Black Manhood and The Deep Roots of Toxic Masculinity
Overcoming a century of stereotypes and negative classifications.
Black men and boys face a unique set of challenges due to their race and gender. This includes disproportionately high unemployment, unwarranted police aggression, and mass incarceration. These challenges impact their achievements, mental health, and shape their path in life, while those in low-income communities suffer from the added pressures of financial instability and poverty.
In these underprivileged communities, black men are not taught how to deal with their emotions. Instead, they are taught to suppress their feelings and denied the ability to freely express themselves. Many young black boys embrace this toxic ideology, while some are even encouraged by their older male relatives and peers. All of these factors contribute to the creation of their self-image and lead to toxic masculinity.
So, what is toxic masculinity?
The phrase can be defined as a narrow-minded version of manliness, where emotions are seen as weaknesses and strength is deemed supreme. It’s a belief that separates feelings by gender, classifying women as emotional and overly sensitive, while their counterparts are meant to be violent, sexist, and promiscuous in nature. This negative ideal is prominent in the black male community.
Actor, writer, and comedian Donald Glover (a.k.a. Childish Gambino), once said, “Black men struggle with masculinity so much. The idea that we must always be strong really presses us all down — it keeps us from growing.” Glover continues: “Black culture is a fight. We want to hold on to what we are, but sometimes the things that we are can be totally negative.”
What is the cause of this toxicity?
According to Abernathy contributor, Torraine Walker, black men have been restrained from expressing themselves since the days of slavery and the Jim Crow laws. They became stoic in nature. It could have been believed that showing fear or emotion would leave them vulnerable. It’s a trait that gets passed down throughout the generations. They teach their children to take on their ideals while staying true to their doctrine of what it means to be a man and a woman. This apathetic mindset can lead to depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and many other mental health issues that family members and friends would consider to be vulnerable traits.
Walker explains how black men who attempt to show their emotions are deemed “feminine” or “soft.”
“From the day we’re born until the day we die, the message black males get is, ‘Don’t be no punk! Be a man! Only sissies cry.’ When we suffer physical or emotional trauma, ‘shake it off’ or ‘get tough’ is the only advice we’re given,” wrote Walker. “Acknowledging pain and showing our emotions is considered soft or feminine, weaknesses to be driven out through beatings and ridicule.”
This is the same issue many black men face in the LGBTQ+ community. In a recent episode of Let Your Voice Be Heard!, titled “It Ain’t Safe in the Barbershop,” Stanley Talouis, a black comedian and questioning member of the LGBTQ+ community, opened up about homophobia and why he doesn’t feel comfortable expressing his sexuality in his community.
“Society won’t allow people to be who they are because they’re these stigmas,” he said. “I don’t think there’s ever a situation where it’ll go away.”
To combat this issue, Let Your Voice Be Heard! correspondent Tiffany L. Brown said people should be given more space to grow.
“I think we need to have more conversations that make us uncomfortable,” she said on the show. “I think we need to allow people to ask questions, explore, and not take it on as this person being malicious or problematic.”
Though toxic masculinity continues to be a problem within the black male community, the issue is steadily gaining the attention it deserves. Celebrities have started to use their platform to encourage young black boys to defy this negative ideology — like Terry Crews, who plays an emotionally-sensitive character on NBC’s “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” Jaden Smith, with his non-gender binary style and gender-neutral clothing line MSFTSrepublic, and hip hop artist Frank Ocean, who is open when it comes to his fluid sexuality.
In terms of toxic ideals that are sometimes shared in the home, black boys should be taught that sharing their emotions is an acceptable and normal part of being a “man” — and that despite the media’s portrayal, they can overcome the stereotypes against them. Ways to cope can involve proper therapy sessions and mentorship — teaching boys to acknowledge, understand and cope with their feelings. It only takes one change in mindset to make an impact in a community.
