Masculine Development Research Articles

Black Masculinity and the U.S. South: From Uncle Tom to Gangsta (review)

Reviewed by: Black Masculinity and the U.S. South: From Uncle Tom to Gangsta Murali Balaji Riché Richardson. Black Masculinity and the U.S. South: From Uncle Tom to Gangsta. Athens: U of Georgia P, 2007. 296 pp. $49.95 cloth/$22.95 paper. Over the past two decades, place and space have taken a prominent role in the study of identities. The field of cultural studies, fueled by new discourses in postcolonialism and postmodernism, has become saturated with works that examine identity construction at the intersection of race, gender, place and space. This approach has been especially prevalent in the study of black masculinity, which has been a site of public and scholarly discourse for decades. However, few works have analyzed texts within the context of cultural history to dissect the construction of black masculine identity in media. In Black Masculinity and the U.S. South: From Uncle Tom to Gangsta, Riché Richardson ambitiously attempts to describe and explain the ideological and political factors that shaped the construction of black masculinity in the South. She argues that "an engagement of black men in the South is crucially relevant to the more general dialogue about black masculinity in the United States" (18). Using several books and films as case studies, Richardson attempts to show that the othering of black men through mass media and political contexts has its origins in Southern ideologies and racial hierarchies legitimized by violence towards black men (and women). Richardson's argument is in many ways antithetical to that of Paula Massood, whose 2003 book, Black City Cinema, emphasizes the idea that the city—as a psychological space and physical place—has been vital to the development of African American identity. Richardson argues that the tendency of scholars and mass media producers to link the black male "authentic" to the city dehistoricizes the development of black masculinity in popular media from the early twentieth century. This, she claims, has resulted in the normalization of a geographical dichotomy between Northern (urban, hypermasculine, revolutionary) and Southern (rural, brutish, passive) constructions of black masculinity. Richardson weaves geography and time closely into her textual analysis of her selected works, highlighting how the black male image is inextricably intertwined within historical space and place. She begins the book with an extensive look at the characterization of black masculinity and its framing as the antithesis to whiteness in Thomas Dixon's The Clansman, which inspired D. W. Griffith's Birth of a Nation. Both works served to advance an ideological agenda of white superiority, and the images of the bestial black male rationalized and justified lynching as a means "to keep blacks in the subordinate, subservient 'place' that had been sanctioned by custom during slavery in the antebellum South" (25). Richardson contrasts the depictions of black masculinity and the noble Southern white man with those in white Southerner William Bradford Huie's 1967 novel The Klansman, and the movie it inspired. What Richardson reiterates throughout the book is the idea that even works that claim to emphasize the urban black male image construct—and deconstruct—black masculinity from a genealogy that grew from the South. For instance, in her analysis of the Spike Lee films Malcolm X, School Daze, and Crooklyn, Richardson shows how the urban black man has become the embodiment of normative black masculinity at the expense of the disempowerment of Southern black masculinity. These films, she argues, reflect Lee's attempts to legitimize Southern black men as being intellectually inferior to their Northern and urban counterparts while at the same time the South maintains an idyllic charm. As she notes, "Lee's representations of black Southerners in this film has not evolved far from the prevailing tendency within black nationalist thought of the 1960s to romanticize black Southerners in order to claim [End Page 181] an authentic black historicity and ancestry in the United States, while, paradoxically, constituting the urban as the site of the most vital and authentic contemporary locus of blackness" (192). She makes similar claims with Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man, in which one of the characters, Trueblood, embodies the Southern brute that whites demonized and from which Northern blacks distanced themselves. Richardson treats Trueblood as...

