Black Masculinity in the Obama Era

Pit Bulls and Dogfighting as Symbols of Masculinity in Hip Hop Culture

“…Particularly in so-called gangsta rap, lyrical, and visual iconography of pit bulls has gone hand in hand with representations of black masculinity in America. Bursting onto the pop culture scene in the late 1980s, gangsta rap became a powerful medium that reflected “frustrations about historic racial injustices, economic deprivation, police repression and violence in [black urban youth’s] communities” (Hoston 2014, p. 41). In a similar note, McCann states thatgangsta’s ambitions included explicit critiques of law enforcement, enactments of hypermasculinity, celebratory narratives of leisure and conspicuous consumption, vitriolic declarations of superiority over industry rivals, and, above all else, accrual of monetary gain from the cultural reproduction of the mark of criminality.…”

“…(2017, p. 4)Such an overt correlation between black masculine success and capitalism broke with the earlier decades’ black nationalist emphasis on Afrocentrism (Henderson 1996) and exacerbated a discourse that was insatiable in its commodification of otherness. Beyond the issue as to whether black male rappers commodified themselves, the black male industry purported by the music revolved around an ideology of rhapsodized misogyny and homophobia (Adams and Fuller 2006; Hoston 2014; Weitzer and Kubrin 2009) that stirred controversy between defenders of the art form (or of freedom of expression itself) and detractors. Although hip hop’s image of pit bulls and dogfighting culture has not struck a nerve as deeply as has the music’s tendency to stereotype black women and bind them to a culture of pornography, it is fair to say that, when hyper-heterosexuality comes into play, both dogs and women are construed as objects of consumption at the disposal of the black male.…”

Knitting Takes Balls: Masculinity and the Practice of Knitting

“…However, further research on men who knit may benefit from interviewing men from other racial and class locations. There are currently a number of studies on racialized masculinity (Baker, 2007;Gabilondo, 2006;Hooks, 2004;Hoston, 2014;Hughey, 2012;Leaks, 2010;Lemelle, 2010;Lo, 2010;Low & Louie, 2003;Manuel et al, 1994;Moffatt, 2012;Richardson, 2007;Walcott, 2014) that highlight the complexities of masculine gender performance among racialized men. This literature coupled with interviews with racialized men who knit may serve as a great contribution to literature on racialized masculinity and further enhance research how men who knit negotiate their masculine gender performances.…”