“Be Kind But Not Too Kind”: Black Males' Prosocial Behaviors in the Face of Dehumanization

Abstract

This qualitative study examined how adolescent Black males (N = 12) talk about their identities, prosocial behaviors, and connections between them. Of special interest was whether and how the participants included their experiences of dehumanization. Focus group data were analyzed using modified analytic induction. Participants felt good about their racially gendered identities but felt they occupied a precarious position in the United States. Participants' beliefs about how others viewed them motivated restraint from engaging in too many prosocial acts to prevent appearing vulnerable. Participants explicitly referred to their experience of oppression in these discussions and its interaction with identity and prosociality. Results suggest research must consider how macro-level processes like racism influence the identities and prosocial behaviors of adolescent Black males.

Dismantling Systems and Improving Contexts to Support the Development of BIPOC Youth

“…Qualitative approaches play a valuable role in generating knowledge about systems of oppression. Studies in this special issue center on the voices of BIPOC youth and illustrate their meaning‐making about systems of oppression, the different contexts and processes by which racial and other forms of oppression are exacted on particular groups of youth, and developmental patterns in recognizing and understanding life experiences that are oppressive (Harris & Kruger, 2022; López Hernández, 2022; Pasco et al., 2022; Sánchez et al., 2022; Torres et al., 2022). This work illustrates the everyday spaces where racialized forms of oppression occur—such as schools, peer groups, social media, restaurants, and public transit—as well as institutions such as police and exclusionary policies, such as anti‐immigration laws.…”

“…Specifically, the authors applied an intersectional and ecodevelopmental lens and emphasized that mental health in Black youth cannot be fully understood without giving equal consideration to historical trauma and gendered racism. In addition, Harris and Kruger (2022) used an intersectional lens to explore young Black males' prosocial behaviors in relation to their intersectional identity (race and gender; gendered racial identity as well as racialized gender identity) within an oppressive society that devalues and dehumanizes them. This qualitative study continues to advance a theme of reclaiming humanity through identity and mattering from the Black Lives Matter!…”

“…special issue. Counter to many societal narratives, Harris and Kruger (2022) found that Black boys are socialized to be “kind” and “community‐oriented”; however, Black adolescent boys also felt that there should be limits to this kindness so as not to be victimized and vulnerable to the harms of anti‐Blackness. This within‐group examination focused exclusively on Black boys and begs the question as to whether non‐White boys of color feel the same level of vulnerability and victimization associated with prosociality and other developmental assets.…”

“…(2022) show, however, that Chinese adolescents who are bicultural are more vulnerable to direct and vicarious forms of discrimination, and bicultural Chinese boys, in particular, may have more anxiety due to COVID‐19 related racial discrimination than other Chinese youth. In another example showing that factors are not always protective in expected ways for BIPOC youth, Harris and Kruger (2022) demonstrate that prosociality is complexly related to racialized gendered identities and experiences of dehumanization for Black boys. These findings offer important nuance for the study of prosocial development, which so often assumes that being prosocial is universally desirable for all adolescents.…”

Black adolescents’ perceptions of transgressor, victim, and bystander: Thinking through a sexual harassment dilemma

“…Their first encounter with hyper-surveillance often is at school where Black boys receive unfairly harsh discipline compared to peers (Heilbrun et al, 2018). When boys internalize this social positioning, they may perform hyper-masculine behaviors, such as the "cool pose" (Cunningham & Meunier, 2004), at the expense of establishing the emotional connections they desire (Harris & Kruger, 2022). This hyper-masculinity may carry with it heteronormative, gendered expectations about others and influence how they think and behave at school.…”