The Construction of Black Masculinity

Abstract

How can a White supremacist nation, which subjects Black men to ongoing racism and demonization, at the same time admire and worship Black men as athletes? The author argues that key elements of White supremacy and the new racism are reinforced by popular representations of Black male athletes. In viewing far-Right White supremacist and sports cultures, two sites representing seemingly opposite ends of the spectrum of contemporary racism, the author examines the continuing significance of the historical image of the buck and the obsession with controlling and "taming" Black male bodies. The author examines four common themes that permeate the contemporary construction of Black masculinity and work to justify color-blind racism and inequality: a continued emphasis on Black bodies as inherently aggressive, hypersexual, and violent; concern with taming and controlling Black males; inequality depicted as a product of a deficient Black culture; and the naturalization of White supremacy and White male superiority.

Negotiations of Being and Becoming

“…Despite persistent low-level racism in England and France, these players have chosen to stay with rugby league because it gives them an opportunity to belong, resist and demonstrate their status as minority ethnic men (Falcous and Silk, 2006). In this sense, both the London and French minority ethnic players are challenging entrenched notions of whiteness and blackness -and the invisibility of whiteness in sport (Hartmann, 2007;Long and Hylton, 2002) -and providing counter-hegemonic stories of identity formation and resistance (Carrington, 1998;Ferber, 2007;King, 2004). These counter-hegemonic stories allow for multiple identities and hybrid identities (Brah, 1996;Solomos, 1998), but within the limits of agency defined by their participation in the game.…”

“…'Race', gender and class will be used throughout the research in a critically real sense, as constructs used in the definition of belonging and exclusion (cf. Carrington and McDonald, 2001;Ferber, 2007;Hylton, 2005), both within the imaginary community and in the wider networks of power in society (eg, the gender order, cf. Connell, 1987;Edwards, 2006).…”

Alternative Voices, Alternative Spaces: Counterhegemonic Discourse in the Blogosphere

“…Black women are frequently constructed through the dominant discourse of 'the angry Black woman' (Isokariari, 2013) and measured by European standards of beauty (Collins, 1990) that render them invisible. Black men continue to be associated with criminality and are rarely represented beyond the stereotype of sporting hero (Ferber, 2007). This chapter examines how blogs are used by African Caribbean people as an assertive strategy, tool of resistance against racial oppression and resistance to misrepresentation and exclusion in the mainstream media.…”

Fan-family conflict : an examination of inter-role conflict between sport fan and family roles.

“…In addition to fan aggression, spectator sport has been linked to a number of other negative social consequences, including fan violence (Case & Boucher, 1981;Case, Greer, & Lacourse, 1987;Edwards & Van Rackages, 1977;Roberts & Benjamin, 2000;Ward, 2002), anti-social behavior (Eitzen, 1988;Hughson, 2000), gender inequity (Wann et ai., 2001), racism (Eitzen, 1988;Ferber, 2007;Jones & Fleming, 2007;Newman, 2007;Wann et ai., 2001), and hooliganism (Spaaij, 2008). Hooliganism is primarily a European and Latin American phenomenon and has been described as "competitive violence of socially organized fan groups in football, principally directed against opposing fan groups" (Spaaij, 2006, p. 11).…”

“…Sport fans have also been linked to a variety of social norm deviations including fan violence (Case & Boucher, 1981;Case et aI., 1987;Edwards & Van Rackages, 1977;Roberts & Benjamin, 2000;Ward, 2002), hooliganism (Spaaij, 2008), and racism (BBC Sport, 2004;Eitzen, 1988;Ferber, 2007;Jones & Fleming, 2007;Newman, 2007;Wann et aI., 2001). Such behaviors undoubtedly contrast the behavioral expectations required for fulfillment of typical family role demands such as taking one's children to school, completing chores around the house, or eating dinner as a family.…”