112. DIFFERENTIAL DEVELOPMENT OF SEX-RELATED CHARACTERS OF THE GSP AND PNP/DO CHICKENS AFTER LEFT-OVARIECTOMY

To elucidate the strain difference in the sex reversal of genetic female to phenotypic male, GSP and PNP/DO females were left ovariectomized (ovx) between one day to three days after hatching and the degree of masculinization based on sex-related characters, histological analysis of the right gonad and hormone assay were assessed at one year of age. The GSP and PNP/DO inbred lines were both derived from the Fayoumi breed and are only differentiated based on red blood cell antigens type carried by each of the inbred line. Comb and wattles were found to be significantly bigger (P < 0.05) in the GSP ovx compared to the PNP/DO ovx, although male plumage pattern were more pronounced in the PNP/DO ovx. Spurs were observed both in the GSP and PNP/DO ovx with no significant difference (P > 0.05) in length to the respective male controls and body weight were not significantly different (P > 0.05) to the female controls. The size of the right gonad were significantly bigger (P < 0.05) in the GSP ovx than the PNP/DO ovx. Positive correlations were found in the sex related characters as well as plasma testosterone level and the right gonad weight both in the GSP and PNP/DO ovx except for the spur length which resulted into a negative correlation in the PNP/DO ovx. Histological analysis revealed that the right gonad of PNP/DO ovx are morphologically developed compared to GSP ovx showing more advance stages of spermatogenesis. It could be inferred that PNP/DO females which exhibit hereditary persistent right oviduct, are more responsive to the masculinizing effect of ovariectomy compared to GSP females, suggesting that genetic background may have a possible contribution on the degree of masculinization and subsequent development of sex related characters.

Treatment with the specific estrogen receptor antagonist ICI 182,780 demasculinizes neuron soma size in the developing zebra finch brain

In zebra finches, many features of the neural song system are more pronounced in males compared to females. The exact mechanism(s) responsible for these differences are unknown, but may involve steroid hormones. More specifically, estrogens are most effective in masculinizing the female brain. Attempts to prevent masculine development through various estrogen receptor antagonists have been relatively ineffective, possibly due to partial agonistic activity of the compounds tested. To further investigate the role of estrogens in dimorphic development we utilized a more potent estrogen receptor blocker, ICI 182,780. Animals were treated during the first 25 days post-hatching. Daily intracranial injections significantly decreased neuron soma size in RA and HVC of both sexes. A similar effect was noted in LMAN. Treatment also appeared to decrease the volume of several song control nuclei. Together, these data support the hypothesis that ICI is an effective estrogen receptor antagonist in the zebra finch brain and that estrogens may influence sexually dimorphic development of the zebra finch song circuit. However, reported inconsistencies about sex differences in estrogen exposure and/or utilization exist, suggesting that complete sexual differentiation and development likely involve additional factors.

The Sword and the Prayerbook: Ideals of Authentic Irish Manliness

As the Catholic Church responded to secular models of the nineteenth-century hero by refurbishing its saints, the Irish Church promoted its native saint, Colmcill, as the sole authentic positive stereotype deserving of the Irishman's emulation. At a time when the concepts of Irishness and manliness were being contested, the League of St. Columba proposed that the physical, psychological, and spiritual characteristics of Colmcill be materialized in the new Irish youth. By folding the mystical rhetoric of Catholicism into the search for national identity, the League altered the course of Irish nationalism and inflected the trajectory of Irish masculine development. While Colmcill's ascendance as an emulatory type was brief, the qualities he was shaped to embody were reinscribed in the Catholic priest, who became installed as the aspirational model for the youth of Ireland.

Masculinities go to community college: Understanding male identity socialization and gender role conflict

AbstractPrevious research has neglected to explore identities and development among male students at community colleges. This chapter provides some insight into who these men are, their precollege gender socialization experiences, and conflicts that impede the development of productive masculinities.

Klinefelter syndrome in clinical practice

Klinefelter syndrome is the most common sex-chromosome disorder; it affects approximately one in every 660 men. This syndrome is characterized by the presence of one or more extra X chromosomes, and the karyotype 47,XXY is the most prevalent type. The 'prototypic' man with Klinefelter syndrome has traditionally been described as tall, with narrow shoulders, broad hips, sparse body hair, gynecomastia, small testicles, androgen deficiency, azoospermia and decreased verbal intelligence. A less distinct phenotype has, however, been described. Klinefelter syndrome is an underdiagnosed condition; only 25% of the expected number of patients are diagnosed, and of these only a minority are diagnosed before puberty. Patients with Klinefelter syndrome should be treated with lifelong testosterone supplementation that begins at puberty, to secure proper masculine development of sexual characteristics, muscle bulk and bone structure, and to prevent the long-term deleterious consequences of hypogonadism; however, the optimal testosterone regimen for patients with Klinefelter syndrome remains to be established.

