show any weakness towards “touchy” subjects or become emotional. The fact that our society has become so prone to look down upon anyone who is a man that acts more feminine and less manly than what is deemed as societies norm is sad. My personal association with the words above are stereotypically, synonyms that are associated with strength and
Masculinity In Men Research Paper
1562 Words | 7 PagesSociety’s current version of hypermasculinity has proven to be violent, ruin relationships, and cause mental problems. We must work to change this into something that is much better for men and women alike. If we do not, the confines of masculinity will close in even more, seeming like a highly exclusive club where many more people are left out than let in. If it does continue, masculinity will continue to promote risky behaviors, including stunts for attention and violent reactions to a lack of masculinity; these behaviors, however, will be more startling due to the fact society may have adapted to what used to be horrifying. To allow this problem to snowball out of control would be a shame to society since we are well aware of the problem, and we can no longer allow more mass killings to take place that could potentially put Pearl High and Colombine Elementary to shame.
Masculinity And Femininity Essay
1194 Words | 5 PagesClosely related to the idea of gender is the idea of masculinity and femininity. Masculinities can be defined as innate qualities that differ a male from a female however, it translates into culture in the form of specific roles and performances which men have to perform or it is imposed on them (Cornwall, 2010). In abstract terms, masculinity can be understood as something which boys and men do and on the similar lines femininity can also be understood i.e. what women and girls do, more so what women and girls learn to do (Paechter, 2006 and Wesely, 2012). These roles may assign a higher status to men in the power hierarchy irrespective of the fact whether they feel powerful or not. Men in this sense may also feel the pressure of masculinity i.e. they have to engage in a
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