Sign-In
Cart
Are We Not Men?: Masculine Anxiety and the Problem of African-American Identity
Paperback
Literary CriticismBlack American StudiesMen's Studies
Please select the version of book you would like to purchase.
ISBN10: 0195126548
ISBN13: 9780195126549
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Published: Oct 22 1998
Pages: 272
Weight: 0.85
Height: 0.74 Width: 6.05 Depth: 9.14
Language: English
ISBN13: 9780195126549
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Published: Oct 22 1998
Pages: 272
Weight: 0.85
Height: 0.74 Width: 6.05 Depth: 9.14
Language: English
In 1995, popular anxieties about black masculinity became evident in public reactions to the conclusion of the OJ Simpson trial and the Million Man March on Washington. The nation's divided response to the OJ verdict, together with the controversy surrounding Louis Farrakhan's call to black men to come together for a day of atonement brought issues of race and gender to the forefront of national debate.
In his timely and incisive book Are We Not Men?, Phillip Brian Harper explores issues of race and representation and shows that ideas about black masculinity have always played a troubled role both in the formation of African-American identity and in the mass media at large. What is at stake when a picture of OJ Simpson is darkened on the cover of Time magazine? Why is AIDS still seen as a white gay disease when a quarter of deaths from AIDS from 1981-1991 were among black males? Using examples from a variety of cultural contexts, ranging from sports and pop music to literature and television, Harper investigates these questions in an effort to show the ways in which narrow definitions of black manhood have failed to acknowledge real differences within the African-American community--to grave social and political effect. He examines recent phenomena, such as reactions to ABC anchorman Max Robinson's AIDS-related death and Magic Johnson's HIV status, as well as the homophobia and chauvinism of the Black Arts movement of the '60s and '70s, the construction of black crossover identity from Motown and Diana Ross to Run-DMC and MTV and the way that street authenticity is incorporated into Michael Jackson's choreography. He unravels the gender politics behind the passing novels of the Harlem Renaissance, scrutinizes black masculinity as seen through the eyes of the white protagonist of the 1961 autobiographical narrative Black Like Me and explores early representations of African Americans on television shows like Julia and Room 222. Upholding the recent success of drag performer RuPaul, who demonstrates the limits of traditional notions of black masculinity by openly defying them, Harper suggests that popular culture is able to transcend its own representations and points to a future in which black male is no longer a homogenizing term.
An original, far-reaching and ultimately humane work of cultural criticism, Harper's book argues convincingly that there are no innocent texts, and forces us to reexamine the culture that surrounds us. Are We Not Men? will find a wide audience among those interested in American and African-American cultural studies, gender studies and gay/lesbian studies.
An original, far-reaching and ultimately humane work of cultural criticism, Harper's book argues convincingly that there are no innocent texts, and forces us to reexamine the culture that surrounds us. Are We Not Men? will find a wide audience among those interested in American and African-American cultural studies, gender studies and gay/lesbian studies.
Also in
Black American Studies
In Search of the Black Fantastic: Politics and Popular Culture in the Post-Civil Rights Era
Iton, Richard
Paperback
$69.59
Nothing But Love in God's Water: Volume 1: Black Sacred Music from the Civil War to the Civil Rights Movement
Darden, Robert
Hardcover
From $14.99
Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome: America's Legacy of Enduring Injury and Healing
Degruy, Joy a.
Paperback
$19.95
When Trees Testify: Science, Wisdom, History, and America's Black Botanical Legacy
Montgomery, Beronda L.
Hardcover
$26.59
Decoding the Devil: Black Women Codebreakers and the Secret War Against Stalin's Bomb
Valentine, Sarah
Hardcover
From $19.99
Freedom Is a Constant Struggle: Ferguson, Palestine, and the Foundations of a Movement
Davis, Angela Y.
Paperback
From $10.99
Sacred Pampering Principles: An African-American Woman's Guide to Self-Care and Inner Renewal
Gandy, Debrena Jackson
Paperback
$17.09
How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America
Smith, Clint
Paperback
From $11.99
Nature Knows No Color-Line: Research into the Negro Ancestry in the White Race
Rogers, J. a.
Paperback
$14.94
The Delectable Negro: Human Consumption and Homoeroticism Within Us Slave Culture
Woodard, Vincent
Paperback
$56.55
The Instigators: How Black Women Have Been Essential to American Democracy (and What We Can Learn from Them)
Omara, Atima
Hardcover
$27.00
A Terrible Strength: The Hidden Crisis of the Black Womb and Your Survival Guide to Healing
Doll, Kemi, MD Mscr
Hardcover
$27.54
Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome, Revised Edition: America's Legacy of Enduring Injury and Healing
Degruy, Joy a.
Hardcover
$27.95
Redeem a Nation: The Century-Long Battle to Restore the Soul of America
Solomon-Simmons, Damario
Hardcover
$27.90
A Second Sight: How the Wonder and Vision of Black Mediamakers Push America Toward Freedom
Jackson, Sarah J.
Hardcover
$28.80
African-American Heritage Cookbook: Traditional Recipes and Fond Remembrances from Alabama's Renowned Tuskegee Institute
Tillery, Carolyn Q.
Hardcover
$26.60
This Nonviolent Stuff'll Get You Killed: How Guns Made the Civil Rights Movement Possible
Cobb, Charles E., Jr.