Effects of long-term flutamide treatment during development in zebra finches

The molecular mechanisms responsible for the sexual differentiation of the zebra finch song system remain mysterious. Androgen receptors are expressed in a sexually dimorphic fashion in the zebra finch song system: males have more cells expressing androgen receptors, and this sex difference appears very early in development (day 9 posthatch). Estrogen administration to hatchling females up-regulates androgen receptor expression in their song system and profoundly masculinizes their song system's morphology. Co-administering flutamide, an androgen receptor blocker, with estrogen impedes estrogen's masculinizing effects on the song system, suggesting that androgens are required for masculine development. Accordingly, to investigate further the role of androgens in the sexual differentiation of the zebra finch song system, we sought to block androgen activity in males by administering large, sustained doses of flutamide from just before androgen receptors are expressed in the song system (day 7) through to the day of sacrifice (days 61–63). Flutamide profoundly reduced the size of the testes, demonstrating that this drug and mode of administration could have a large impact on tissues. In contrast, flutamide had only a minor impact on the song system: the number of RA neurons was slightly reduced, and the corrected HVC volume showed a trend toward demasculinization. Other brain measures (uncorrected HVC, and corrected and uncorrected volumes of Area X, lMAN, RA, and Rotundus; neuron size in lMAN, HVC, and RA; and number of HVC and LMAN neurons) were not significantly affected. The present results do not support an important role for androgen in masculinizing the song circuit after posthatch day 7.

Facilitating Effective Coping in Children Following Disasters: A Psychoanalytically Informed Guided Narrative Intervention

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UNMASKING MANLY MEN: THE ORGANIZATIONAL RECONSTRUCTION OF MEN'S IDENTITY.

The article discusses the effect that organizations have on the development of masculinity within male employees. The author argues that due to the nature of many jobs and work environments, employees are often encouraged to take on some of the traits that are associated with masculinity, including aggression, strength and emotional detachment. The paper determines that these are not negative qualities in a pure sense, but become destructive when employees use these traits to prove themselves as the more qualified individual.

TATTOOING AND PIERCING: INITIATION RITES AND MASCULINE DEVELOPMENT

ABSTRACT Prompted by the surprising reaction of a young man with a borderline personality to an interpretation of castration anxiety, this paper sets out to explore some of the unconscious determinants of tattooing and piercing. Recognizing that such acts can have an initiatory function, sociological, anthropological and psychoanalytic views of initiation and the role of the father in masculine development are examined. In some boys oedipal development is forestalled and castration anxiety is not experienced. A bifocal approach using object relations theories based on regression and Lacanian perspectives that highlight reactions to an oedipal impasse is used to understand these processes. Symbolic body modifications are differentiated from those that are non‐symbolic.

Man to Man Violence: How Masculinity May Work as a Dynamic Risk Factor

This article presents masculinity as a dynamic risk factor in offences of violence between men. It argues that existing interventions into such violence, in prison, hospital and community settings may be enhanced by incorporating masculinity as a dynamic risk factor alongside other dynamic risk factors such as difficulties in anger management, social skills deficits or problems in moral reasoning. Masculinity is defined as a common denominator of men, as men, across social divisions, as opposed to existing approaches to men's identity, as men, which employ the concept of different 'masculinities' being produced by men in different social positions. The latter approach, while useful in terms of discovering men's personal identity, may be less useful in terms of explaining commonality between men, across other axes of social identity, and consequent broad patterns of violence between men. The development of masculinity as a dynamic risk factor depends on isolating masculinity from other axes of men's identity. It is argued that the individual man may demonstrate his masculinity by two categories of violence to other men: violence which includes victims in the category 'man' as worthy rivals and violence which excludes victims from the category 'man' as unworthy of being there. Masculinity as a dynamic risk factor in man to man violence is developed with particular reference to racism and homophobia.

