This a very interesting piece talking about the concept of black male masculinity using President Barack Obama and 50 cent as role models. It really worth a viewing as it may challenge your perceptions on black men and they are seen in the wider society.
Let me know what you think and don't hold back on your opinion. Freedom of speech is welcomed here.
ooh! loved this...i have an award for you, come get it off my blog...
ReplyDeleteI thought this was a very interesting piece and gave me much food for thought. Do i subconsciously identify with either image?
ReplyDeleteHow do these images effect the black male youth and their self image. How do we contribute to this perception and what can we do to counter this perception?
Yes. I think that it needs to be redefined as it has been hijacked by an extreme element that have become the architects of the definition of the modern black male thereby contributed to a misperception of the substantive and wide ranging contribution that black people make to society. More importantly, it has contributed to the pervasive view among the Afro-Caribbean and Afro-American black male child that etiquette and education are manifestations of impotence or at worse perverse qualities which are alien to their culture. It has contributed to the black male educational underachievement and to crime and delinquency as being an inevitable and necessary “right of passage” for the black male child.
ReplyDeleteRoy
I found this to be immensely interesting and for not being black, nor a male, it's something I think about quite often. I'm interested in the dynamics of race. I grew up in a predominantly white area. I was friends with the few black kids in town and was taught by my family that we are all children of God. But it didn't take me long to figure out that not everyone around me was as "cool" as my family. There was an Aryan compound not far from my home town and skinheads were a regular sight. Though they were largely dismissed as quacks, they were tolerated. In my mind, there is no tolerance for racism.
ReplyDeleteAnd yet, I question, what, if anything, I can do about it. I suppose I just raise my children to see everything we have in common rather that what is different about us. Making a conscious effort to identify and squash racial stereotypes as my kids grow and make up their own minds.
I ma glad that read that the video was thought provoking. We all live in an age where everything and everyone is labelled and judged.
ReplyDeleteI think the video show us the dangers in this and the way we all contribute towards this in the western society.
Thanks for sharing your comments and please continue to visit the blog...
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ReplyDeleteHi,I can't really imagine just one color being masculine.. But I guess I can give this a go, with some short explanation.
ReplyDeleteImage in America is key. Perception of the Black male is defined by what is seen. Even in the Black community the images presented in the media dictates what is “expected” and what defined a Black male. These images are not always positive. This is presented constantly in the media; and with repetition it becomes “reality “. The images representing a Black male in the USA are strongly defined in the sports and music industry. In this, there are some positives but the percentage of good is over shadowed by the negatives. The gangster/ thug are seen as a positive role model regardless of how status and wealth are acquired.
ReplyDeleteThe Black Community is on a rollercoaster of confusion being impressionable and naïve and not trusting themselves to make logical value judgments and believing others are more suited to do this for them. The black community had been re-brainwashed over the years to think education is not the way to make achievements. Black males, making achievements through education are not viewed the same as those through physical ability. The Black male finds himself in the midst of the ride not knowing which way to go; so what happens…. They pick what they see the most of “expected reality repetition”.
great posting here..
ReplyDeleteThanks Jason, I'm glad that u enjoyed the video...hope to see u again
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