# Do you think the media has an obsession with portraying men of color overly masculine? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 25, 2018, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-the-media-has-an-obsession-with-portraying-men-of-color-overly-masculine/807435 "2018-01-25T06:45:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Luciano700](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Luciano700](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Luciano700)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2018, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-the-media-has-an-obsession-with-portraying-men-of-color-overly-masculine/807435/1 "2018-01-25T06:45:37Z")
Black men in particular. And if so, why? I will admit I view men of color more masculine naturally, but why does the media love to push the stigma around so much? Is it some sort of low key empowerment stigma? Cause you know is easier for the men to be empowered as well. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2018, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-the-media-has-an-obsession-with-portraying-men-of-color-overly-masculine/807435/2 "2018-01-25T08:28:33Z")
It’s the exact opposite of empowerment. It’s a continuation of the [Black Buck](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Buck) stereotype, and the implication is that hypermasculine Black men are a threat - a physical threat to White men and a sexual threat to White women. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2018, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-the-media-has-an-obsession-with-portraying-men-of-color-overly-masculine/807435/3 "2018-01-25T14:01:31Z")
Moved to IMHO. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Luciano700](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Luciano700](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Luciano700)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2018, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-the-media-has-an-obsession-with-portraying-men-of-color-overly-masculine/807435/4 "2018-01-25T16:41:28Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > It’s the exact opposite of empowerment. It’s a continuation of the [Black Buck](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Buck) stereotype, and the implication is that hypermasculine Black men are a threat - a physical threat to White men and a sexual threat to White women. But then what if media portrays black men as weaklings and beta males? ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2018, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-the-media-has-an-obsession-with-portraying-men-of-color-overly-masculine/807435/5 "2018-01-25T16:43:34Z")
> [@Luciano700](#): > > But then what if media portrays black men as weaklings and beta males? Are those the only options? ---
**Author:** ![Luciano700](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Luciano700](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Luciano700)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2018, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-the-media-has-an-obsession-with-portraying-men-of-color-overly-masculine/807435/6 "2018-01-25T16:44:34Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > Are those the only options? No ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2018, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-the-media-has-an-obsession-with-portraying-men-of-color-overly-masculine/807435/7 "2018-01-25T16:46:20Z")
OP - Can you actually present any examples of this supposed portrayal? ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2018, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-the-media-has-an-obsession-with-portraying-men-of-color-overly-masculine/807435/8 "2018-01-25T17:42:01Z")
> [@Luciano700](#): > > But then what if media portrays black men as weaklings and beta males? Then those men would eventually build a machine that would make them cooler and called Ste_phan_. ---
**Author:** ![Luciano700](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Luciano700](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Luciano700)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2018, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-the-media-has-an-obsession-with-portraying-men-of-color-overly-masculine/807435/9 "2018-01-25T17:42:50Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > OP - Can you actually present any examples of this supposed portrayal? [![](https://dajoanisproject.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/50_cent-1.jpg) ](https://dajoanisproject.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/50_cent-1.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2018, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-the-media-has-an-obsession-with-portraying-men-of-color-overly-masculine/807435/10 "2018-01-25T18:45:06Z")
> [@Luciano700](#): > > [https://xman11422.files.wordpress.com/2017/03/50\_cent-1.jpg](https://xman11422.files.wordpress.com/2017/03/50_cent-1.jpg) Where is this from? Is this some private person’s webpage? ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2018, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-the-media-has-an-obsession-with-portraying-men-of-color-overly-masculine/807435/11 "2018-01-25T18:51:03Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > Where is this from? > Is this some private person’s webpage? lol. It’s 50 Cent. But that’s how \*he \*presents himself, not “the media.” ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2018, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-the-media-has-an-obsession-with-portraying-men-of-color-overly-masculine/807435/12 "2018-01-25T18:51:38Z")
> [@Luciano700](#): > > [https://xman11422.files.wordpress.com/2017/03/50\_cent-1.jpg](https://xman11422.files.wordpress.com/2017/03/50_cent-1.jpg) That’s not a media portrayal, though. It’s not a fictional character created by a non-masculine-black-man, cast by a non-masculine-black-man and directed by a non-masculine-black-man. That is an actual black man who has chosen to portray himself as hyper-masculine. I would consider a “skewed media portrayal” as a fictional character. Some of America’s favorite black male actors/personalities are not hyper-masculine. RuPaul, Tituss Burgess, John Legend, Neil DeGrasse Tyson, Anthony Anderson, Donald Glover, Morgan Freeman (those are just a list of guys whose work I’m familiar with). ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2018, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-the-media-has-an-obsession-with-portraying-men-of-color-overly-masculine/807435/13 "2018-01-25T18:56:50Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > Some of America’s favorite black male actors/personalities are not hyper-masculine. RuPaul, Tituss Burgess, John Legend, Neil DeGrasse Tyson, Anthony Anderson, Donald Glover, Morgan Freeman (those are just a list of guys whose work I’m familiar with). Steve Urkel! ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2018, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-the-media-has-an-obsession-with-portraying-men-of-color-overly-masculine/807435/14 "2018-01-25T20:09:53Z")