A Review of the Literature on Masculinity and Partner Violence.

There has been increasing interest in examining aspects of masculinity as potential predictors of partner violence. This review critically examined the literature on the relationship between masculinity and partner violence. Four distinct approaches to operationalizing masculinity were identified: trait approach, normative approach, gender role conflict approach, and indirect approach. Results generally supported a relationship between each domain of masculinity and partner violence, with the exception of the trait approach. Implications for future research include the importance of examining socialization processes in the development of masculinity and partner violence, being sensitive to methods for operationalizing masculinity, using a greater proportion of clinical samples of violent men, and testing masculine-related components of interventions to reduce partner violence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)

Steroid hormone masculinization of neural structure in rats: a tale of two nuclei

We review the mechanisms by which steroid hormones masculinize two different regions of the central nervous system (CNS) in rats. Although in both cases, androgens induce a male phenotype, the detailed mechanisms are remarkably different in the two models. In the spinal nucleus of the bulbocavernosus (SNB), testosterone must be present during the perinatal period to spare motoneurons and their target muscles from cell death. This masculinization of the SNB system is through activation of androgen receptors, because XY rats with a defective gene for the androgen receptor fail to develop a masculine SNB system. Interestingly, the motoneurons are spared by androgen, even though they themselves do not possess androgen receptors during the critical period for their survival. Thus, steroids can act on one part of the body to secondarily masculinize the CNS. In the posterodorsal aspect of the medial amygdala (MePD), testosterone can induce masculine development even in adulthood, indicating that there is no critical period for steroids to affect sexual differentiation of this system. In the case of the MePD, both estrogen receptors and androgen receptors appear to mediate testosterone's masculinizing influence on neural structure. The extended neural plasticity of the MePD may reflect annual “reorganization” of the brain in the seasonally breeding ancestors of laboratory rats.

Steroid hormone masculinization of neural structure in rats: a tale of two nuclei

We review the mechanisms by which steroid hormones masculinize two different regions of the central nervous system (CNS) in rats. Although in both cases, androgens induce a male phenotype, the detailed mechanisms are remarkably different in the two models. In the spinal nucleus of the bulbocavernosus (SNB), testosterone must be present during the perinatal period to spare motoneurons and their target muscles from cell death. This masculinization of the SNB system is through activation of androgen receptors, because XY rats with a defective gene for the androgen receptor fail to develop a masculine SNB system. Interestingly, the motoneurons are spared by androgen, even though they themselves do not possess androgen receptors during the critical period for their survival. Thus, steroids can act on one part of the body to secondarily masculinize the CNS. In the posterodorsal aspect of the medial amygdala (MePD), testosterone can induce masculine development even in adulthood, indicating that there is no critical period for steroids to affect sexual differentiation of this system. In the case of the MePD, both estrogen receptors and androgen receptors appear to mediate testosterone's masculinizing influence on neural structure. The extended neural plasticity of the MePD may reflect annual “reorganization” of the brain in the seasonally breeding ancestors of laboratory rats.

Violent adventure: contemporary fiction by American men

As the mother of young sons, Marilyn Wesley became increasingly concerned about the conflicting messages they received in a world where Han Solo replaced John Wayne as a national hero and the lost war in Vietnam was mediated by GI Joe dolls and Rambo movies. What, she wondered, do the stories we tell our boys teach them about being men and what does a culture of male violence teach our young boys about being men? Questioning both the popular condemnation of representation and the notion that violence can be constructive by empowering the identity of an integrated adult self, Wesley identifies a revealing pattern of violent in recent fiction by American men. Although the wide range of texts examined have in common the use of violence associated with traditional genres of adventure (boy's life narratives, Westerns, detective and war stories, as well as what she terms the contemporary epic), their portrayals add a twist. Tim O'Brien, Thom Jones, Tobias Wolff, Pinckney Benedict, Richard Ford, Cormac McCarthy, Ernest Gaines, Walter Mosley, Russell Banks and Don DeLillo all preserve the traditional notion of masculine development as portrayed through male action. Yet Wesley contends they do so to demonstrate the violence in fact neither produces power nor promotes the satisfactory entry of young men into a supportive identifying community. By studying the effects of representation as it is being rewritten in contemporary literature, Wesley demonstrates the current adaptations by a diverse range of male writers subvert conventional patterns of content and generic form to foreground issues of cultural and material power relations.

