The (De)Construction of Black Masculine Identity with Marlon Ross

Black History Year

PushBlack

History, Society & Culture

4.3 • 2.1K Ratings

🗓️ 2 July 2024

⏱️ 82 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Today's History Story: Black Men Aren't Allowed to Have Emotions, Right? Gender has shaped and continues to shape much of our lives. It tells boys to wear blue and girls to wear pink, dictates what careers are “appropriate” as adults, and even has a say in how we’re expected to express our feelings. Quiet as it's kept, a big reason gender norms exist is to maintain white supremacist notions of what it means to be a man. But in the tradition of Black resistance, our people have pushed back against these arbitrary rules. And today, we’re talking about that and much more with an incredible scholar working at the intersection of literature, race, gender and sexuality, Marlon B. Ross. As the author of “Sissy Insurgencies,” “Manning the Race,” and other critical writings, Marlon has dedicated his work to uncovering the evolving narratives of Black masculinity. This cat is redefining how we understand and discuss these issues. And he’s here to share insights that will have you rethinking everything you know about manhood. To learn more about Marlon's work, find "Sissy Insurgencies" wherever you get your books. Black History Year (BHY) is produced by PushBlack, the nation's largest non-profit Black media company. PushBlack exists to amplify the stories of Black history you didn't learn in school and explore pathways to liberation with people who are leading the way. You make PushBlack happen with your contributions at BlackHistoryYear.com — most people donate $10 a month, but every dollar makes a difference. If this episode moved you, share it with your people! Thanks for supporting the work. Hosting BHY is Darren Wallace. The BHY production team includes Jareyah Bradley, Brooke Brown, and Amber Davis. Our producers are Cydney Smith and Len Webb for PushBlack, and Lance John with Gifted Sounds edits and engineers the show. BHY’s executive producers are Julian Walker and Lilly Workneh. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Coming right up, we're discussing the construction of black masculinity with Marlon B Ross on Black History Year. Hey, you ever notice how life comes with a set of invisible rules?
0:19.4	Not useful ones like don't touch a hot stove.
0:22.1	I'm talking about those that say being a man with
0:24.5	too many friends makes you sassy but don't have two food either because that's
0:28.1	just it's us or rules that say cleaning your house and where it alone makes you
0:32.4	less mainly?
0:33.6	Because apparently there's nothing manlier than a sink full of dishes smelling funkier than a white person's dreads.
0:39.3	Here's the twist we all saw coming on.
0:41.6	These rules, they get even more complex and absurd when you're
0:45.2	black. I'm Darren from which black and you're listening to Black History year.
0:49.2	Ridiculous as it is, gender is shaped and continues to shape so much about lives.
0:55.0	It tells us what toys to play with as kids, what careers are appropriate as adults,
0:59.0	and even how we're supposed to express our feelings.
1:02.0	See, gender norms aren't just about personal preferences
1:05.0	y'all. They're about maintaining a status quo, one that's been subtly and not so subtly influenced
1:11.2	by white supremacist notions of what it means to be a man.
1:15.2	But in the traditional black resistance, our people have always pushed back against these arbitrary
1:20.0	rules.
1:21.0	And today, we're talking about that and much, much more with an incredible scholar working at the
1:25.4	intersection of literature, race, gender, and sexuality. I'm talking about Marlon B. Ross.
1:32.2	As the author of Sistian's urgency, manning the race, and other critical
1:35.7	writings, Marlon has dedicated his work to uncovering the evolving narratives of black masculinity.
	...

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