Paperback
$24.65
The Assassination of Fred Hampton: How the FBI and the Chicago Police Murdered a Black Panther
Haas, Jeffrey
Paperback
$17.09
Mindful Meditations for Black Men: Restorative Practices to Soothe Mind, Body, and Spirit
Caraballo, Jor-El
Hardcover
$16.15
The Cure for Everything: The Epic Struggle for Public Health and a Radical Vision for Human Thriving
Williams, Michelle A.
Hardcover
$30.40
The People Can Fly: American Promise, Black Prodigies, and the Greatest Miracle of All Time
Bennett, Joshua
Hardcover
$27.00
The Legend of Wyatt Outlaw: From Reconstruction Through Black Lives Matter
Boggs, Belle
Allen, Sylvester, Jr.
Hardcover
$28.50
Stories in the Seams: A People's History of Black Quilts and Their Makers
Plummer, Sharbreon
Hardcover
$28.45
A High Price for Freedom: Raising Hidden Voices from the African American Past
Ford, Clyde W.
Hardcover
$28.50
Self-Care for Black Women: 150 Ways to Radically Accept & Prioritize Your Mind, Body, & Soul
Adeeyo, Oludara
Hardcover
$16.14
Black Film: A History of Black Representation and Participation in the Movies
Walker, David F.
Hardcover
$22.49
Rooted: The American Legacy of Land Theft and the Modern Movement for Black Land Ownership
Baker, Brea
Hardcover
$28.50
Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood: Nina Simone, Langston Hughes, and the Birth of Black Power
Miller, W. Jason
Hardcover
$28.50
Africulture: How the Principles, Practices, Plants, and People of African Descent Have Shaped American Agriculture
Carter, Michael, Jr.
Hardcover
$28.45
How I Know White People Are Crazy and Other Stories: Notes from a Frustrated Black Psychologist
Lassiter, Jonathan
Hardcover
From $17.99
Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome: America's Legacy of Enduring Injury and Healing
Degruy, Joy Angela
Paperback
$18.95
The Vanishing Black Family: How Welfare and Feminism Made Marriage Optional and Children Vulnerable
Squires, Delano
Hardcover
$30.40
Black Against Empire: The History and Politics of the Black Panther Party
Bloom, Joshua
Martin, Waldo E., Jr.
Paperback
$33.54
The Spirit of a Man: A Vision of Transformation for Black Men and the Women Who Love Them
Vanzant, Iyanla
Paperback
$14.24
Marked by Time: How Social Change Has Transformed Crime and the Life Trajectories of Young Americans
Sampson, Robert J.
Hardcover
$26.96
Black Wall Street: From Riot to Renaissance in Tulsa's Historic Greenwood District
Johnson, Hannibal B.
Paperback
$23.74
Voices of Freedom: An Oral History of the Civil Rights Movement from the 1950s Through the 1980s
Fayer, Steve
Hampton, Henry
Paperback
$32.00
The Valley of the Dry Bones: The Conditions That Face Black People in America Today
Windsor, Rudolph R.
Paperback
$13.25
How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America
Smith, Clint
Hardcover
$28.50
Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?: And Other Conversations about Race
Tatum, Beverly Daniel
Paperback
From $11.99
Refusing Compulsory Sexuality: A Black Asexual Lens on Our Sex-Obsessed Culture
Brown, Sherronda J.
Paperback
$20.85
The Cooking Gene: A Journey Through African American Culinary History in the Old South
Twitty, Michael W.
Paperback
$18.04
White Evangelical Racism, Second Edition: The Politics of Morality in America
Butler, Anthea
Paperback
$15.20
The Master Plan: My Journey from Life in Prison to a Life of Purpose
Wilson, Chris
Witter, Bret
Paperback
From $9.99
W. E. B. Du Bois's Data Portraits: Visualizing Black America
The W. E. B. Du Bois Center at the University of Massachuset
Hardcover
$30.88
Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America
King, Gilbert
Paperback
From $10.99
Contempt of Court: The Turn-Of-The-Century Lynching That Launched a Hundred Years of Federalism
Curriden, Mark
Phillips, Leroy
Paperback
From $10.99
Farming While Black: Soul Fire Farm's Practical Guide to Liberation on the Land
Penniman, Leah
Paperback
$33.20
The Half Has Never Been Told: Slavery and the Making of American Capitalism
Baptist, Edward E.
Paperback
$23.74
Think and Grow Rich: A Black Choice: A Guide to Success for Black Americans
Kimbro, Dennis
Hill, Napoleon
Paperback
$10.44
Expecting Inequity: How the Maternal Health Crisis Affects Even the Wealthiest Black Americans
Bridges, Khiara
Hardcover
$29.66
Historically Black Phrases: From I Ain't One of Your Lil' Friends to Who All Gon' Be There?
Anderson, Tre'vell
Hill, Jarrett
Hardcover
$26.59
Never Wear Red Lipstick: 8 Lies That Stop Black Women from Succeeding in Life and Business
Dunham Burton Phd, Karmetria
Hardcover
$23.74
Passing Strange: A Gilded Age Tale of Love and Deception Across the Color Line
Sandweiss, Martha A.
Paperback
$27.00
Slavery by Another Name (Pulitzer Prize Winner): The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II
Blackmon, Douglas A.
Paperback
From $11.99
Nature Knows No Color-Line: Research into the Negro Ancestry in the White Race
Rogers, J. a.
Hardcover
$24.99
Hellhound on His Trail: The Electrifying Account of the Largest Manhunt in American History
Sides, Hampton
Paperback
From $10.99