“So You Can See How the Other Half Lives”

Abstract

MTV's popular television series "Cribs" displays the homes of famous athletes and entertainers. "Cribs" presents these male athletes and their households as exemplars of "making it." This article examines the representation of male athletes and how various types of "successful" masculinity are conflated with race and class. We found two dominant models of successful masculinity, James Bond and Cool Pose. "Cribs" clearly demarcates between Black and White athletes, which essentializes race. Simultaneously, "Cribs" presents race as performative styles providing the audience with opportunities to consume "the other." We argue that this paradoxical dynamic is utilized to sell the cool lifestyle and has multiple implications, including depoliticizing race, class, and gender.

Hip-Hop and Sport—An Introduction: Reflections on Culture, Language, and Identity

“…While many viewing this moment simply see two large Black men promoting their football team in a postgame interview, it is important that we humanize both Clemson student-athletes-true scholar-ballers no doubt-versus the stereotype of Black men propagated throughout popular culture (Gaston, 1986) and the commodification of Black male bodies (Smith & Beal, 2007). Prior to the 2019 National Championship game, Mollie Ro Simon's (2018) article "14 Clemson football players celebrate December graduations" includes two Black males: Clelin Ferrell is featured as the two images and representations of educational success in the editorial about commencement. The first image shows Ferrell looking up in the crowd, probably with his eyes on his family as he holds his cap with this caption: "Clelin Ferrell, a Clemson football player, celebrates after getting his diploma during the graduation ceremony at Clemson University on Thursday, December 20, 2018."…”

The Portrayal of Elements Historically Associated with Masculine and Feminine Domains in Lad and Metrosexual Men’s Lifestyle Magazines

“…As Young (1993) explained, male athletes are expected to live up to cultural expectations of manliness (e.g., being tough, aggressive, and powerful) and these expectations often encourage the use of performance-enhancing drugs and violent or aggressive behaviors. The link between some sports and masculinity is further demonstrated by researchers arguing that sports are used as advertising tools to sell products to men and to proscribe ideals of masculinity (e.g., Smith & Beal, 2007). Overall, sports, particularly violent or combative sports have been found to contribute to the gender order, where orthodox masculinity is valued above and beyond traditional femininity (Davis, 1997;Messner, 2002).…”