Masculinity Lockdown: The Formation of Black Masculinity in a California Public High School

Abstract

Masculinity Lockdown is an ethnographic study that analyzes the construction of Black masculinity at Southeast County High School (SCHS) in Southern California. Specifically, the article examines how three young Black males at SCHS navigate amidst a social milieu established by the school that denies the assertion of race and simultaneously fosters a homophobic understanding of masculinity. Through ethnographic accounts, the piece details how explicit utilization of violent, sexist rhetoric encourages Black males to participate within a masculine performance that serves reinforce their oppression.

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