Masculinities Among African American Men: An Intersectional Perspective

This is a report of a qualitative field research study on African American men's concepts of masculinity using an intersectional perspective. Participants (N = 17) from a Midwestern public research university and a nearby barbershop participated in individual and dyadic interviews using a structured questionnaire and filled out a demographic questionnaire. The questions were of 2 types: the first set concerned masculinity-in-general (e.g., What does it mean to be a man?), whereas the second set concerned the intersection of masculinity with race (e.g., What does it mean to be an African American man?). A streamlined codes-to-theory approach was used to analyze the data. Results indicated, first, that African American men view their masculinity as a reflection of traditional masculine norms hindered by the systemic barriers resulting from racism. As a result they adopt specific strategies and techniques to deal with the obstacles, in the course of which they construct a culturally unique version of masculinity. Second, results indicated that the African American participants' views of masculinity consisted of 6 themes, each of which had a number of subthemes: leadership, structural oppression, African American values, traditional masculinity, familial relationships, and self-definition. Results are discussed in terms of connections to prior research, limitations, and future research.