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--- estes_i_am_a_man [2026/04/20 19:29] – nkotkov
+++ estes_i_am_a_man [2026/04/24 14:37] (current) – smilton
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 S. Estes’s study demonstrates that the mechanism of exclusion was one of the core principles of Black Panther ideology. In particular, this mechanism was especially evident in interactions between homosexual men and members of the movement, as the latter viewed gay men as threats to African American masculinity. In addition, women also occupied an ambivalent position in the early stages of the movement. On the one hand, Black Panthers accepted women and provided them with training as well as education. On the other hand, women were expected to conform to patriarchal values by focusing on the domestic sphere, where they could raise future generations of revolutionary fighters. It should also be noted that such attitudes were not static and changed over time. Nevertheless, they indicate some of the underlying foundations of hegemonic masculinity in the Black Panther movement in the 1960s and 1970s. - Nikolai Kotkov
+Moynihan illustrates that black men face persistent unemployment while also being societally expected to fulfill the social role of breadwinner as told in the story of nothing but a man. While the movie is fictionalized, it showed a real world issue of how black men were unable to meet the standards of what society wanted them to be without any real way out for a very long time. (Tea Aliu)
+The black panthers made their militant struggle directly connected to the "making of a man" through the killing of Bobby Hutton while also drawing attention to the fact that black men are facing deadly risks from state violence, in this case especially after the death of Martin Luther King Jr. It can also be argued that since Hutton was so young, he was doing these things to prove his manhood and in this sense he was on an accelerated path to become a man in a community he was a younger member of leading to his martyrdom.(Tea Aliu)
+the black panther party is supposed to restore masculinity and dignity for marginalized black men through organization and political resistance. economic exclusion and a limited education and outward racism were what produced feelings of powerlessness or inadequacy in the black youth so resistance to state oppression and responding to things like police brutality would make some of the black men in the group like role models to other marginalized people. (Tea Aliu)
+Part of the criticism of Black men and families was that since single women and children could get welfare Black men (who couldn't provide for their families because they were unemployed and in poverty because they were discriminated against) would leave their families so that they could qualify. This then made the woman the head of the household. It was then argued that because of this children grew up without male authority and then became delinquent. This is a similar argument to the momism against White mothers in the 1950s in which mothers who were overbearing raised children who would become delinquent unless they had a male role model. (Katherine Hamilton)
+One way to prove your masculinity throughout history was to be a breadwinner and provide enough for your family so that your wife could afford to stay home and be a homemaker. However, it was often difficult for Black families to achieve this as in order to survive economically both parents had to work. Therefore in order to be men something had to be done so that they could have better employment. In a way, in order to be a man your wife had to be subordinate to you. (Katherine Hamilton)
+In addition to groups like the Black Panther Party, Estes details other civil rights organizations like the Invaders, who were mostly young, black, self-described "radical" men. To the Invaders, even just learning to survive in a very racist society was a kind of rite of passage into manhood in and of itself, offering a much different view of manhood and its traditions and qualifications than what is typically seen in white middle-class groups. Unlike Martin Luther King Jr., the Invaders believed that violent protest could be necessary, and many of them seized the opportunity to participate in violent protest during the Beale Street march. (Noah Rutkowski)
+Estes starts with talking about masculinity in terms of the Moynihan Reoprt, specifically the debate of black masculinity and how it shifted in the 1960's. Moynihan argued that many of the struggles in African American communities, such as generational poverty, unemployment, and instability, came from black families, specifically the lack of a male figure present. He does, however, say that this is not a fault of the families, rather of a racist society. Estes critiques this by putting it in a historical context. He flips the arguemtn on its head by arguing that the problems faced were due to systemic discrimination, not the other way around, turning the problems from being the cause to being the effect. -Caroline Cochran
+Estes also talks about the militant expression of black masculinity. He lays out that, because of non-violent efforts being met with violence and discrimination from the government, some advocates started rejecting ideas of respectability and integration in the eyes of white people. Masculinity turned into an emphasis on self-defense, autonomy, and pride. An example of this was the Black Panther Party. Masculinity became a central organizational message and language. There was an emphasis onreclaiming manhood and black masculinity. At the same time, this reinforced patriarchal ideas and often sidelined women, especially black women who were often part of these movements as well. -Caroline Cochran
+Estes also writes about the Memphis Sanitation Worker Strike and how that reflected ideas of black masculinbity and humanity. This strike wasn't inherently about wages and working conditions, but more about dignity and manhood. Black workers were treated as disposable labor and were denied all respect as men. This linked to ideas of perpetual boyhood. They weren't arguing that they were men as in not women, instead they were men as in not boys. They were using masculinity as the right to be recognized as fully human and fully man. Martin Luther King jr. was also an important part of this strike. He argued that equality wa more than just the absense of legal segregation, but asz economic justice and recognition of dignity. -Caroline Cochran
+Estes uses the Moynihan report as a way to show how the issues surrounding the lack of upward class mobility for African American men was due to the continuous removal or refusal to make support systems for these men to use. This report was used by President Johnson to make light of the situation at hand and to create more support or structure to the African American families. And for these men to participate in the American ideals for masculinity and patriarchy. (Sage Milton)
+The ideals for American masculinity viewed men as the bread-winners of their houses, so having women being the main providers for the family removes the connection to masculinity from the African American men if they are unemployed. In Moynihan's report he discussed how the lack of a father was creating less men when only the mothers' are raising the sons and it is a failure of the family system as a whole. (Sage Milton)