“Many heterosexual black men in white supremacists patriarchal culture have acted as though the primary “evil” of racism has been the refusal of the dominant culture to allow them full access to patriarchal power, so that in sexist terms they are compelled to inhabit a sphere of powerlessness, deemed “feminine,” hence they have perceived themselves as emasculated. To the extent that black men accept a white supremacist sexist representation of themselves as castrated, without phallic power, and therefore pseudo-females, they will need to overly assert a phallic misogynist masculinity, one rooted in contempt for the female. Much black male homophobia is rooted in the desire to eschew connection with all things deemed “feminine” and that would, of course, include black gay men” (hooks 147).”
In this passage from her piece “Is Paris Burning?”, hooks explores the effect of racism on black men, which results in sexism against black women and homophobia against black gay men. She explains how in a white, patriarchal society, black men have less power than white men, and because powerlessness is associated with femininity, they feel emasculated by this powerlessness. In order to feel powerful and masculine, they behave in a misogynistic manner and hold resentment toward black gay men for behaving in a way that straight black men see as feminine. In doing so, hooks brings attention to the multiple facets of prejudice and identity. Race, sexuality and gender are intertwined, and inform each other. Hooks argues that being gay is seen as feminine, and femininity is seen as weak, and racism makes black men feel weak so they project the prejudice that they experience onto black women and black gay men. In describing these dynamics, hooks reveals that prejudice is not a binary in which one group is prejudiced toward another, but that it infects everyone.
My “key” for this passage is the concept that prejudice makes those who are discriminated against turn on another group. This is a concept throughout history that I’ve heard about, and it reveals the ripple effects of prejudice and discrimination. This key concept informs my understanding of hook’s argument that straight black men have contempt for feminine behaving people, because they feel the need to strongly reject anything that they view as powerless.
My “lock” for this passage is the way that racism makes black men view themselves. Hooks argues that prejudice makes black men feel emasculated because they are weakened by not being able to access fully patriarchal power. I have also heard, however, that due to racism black men are seen as hyper masculine and violent, which is the opposite of what hooks argues. I’d be interested to hear other people’s opinions on this, and how possibly both could be true.
Hi Margarethe! I see both sides to what you are saying for your “lock”. I think that both statements can be true simultaneously. I believe that what may make this seem like a contradiction is equating violence to patriarchal power. I think that patriarchal power is not necessarily being able to physically have power over others, but societally. Therefore, prejudice leading people to view black men as more violent does not mean that this same prejudice causes people to view black men as more powerful. In this way, I think that both statements can be true.