Oops! Did I do that?? Also since the title of the thread and part of the thread mentions “men of color” - I can’t think of any Asian men outside of action stars who are portrayed as hyper-masculine. Latinos I think, while under-represented, seem to be fairly even in their masculinity. One might ask why Asian men are so emasculated by the media. ---
**Author:** ![sitchensis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sitchensis/32/4892_2.png) [@sitchensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sitchensis)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2018, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-the-media-has-an-obsession-with-portraying-men-of-color-overly-masculine/807435/15 "2018-01-25T20:14:40Z")
From my childhood memory and overall impression as a rural middle-class white kid: The Cosby Show aired from 1984 to 1992, it represented a regular middle to upper-class black family going about their lives. Between 1991 and 1995 we had: Rodney King (beating and riots), Ice-T and Body Count release “Cop Killer”, N.W.A and Dre, OJ Simpson (killing and riots) and a whole slew of other things. It was rare to see a “regular” portrayal of a black man or family for the better part of 15 years. About 5 years ago things changed (thanks Obama) and now you easily\* find slightly nerdy or eccentric black characters. \*I don’t know if black characters on the whole are statistically represented. It just seems like a big change from a while back. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2018, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-the-media-has-an-obsession-with-portraying-men-of-color-overly-masculine/807435/16 "2018-01-25T21:25:18Z")
> [@Luciano700](#): > > [https://xman11422.files.wordpress.com/2017/03/50\_cent-1.jpg](https://xman11422.files.wordpress.com/2017/03/50_cent-1.jpg) Before clicking the link my guess was that it would be a link to a photo of Terry Crews. That’s who I immediately thought of when reading the OP. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2018, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-the-media-has-an-obsession-with-portraying-men-of-color-overly-masculine/807435/17 "2018-01-25T22:06:28Z")
Crews doesn’t really present as hypermasculine, though. Sure, he’s a big beefy dude, but the fact that he’s a skilled artist is more likely to come out recently than that he’s a former athlete. His character on Brooklyn 99 (who seems to be himself flanderized) is a huge nerd, and a highly emotional proud papa. On a less pleasant note, his recently admitting to having been sexually assaulted is not the act of a ‘hypermasculine’ man. ---
**Author:** ![Luciano700](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Luciano700](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Luciano700)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2018, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-the-media-has-an-obsession-with-portraying-men-of-color-overly-masculine/807435/18 "2018-01-26T15:27:02Z")
> [@Kamino\_Neko](#): > > Crews doesn’t really present as hypermasculine, though. Sure, he’s a big beefy dude, but the fact that he’s a skilled artist is more likely to come out recently than that he’s a former athlete. His character on Brooklyn 99 (who seems to be himself flanderized) is a huge nerd, and a highly emotional proud papa. > > On a less pleasant note, his recently admitting to having been sexually assaulted is not the act of a ‘hypermasculine’ man. I agree on Terry Crews, cause even someone like Tony Hawk is more masculine than him. ---
**Author:** ![StrTrkr777](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@StrTrkr777](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StrTrkr777)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2018, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-the-media-has-an-obsession-with-portraying-men-of-color-overly-masculine/807435/19 "2018-01-26T18:03:57Z")
> [@sitchensis](#): > > From my childhood memory and overall impression as a rural middle-class white kid: > > The Cosby Show aired from 1984 to 1992, it represented a regular middle to upper-class black family going about their lives. > > Between 1991 and 1995 we had: Rodney King (beating and riots), Ice-T and Body Count release “Cop Killer”, N.W.A and Dre, OJ Simpson (killing and riots) and a whole slew of other things. > > It was rare to see a “regular” portrayal of a black man or family for the better part of 15 years. > > About 5 years ago things changed (thanks Obama) and now you easily\* find slightly nerdy or eccentric black characters. > > \*I don’t know if black characters on the whole are statistically represented. It just seems like a big change from a while back. You mention the Cosby Show from 1984 - 1992 But there was also: Different World 1987 - 1993 (a spin off of Cosby show, not really a family but still a good show) Family Matters 1989 - 1998 (admittedly not as big as the Cosby Show, but Urkele was mentioned) Fresh Prince of Bel Aire 1990 - 1996 Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper 1992 - 1997 Martin 1992 - 1997 Living Single 1993 - 1998 Sister, Sister 1994 - 1999 Cosby 1996 - 2000 Moesha 1996 - 2001 My Wife and Kids 2001 - 2005 The Bernie Mac Show 2001 - 2006 Everybody Hates Chris 2005 - 2009 House of Payne 2006 - 2012 Black-ish 2014 - current Lethal Weapon 2016 - current (Not solely about Murtaugh’s family, but does include some nice family moments) My point is that there have fairly consistently been some good shows featuring African American families and African American actors that have protrayed a nice slice of life. I loved the Cosby Show back in the day, it was what I grew up with and it was the family that everyone wanted to be. Not because of the money, but having two parents that loved each other and their kids and did their best to prepare those kids for life. I think Black-ish might come close to being the modern day version. But Anthony Anderson’s character is edgier and really hits home on both the African American experience as well as the non-African American experience. There are definitely some shows that make me feel uncomfortable. But the show comes across in a manner that shows how we all have some level of shared experience and should come together in that shared understanding and realize that we are not that different. The most recent episode Bow Knows does a great job in this respect. I think what has made many of these shows great is helping people to see that we are more alike than we are different. We all face financial difficulties and decisions. We all face health issues. We all face doubt, fear, pain, joy, disappointment, love, happiness. So I really don’t think it was rare to see a ‘regular’ portrayal any time in the last 35 yrs. These are from memory. When I actually googled African American tv shows, I came up with a lot I had forgotten about over the years. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2018, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-the-media-has-an-obsession-with-portraying-men-of-color-overly-masculine/807435/20 "2018-01-26T18:34:39Z")
\*227 \*comes to mind for me (because I see that one of my cable channels is playing blocks of episodes–I haven’t rewatched any yet.) And googling for the timeline of that, there was a link reminding me of _Amen!._ [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-the-media-has-an-obsession-with-portraying-men-of-color-overly-masculine/807435.md?page=2)