The mainstream media has historically characterized Black male sexuality with hypersexual images of violence, promiscuity, and insecurity. While traditional representations of Black male sexuality contains elements of dehumanization and objectification, the recent introduction of Black same gender loving ( sgl ) male characters to film and television has been branded by stereotypical notions on Black masculinity. The modern American Gay Rights Movement’s lack of influential Black male leaders has catalyzed the production of one-dimensional Black sgl male characters without extensive racial identities. The foregoing study examines the link between Black sgl men and their racial identities through analyzing the representation of homophobia and the downlow, the portrayal of interracial homosexual relationships involving Black men, and the depiction of intraracial Black sgl male relationships and their expressions of cultural norms.
In the midst of a revival of gospel theater aimed at Black female Christian audiences, Tyler Perry mastered a successful approach to Black independent gospel plays. Eventually, Perry transferred his work to the film screen, exploring the struggles of Black women in their relationships with Black men. While his depiction of Black men has garnered much controversy, Perry characterizes Black masculinity throughout his romantic storylines using a formulaic approach seeking to uplift his predominately Black female audience, while exploring the faults and various tropes of Black masculinity. In Perry's female-oriented romantic storylines, Black men are usually categorized as an affluent shape-shifter, neglected love interest, transformed hard worker, crooked hoodlum, or Black messiah redux. Throughout this study, Perry's usage of these characterizations is explored. Unlike 1990s New Black Realism films, which could have driven the explosion of female-oriented gospel-themed works, Perry fuses Black theological perceptions of manhood with a patriarchal-centered exploration of Black womanhood.
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