Historicizing Masculinities

"When Boys Can't Be Boys"

This article reveals the use of the word "boy," placing it in its historical context, in which the word was used as a derogatory term by whites towards slaves and men of color. The article gives us a history lesson, explaining how the term "boy" was put on trial to decide whether or not it was a slur. The author argues that the term is still used pejoratively today, as seen in news reports about police violence against black men. A jarring fact is stated in the article, that "Whether a black male is treated as a 'boy' or a 'man' has so often depended on which of those categories might invite the most consequence. White men of means, though, are seldom too old to have aged out of the benefit of the doubt."

The historicizing masculinities approach is one of many approaches applied to the study of masculinities. By examining the history of U.S. race relations, one can see how masculinity is multiple and some of the double standards regarding race that we as a nation still hold on to. Additionally, we are able to see the contradiction in black men being seen as "too masculine" or "not masculine enough." As this article makes perfectly clear, looking at the issues surrounding masculinities through a historical lens allows us to more clearly see certain ideologies that have been implemented over time; that the way we think about masculinity today was a process.