How Black Mothers Participate in the Development of Manhood and Masculinity: What Do We Know about Black Mothers and Their Sons?

The role all women play in raising sons has received very little scholarly attention. Moreover, and more germane to this article, discourse on Black women and sons in this regard until fairly recently, was almost nonexistent. With this in mind, the present review examines the emerging research concerning how Black mothers participate in the development of manhood and masculinity. An analysis of the recent and nascent body of literature exploring Black mother-son relationships (a) suggests that Black mothers play a significant role in the healthy development of manhood and masculinity, (b) demonstrates how Black mothers participate in healthy development of manhood and masculinity, and (c) challenges notions about mothers and fathers, males and females, and masculinity and femininity by blurring traditional lines of separation. There is a significant volume of literature that addresses the many variables that contribute to the construction of manhood and masculinity, such as the role of families (Billingsley, 1992; Boyd-Franklin, Franklin, & Toussaint, 2001; Cones & White, 1998; Franklin, 1984; Freud, 1976; June, 1991; Sigel, 1986), the media, including television, music, film, and written material (Boyd-Franklin, Franklin, & Toussaint, 2001; Comstock & Paik, 1991; Cones & White, 1998; Dines & Humez, 1995; Stroman, 1991; Winbush, 2002), religion (Billingsley, 1992; June, 1991; Stearns, 1990), schools (Murrell, 2002; Winbush, 2002), biology (Bush, 1998; Lewis & Weinraub, 1979), and peer groups (Boyd-Franklin, Franklin, & Toussaint, 2001; Cones & White, 1998; Franklin 1984, 1988). However, after examining the literature, it became strikingly evident that scholars have virtually ignored a significant variable in the manhood development process. The role all women play in raising sons has received very little scholarly attention. Moreover, and more germane to this work, discourse on Black women and sons until fairly recently, was almost nonexistent. During the 1980s, White feminists (Arcana, 1983; Forcey, 1987) began to examine how mothers participated in the reproduction of chauvinistic and sexist paradigms with respect to raising their sons. Looking at mother-son relationships from this perspective also continued to be the work of White feminists more recently (O'Reilly, 2001; Smith, 1995). However, largely left out of this discourse were the unique dynamics of Black mother-son relationships? Although there are some overlapping aspects and issues concerning Black mother-son relationships and White mother-son relationships, there are some salient differences. Having to forge and maintain a relationship in the context of white supremacy is the major factor that differentiates the mothering of Blacks and Whites. In addition, the following related conditions make the study of Black mother-son relationships unique: (a) 50% of all Black households with children under age 18 are headed by Black women, (b) Black women are held responsible in some academic literature and in the popular press for Black males' maladaptive characteristics and behaviors, and (c) catastrophic conditions exist that cause some observers to view Black men as an endangered species (Bush, 1996). Both with the uniqueness of Black mother-son relationships and the dearth of social science literature in mind, this article looks at how Black mothers participate in the development of manhood and masculinity. The following works are examined to shape our understating of this relationship and process: Black Mothers to Sons: Juxtaposing African American Literature with Social Practice (King & Mitchell, 1990), Can Black Mothers Raise Our Sons? (Bush, 1999b), Beating the Odds: Raising Academically Successful African American Males (Hrabowski, Maton, & Greif, 1998), and Black Sons to Mothers: Compliments, Critiques, and Challenges for Cultural Workers in Education (Brown & Davis, 2000). In addition to three out of the four aforementioned texts being based on empirical study, the four works were also selected because they seem to be the only texts where Black mother-son relationships are the primary focus. …

