Beyond the cool pose: Black men and emotion management strategies

Abstract

This review presents an overview of research on qualitative work that has documented emotion management strategies among Black men. I emphasize qualitative work here as it gives us insight into the processes that account for particular strategies. Research on Black men and emotions has focused on their class‐based experiences, as either lower SES working‐class or poor Black men in settings concentrated by people of color or higher SES middle‐class Black men in White‐dominated spaces. Within these two class positions, Black men adopt emotion management strategies for both the frontstage and backstage meant to best navigate their surroundings. This research emphasizes that Black men's emotional strategies are often a reaction to larger systems that oppress and discriminate against their race and gender status.

“You Can Say I Got Desensitized to It”: How Men of Color Cope with Everyday Racism in Online Gaming

“…Masculine role norms can also encourage restrictive emotionality in the face of everyday discrimination to gain a sense of control (Rios 2011), which does not necessarily buffer the negative mental health effects of perceived discrimination (Hammond 2012; Hammond, Banks and Mattis 2006; Jakupcak et al 2003). Seeking social support, advice, and comfort from others are noted strategies, underscoring that managing racism is intimately linked to family, peers, and community (Bowleg et al 2013; Brooms and Perry 2016; Choi et al 2011; Jackson 2018). Studies have analyzed racist discourses online (Billig 2001; Bliuc et al 2012; Faulkner and Bliuc 2016), but no study has examined the role of masculinity in shaping strategies for coping with this racism.…”

Signaling Parenthood: Managing the Motherhood Penalty and Fatherhood Premium in the U.S. Service Sector

“…Given the stereotypes that depict black men as absentee fathers (Connor and White 2006), black fathers like Darryll may have further incentives to discuss their children at work to gain access to benefits associated with fatherhood. Indeed, studies find that black men seek to distance themselves from visible cues of blackness (Jackson 2018). Some demonstrate “sensitivity” as a way of “combating stereotypes of Black masculinity” (Wingfield 2009, 13).…”

“…Research finds that employers stereotype black women as single mothers who may be unreliable because of their assumed child care obligations (Kennelly 1999; Moss and Tilly 2001). Black men, on the other hand, are often depicted as absent from family life (Connor and White 2006) and face a different set of stereotypes from employers, who may view them as hostile and potentially violent (Jackson 2018; Moss and Tilly 2001).…”

Uncompensated emotional labor, racial battle fatigue, and (in)civility in digital spaces

“…Similarly, Jackson () argues that some Black men adopt the racial strategy of a “cool pose” to deal and cope with racialized and gendered oppressive systems. The cool pose involves the redirecting of emotions by Black men, as a way of performing their masculinity, in order to avoid being perceived as weak and vulnerable (Jackson, , p. 1).…”

“…Similarly, Jackson () argues that some Black men adopt the racial strategy of a “cool pose” to deal and cope with racialized and gendered oppressive systems. The cool pose involves the redirecting of emotions by Black men, as a way of performing their masculinity, in order to avoid being perceived as weak and vulnerable (Jackson, , p. 1). Due to the “controlling images” (Collins, ) that frame Black men as threatening, those who work or find themselves in predominantly White settings often find themselves performing their emotions in a way that is less threatening to others in the name of civility.…”