In this Chapter, I propose a definition of progressive black masculinities as the unique and innovative performances of the masculine self that, on the one hand, personally eschew and ethically and actively stand against social structures of domination. And. on the other hand, they validate and empower black humanity, in all its variety, as part of the diverse and multicultural humanity of others in the global family. I argue that this definition is grounded in the twin concepts of progressive blackness and progressive masculinities. I suggest that both of these are political projects committed to eradicating relations of domination that constrain and reduce human potential. However, each project is directed toward different but overlapping groups of people - black people and men - and focuses on the edification and empowerment of black people as part of a larger antiracist struggle and part of a still larger antidomination or antisubordination project. The project of progressive masculinities is similar but centers its efforts on reorienting men's concepts and practices away from ideal masculinity, which, by definition, requires the domination of men over women, children, and, yes, other subordinate, or “weaker” men as Patricia Hill Collins examines. Black men are the focal point of this project. I suggest two basic points in discussing these projects. First that black men's embrace of ideal masculinity not only hurts black women, but also hurts black men and black communities as a whole. Second, I suggest that black men are not only oppressed by racism but their oppression is gendered. In other worlds, they are oppressed by gendered racism. The first part of this chapter lays out my tentative definition of progressive black masculinities. It then explores the ethical component of the project of progressive blackness. The section on the American Masculine Ideal, seeks to explain in some detail what the masculine ideal is, how it operates as part of the sex-gender system, the way in which boys are socialized into it, and its relationship to the patriarchal order as a site of power. Here I argue that the central feature of masculinity is the domination and the oppression of others; namely women, children, and other subordinated men. The section draws on insights from feminist theory, masculinities studies, and gay and queer theory as a way of defining the project of progressive masculinities. The second part of the chapter analyzes a number of theories that seek to answer the question of where black men stand in relationship to hegemonic masculinity given their subjugation by racial oppression. Are they privileged by gender or oppressed by gender? Here the case is made that they both benefit and are disadvantaged by gender. The focus is the gendered racial oppression of black men. Specifically, the section looks at three theories: 1), black nationalist insights that suggest that racism precludes male privileges to black men; 2), intersectionality theory, which initially seemed to posit that black men are privileged by gender and oppressed by race; and 3) multidimensionality theory, which recognizes that black men are not homogeneous but rather are diverse by class, sexuality, religion, and other systems of subordination, and are seen as a single multidimensional positionality. The final parts of the chapter suggest reasons why black men should engage in a project of progressive black masculinities. It looks at the political and intellectual projects of various groups concerned with the welfare of black people, including black nationalism; Afrocentricity; black feminist thought; black gay and lesbian theory, critical race theory; and black transformationalist ideas, as well as, relying on the experiential knowledge and history of black people.

In the struggle for pride and political agency, the imperative to 'be a man' has been central to the lives of black males. Yet, what it means to be a black man-in terms of both racial and gender identity-has been subject to continual debate in public and academic spheres alike. Progressive Black Masculinities brings together leading black cultural critics including Michael Eric Dyson, Mark Anthony Neal, and Patricia Hill Collins to examine an alternatively demonized and mythologized black masculinity. Collectively, they offer a roadmap for new, progressive models of black masculinity that may chart the course for the future of black men.

Reimagining Black Masculinities: Race, Gender, and Public Space addresses how Black masculinities are created, negotiated, and contested in public spaces, focusing on how theory meets praxis when mobilizing for social change. Contributors disentangle complexities of the Black experience and reimagine the radical progressive work required for societal health and wellbeing, forming a mental picture of what the world has the potential to be without excluding current realities for Black boys and men, civic manhood, maleness, and the fluidity of masculinities. These realities are acknowledged and interrogated across private and public contexts, media, education, occupation, and theoretical perspectives. This book encourages readers to reenvision social identity as an ongoing phenomenon, asserting that collective vision informs action and collective action informs possibilities for peace and freedom in the world around us. Scholars of communication, gender studies, and race studies will find this book particularly interesting.

Progressive Black Masculinities brings together leading black cultural critics including Michael Eric Dyson, Mark Anthony Neal, and Patricia Hill Collins to examine an alternatively demonized and mythologized black masculinity.

This collection invites us to think about how African-descended men are seen as both appealing and appalling, and exposed to eroticized hatred and violence and how some resist, accommodate, and capitalize on their eroticization. Drawing on James Baldwin and Frantz Fanon, the contributors examine the contradictions, paradoxes, and politico-psychosexual implications of Black men as objects of sexual desire, fear, and loathing. Kitossa and the contributing authors use Baldwin's and Fanon's cultural and psychoanalytic interpretations of Black masculinities to demonstrate their neglected contributions to thinking about and beyond colonialist and Western gender and masculinity studies. This innovative and sophisticated work will be of interest to scholars and students of cultural and media studies, gender and masculinities studies, sociology, political science, history, and critical race and racialization. Foreword by Tommy J. Curry. Contributors: Katerina Deliovsky, Delroy Hall, Dennis O. Howard, Elishma Khokhar, Tamari Kitossa, Kemar McIntosh, Leroy F. Moore Jr., Watufani M. Poe, Satwinder Rehal, John G. Russell, Mohan Siddi

This study examines the author's activist journey in developing a grassroots men's antiviolence and multi-generational mentoring group called the Progressive Masculinities Mentors. It draws upon Athena Mutua's intersectional vision of progressive black masculinities into motion which reimagines traditional black masculinity in ways that move beyond negative social scripts in order for black men to reach their full humanity. Modeled on the activist work of Ella Jo Baker, a community organizer, within the civil rights movement, it advocates principles and practices of grassroots community mentoring as a way to bring about social change. "The Ella effect" refers to the practices, ideas, and life philosophies of Baker which both inspire and inform the author's activist work of mentoring young college age men and local boys to become progressive men. Hip hop music and culture is employed as a pedagogical strategy to engage young black males about problematic issues of black masculinity in an effort to create alternative modes that communicate love, compassion, and hope.

The role of women's bodies in the productions of ideal and progressive black masculinities in African American literature