Confrontation and loss of control: Masculinity and men's fear in public space

Existing research typically examines fear in public space from women's perspectives. To date, environment–behavior researchers have largely overlooked men's fear in public space, and the role of masculinity in shaping men's perceptions of fear and safety. This paper investigates the intersections of traditional, dominant masculinity—or masculinism—and men's fear in public space, based on interviews with 82 undergraduate men students. Masculinism features qualities such as control, competition, aggression, and physical strength. We argue that, for many men, public spaces and situations that challenge this masculinist identity may generate fear. Similarly, spaces and situations that promote feelings of safety do so, in part, by bolstering this identity. We employ the lens of masculinity to explore men's feelings of fear of the unknown, heightened awareness and safety, fear of confrontation, and safety in numbers. Conclusions examine implications for the development of masculinity and recommendations for future research.

Power, Bodies and Identity: How different forms of physical education construct varying masculinities and femininities in secondary schools

Physical education (PE) lessons are an important arena for the construction and consolidation of dominant and subordinate masculinities and femininities within schools. The gym, sports hall, playing field and associated areas such as changing rooms and showers function as sites both for the gendered display of hegemonic forms of heterosexual masculinity and for the subordination of alternatives. Femininities of different sorts are also played out through the acceptance and refusal of different forms of school PE and out-of-school exercise activities. This paper considers how different forms of physical education and sports in schools contribute to the construction and perpetuation of different forms of heterosexual masculinities and femininities. In it I attempt to map Frank's (1991, 1995) ideal types of bodily usage against activities in the male and female traditions of school PE. I look at the gender marking of Frank's ideal types and the corresponding PE, sports and fitness activities and at how the different bodily usages encouraged by different forms of secondary school PE permit and encourage the development of particular masculinities and femininities while discouraging others.

“An Anthropomorphic Insolence of Short Duration”

Compared with other ancient Greek myths of royal investiture, the Oedipus myth offers an unusual picture of masculine development. Oedipus's intellectual heroism (vis-à-vis the Sphinx) marks him as a representative of mankind's self-declared triumph over the natural world. However, in compliance with mythic logic, it also dooms him to incest and parricide. Beckett plays on this mythic inextricability of human identity and self-consciousness with incest and, especially in his famous trilogy Molloy, Malone Dies, and The Unnamable (originally published in French, 1950-52), he represents masculinity as a condition that simultaneously contests and capitulates to the apparent inevitability of myth. Beckett's characters treat the Oedipus myth (and especially Freud's interpretation of its centrality to human development) as an absurd but necessary narrative blueprint around which they can construct their own otherwise ungrounded musings on human nature and masculine identity.

Post-hatching hormonal modulation of a sexually dimorphic neuromuscular system controlling song in zebra finches

Sexual dimorphisms are present throughout the zebra finch song system, from forebrain centers to the tracheosyringeal portion of the hypoglossal nucleus (nXIIts) to the muscles of the syrinx (vocal organ). In females, gonadal steroids administered during development can partially masculinize the telencephalic areas, and in adulthood can increase the size of syrinx muscles. In the present study, two experiments were designed to investigate the role of early androgen and estrogen in the development of nXIIts and the ventralis and dorsalis muscles of the syrinx. In experiment one, males and females were treated with testosterone, estradiol, dihydrotestosterone, the anti-androgen flutamide, or a vehicle control for 21 days after hatching. At day 60, nXIIts volume, motoneuron soma size and number were assessed, as well as syrinx weight and the size of ventralis and dorsalis fibers. In experiment two, animals were administered either the estrogen synthesis inhibitor, fadrozole, or vehicle, and the syrinx measurements were taken at day 60. Male-biased sex differences were detected on all measures in both experiments, and several right-side biases were detected. In females, dihydrotestosterone masculinized soma size in nXIIts and testosterone slightly increased syrinx weight. E2 feminized the syrinx of males. However, flutamide did not prevent masculine development of either structure, and fadrozole did not inhibit feminine syrinx development. These results are consistent with the idea that, as in the forebrain, steroid hormones can stimulate aspects of sexual differentiation, but they may not be direct triggers for the process.