Perceived Masculinity: The Potential Influence of Race, Racial Essentialist Beliefs, and Stereotypes (original) (raw)

This study addressed racial differences in perceived masculinity, defined as people's perceptions about how masculine a group of people is. College students (N 250; the majority were White American women) were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 conditions to provide their reactions to 1 of the following target groups: Asian American men, Black American men, or White American men. Participants perceived Asian American men as less masculine than Black and White American men and Black American men as the most masculine group. A qualitative analysis of participants' open-ended responses concerning their stereotypes of the 3 target groups of men identified the following stereotypes categories: interper-sonal qualities, physical attributes, physical/athletic abilities, aggression, professional success, diligence, musical abilities, foreigner, normalcy, discrimination, and sexual/romantic abilities. In addition, partic-ipants' endorsement of 8 of these 11 stereotypes varied as a function of the target group's race. Stereotypes about men's physical attributes and physical/athletic abilities mediated racial differences in perceived masculinity. Moreover, a moderation analysis showed that racial differences in perceived masculinity were most pronounced among participants with high levels of racial essentialist beliefs. Finally, a mediated moderation analysis indicated that the link between the condition by racial essentialist beliefs interaction effect and perceived masculinity was mediated through its association with stereotypes concerning physical/athletic abilities. Implications of these findings for the psychology of men of color are discussed.

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