Black Masculinities Expressed Through, and Constrained by, Brotherhood

Abstract

Black males face pressures to adopt dominant social roles in relationships based on expectations from family, peers, and teachers. Many stereotypes define their perceived masculinities in coeducational schools, such as different definitions of masculinity received from peers and adults. Enrollment in all-male, majority-Black schools changes nothing. This article discusses how Black males who attend the Pebbles School—an urban all-male public combined middle and high school—constructed, perceived, and negotiated their masculine identities and perceptions of brotherhood. The relationship between masculinity and brotherhood and the intersection of gender and ethnic studies draw upon studies in Progressive Black Masculinity to challenge restrictive definitions of masculinity constructions shared among some Black males, who tend to view masculinity exclusively through a heterosexual lens, which limits discussions of diversity in brotherhood and sexual orientation.