Paper on Black Masculinity

Black Masculinity: The Search

What is “Masculinity?” Wikipedia defines masculinity as a synonym for boyhood, manliness or manhood. To be more specific, it is a set of attributes, behaviors or roles that are generally associated with men. It is a combination of socially-defined and biological factors, distinct from the definition of the male biological sex. Now, what is “Black Masculinity?” This term is often times more difficult to describe because the media portrays black masculinity to be this hyper-masculine entity that shows the themes of money, women, and drugs. It’s almost as if the black men they place before our eyes is in a piss contest with the next; “who can have the most money, “who can catch the most bodies”, “who can get high the most”, and my favorite, “who can be the most ‘gangster’.”

In the documentary Hip Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes, we follow Byron Hurt in his pursuit to understand black masculinity. As I watched this documentary I could not help but to see a lust for power. I began to understand why these rappers portrayed themselves to be these hyper masculine figures. Essentially, it was as if they tried to forcefully assert themselves into manhood. Consequentially, it resulted in the youth soaking in these images and trying to pretend to be the person they see. However, you cannot blame a man for trying to compensate for something that was essentially stripped from him the moment he stepped foot into this country. Black men are basically 10th class citizens and that is why hyper masculinity plays such a large role in defining black masculinity.

This hyper masculine portrayal comes from black men not having a solid place in society other than holding a mic or picking up a ball. In essence, it is a way to survive, it gives black men a purpose. That is why black masculinity is a pissing contest as stated before. It is as though we as black men are fighting to be the H.N.I.C, Head Nigga in Charge. This HNIC mentality heavily affluences Hip...