In Search of Progressive Black Masculinities: Critical Self-Reflections on Gender Identity Development among Black Undergraduate Men (original) (raw)
Related papers
2016
During the last several decades, research concerning the developmental trajectories, experiences, and behaviors of college men as ‘‘gendered’’ persons has emerged. In this article, we first critically review literature on Black men’s gender development and expressions within college contexts to highlight certain knowledge gaps. We then conceptualize and discuss progressive Black masculinities by relying on Mutua’s germinal work on the subject. Further, we engage Black feminist scholarship, both to firmly situate our more pressing argument for conceptual innovation and to address knowledge gaps in the literature on Black men’s gender experiences. It is our belief that scholars who study gender development and expressions of masculinities among Black undergraduate men could benefit from employing autocritography, and its built-in assumptions, to inform several aspects of their research designs. 1 University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA 2 University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI,...
Queering Masculinity: Manhood and Black Gay Men in College
This qualitative study explores Black gay male undergraduates' construction of manhood and masculine identity(-ies) as well as how these beliefs affected their academic and social experiences in college. Analyzing in-depth interviews with 29 Black gay male collegians, we found that participants construct and understand manhood and their masculine identities in one of three ways: (a) accepting, adhering to, and performing traditionally masculine norms, (b) intentionally, or subconsciously, challenging hegemonic notions of Black masculinity through their behaviors and self-beliefs, and (c) recognizing that their masculine identity(-ies) are influenced by other social factors and locations. Implications for researchers, counselors, and higher education practitioners are highlighted and recommendations for future research and theory are provided.
The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 2012
This qualitative study explores formations of masculinity among students at a historically black all-male college, offering insights into how the institution crafts the manhood of its students in accordance with gender and class ideologies about black male respectability, heteronormativity, and male hegemony. While a plethora of studies on poverty, deviance, and marginalization have highlighted black men “in crisis,” this article examines middle-class black men and explores sites of conflict and difference for this latter group. Three critical insights into middle-class black masculinity are revealed by this approach: first, that men are institutionally “branded” through class and gender ideologies; second, that the exceptionality of high-achieving black men is politicized to endorse class conflict with other black men; and finally, that sexuality and class performances are inseparably linked through men’s sexual consumption of black women.
Undoubtedly, the current state of education for Black men in the United States is dismal. Unfortunately, this is not a new phenomenon. History provides a salient reminder of society's inability to provide equitable opportunities and resources for the advancement of Black men. The underachievement, lack of inclusion, and backward progression of Black men within American society, particularly in educational settings, is a trend that demands immediate attention. The challenges of reversing these negative circumstances, however, are daunting. It at once requires reconceptualization of the plight of the individual (Black Man), while transforming the broad, yet piercing issues that have impeded them-social, political, economical, psychological, and educational issues that are deep-rooted in the fabric of American culture. Though society champions a rhetoric of concern and a desire to advance the status of all people, including Black men, these very same practices and policies are framed in ideologies of oppression, prejudice, and marginalization. This dilemma has positioned Black males in the lower echelons of society, creating perhaps a lower set of expectations for them across a number of arenas.
African American Men on College Campuses: Their Needs and Their Perceptions
New Directions for Student Services, 1997
A significant amount of attention is devoted to the circumstances of students of ethnic minority status at predominantly white colleges and universities. As the largest group among these students, African American students have received a considerable amount of that attention. From Willie and McCord' s work from a quarter century ago (1972), through Jacqueline Fleming' s landmark study in 1984, to the research of a host of more recent writers, the state of black college students has been examined, many of the detrimental obstacles have been exposed, and numerous remedies have been implemented. One concern, however, has been less apparent among this analysis of African American college students: the disparity between the accomplishments of men and women within this population.
Modeling Manhood: Reimagining Black Male Identities in School
This paper examines the process by which stereotypical mainstream representations of black males (as hard, as anti-school, and as disconnected from the domestic sphere) were reimagined in all-black, all-male manhood development classes for 9th graders in urban public high schools. Findings show that instructors debunked stereotypes and created new definitions of black manhood through the practice of modeling manhood, critiquing existing notions of black manhood, establishing a caring community, and role modeling new ways of being. [black manhood,
Journal of Black Studies, 2021
Black college men are constantly repositioned in higher education discourse as problems and in crises. However, there is much to be learned from Black men’s engagement in college and the meanings they make from those experiences. In this qualitative study, we use the engagement experiences of 25 Black men at an historically white campus in the U.S. in order to reveal the value of counterspaces on campus. Our findings suggest that the Sankofa Scholars program created important opportunities for these Black men to get acclimated to college, enhance their awareness and development, and resist deficit framings about them. These findings demonstrate that male success initiatives can serve as a counterspace on campus and can play a critical role in empowering Black men’s persistence in college and strengthening their resilience.