Out of K.O.S. (Knowledge of Self)
Black Masculinity, Psychopathology, and Treatment
Summary
Excerpt
Table Of Contents
- Cover
- Title
- Copyright
- About the author(s)/editor(s)
- About the book
- This eBook can be cited
- Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Chapter One: Gender Development and Black Masculinity
- CJ’s Story
- Gender Socialization and Masculinity
- CJ and Gender Socialization
- Progression of Gender Socialization
- Growing Role of Peers on Gender Socialization
- Gender Role Strain and Rigid Masculinity
- Gender Role Strain and the Story of CJ
- References
- Chapter Two: Racial Identity Development and Black Masculinity
- Section 1: Thinking Black
- Racial Identity
- Cross’s Nigrescence Theory and Model
- Original Model of Nigrescence
- Revised Model of Nigrescence
- Expanded Model of Nigrescence
- Sellers’s Multidimensional Model of Racial Identity (MMRI)
- Helms’s Model of Racial Identity Theory (RIT)
- Section 2: “Acting Black”
- Section 3: Being Black
- Working Therapeutically with Black Males
- References
- Chapter Three: Black Male Psychopathology
- Section 1: Social Oppression
- Race-Related Stress
- Black Males and Physical Health
- Black Males and Mental Health Overview
- Section 2: Cultural Identity Suppression
- Black Males and the Development of False Psychological Consciousness
- Unintegrated Black Masculinity Formation
- The Evolution of Masculine Gender Identity and Black Masculinity
- Racial Identity and Black Masculinity
- Black Masculinity Development, Race-Related Stress, and Gender Role Strain
- Manifestation of Gender Role Strain and Race-Related Stress in Black Males
- Unintegrated Black Masculinity Development
- Rigid Unintegrated Black Masculinity
- Unstructured, Unintegrated Black Masculinity
- References
- Chapter Four: Creating Clinical Interventions for Black Males
- Masculinity and Mental Health Treatments
- Barriers to Effective Mental Health Treatment for Black Males
- Building a Therapeutic Alliance with Black Males
- Sawubona
- Guiding Themes
- Treatment Goals
- Clinical Interventions
- Name That Emotion Game
- Treatment Modality: Individual
- Goals
- Materials
- Description
- Emotions Hide and Seek
- Treatment Modality: Group
- Goals
- Materials
- Description
- Emotions Matching
- Treatment Modality: Group
- Goals
- Materials
- Description
- Fishing for Feelings
- Treatment Modality: Group
- Goals
- Materials
- Description
- Feelings Bingo
- Treatment Modality: Group
- Goals
- Materials
- Description
- Emotions Charades
- Treatment Modality: Group & Family
- Goals
- Materials
- Description
- How Well Do You Know …
- Treatment Modality: Family
- Goals
- Materials
- Description
- Family Genogram
- Treatment Modality: Family
- Goals
- Materials
- Description
- Family Story
- Treatment Modality: Family
- Goals
- Materials
- Description
- Conflict-Resolution Skills (Stop, Think, Question & Resolve)
- Treatment Modality: Individual & Group
- Goals
- Materials
- Description
- Mindful Bingo
- Treatment Modality: Group
- Goals
- Materials
- Description
- U Inc.
- Treatment Modality: Individual & Group
- Goals
- Materials
- Description
- Therapeutic Process Questions
- References
- Series index
There is an African proverb that states, “If you conquer the enemy within, the enemy without can do you no harm.” Many Black males are engaged in an internal conflict, in regards to their own beliefs towards the negativity associated with Black masculinity, especially when those beliefs are inconsistent with their own socio-historical and lived experiences. This conflict is significantly influenced by personal, on-going experiences of racial discrimination and gender role conflict. More specifically, this text links the influence of racial discrimination and gender role conflict to the intersectionality of gender and racial identity development in Black males.
In regards to gender identity development, this text explores current theories related to gender performance, schemas and norms, and their impact on the development of Black masculinity. In addition, it examines the lived experiences of gender role conflict and gender role strain, and their influences on the manifestation of mental health challenges for Black men. This text also explores the current theories related to racial identity development and its impact on the formation and expression of Black masculinity. Specifically, it investigates the intersection between Black masculinity development, racial identity, and race-related traumas/stressors.
Lastly, the text discusses the process of Black male racial socialization, challenges related to the internalization of negative cultural codes, and the impact ← vii | viii → of skill-building activities, related to cultural interpretation and adaptation. Ultimately, this text explores the relationship between the various processes of gender and racial identity development in Black males and the influence of these processes on the development of Black masculinity. More specifically, it examines the association between Black masculinity and the experience of mental health in Black men.
The experience of the inherent conflict in Black masculinity development serves as the foundation for this discussion, with the focus primarily centering on the formation of an unintegrated Black masculinity. Specifically, this text highlights the dual experience of social oppression and cultural identity suppression as the catalyst for the formation of unintegrated Black masculinity, and its subsequent influence on Black male mental health. The text concludes with a comprehensive discussion concerning therapist variables and clinical interventions that can be helpful when working with Black males in a clinical setting (consistent with the specific challenges related to interconnecting key points in the Black masculinity/psychopathology model presented in this text).
Gender Development and Black Masculinity
CJ’s Story
CJ is a 21-year-old African American male. He is currently living in a half-way house after having spent the last two years in prison for attempted robbery. CJ is short for Charles James which was his father’s name as well as his grandfathers. CJ’s father was in and out of his life as a child due to multiple stints in prison for crimes ranging from assault to robbery. His longest period of absence was between CJ’s 6th grade and 10th grade years. CJ mainly grew up with his mother and his two younger siblings, a brother who is three years younger and a sister who is five years younger. CJ’s primary male figures were two of his mother’s brothers and a series of football and basketball coaches he had throughout his pop warner, middle, and high school years. From these male figures and within his own family, CJ learned many lessons about being a man that would influence his behavior (especially during his middle and high school years).
Due to his father’s chronic absence, CJ was promoted to take over some of his fathers responsibilities such as taking care of his siblings and making sure his mother was ok. Additionally, as CJ got older he was expected to help out financially and provide discipline for his siblings when they misbehaved. The pressure of being the “man of the house” weighed heavily on CJ and contributed to chronic struggles with sleeplessness and irritability. Being considered as the “man of the house” ← 1 | 2 → also significantly impacted his relationships with his mother and father. CJ was often times told that “he was just like his father” because of his physical resemblance and overall demeanor. His mother would get mad at CJ for no reason and would tell him that he would “grow up to be nothing like his father.” However, at the same time, his mother repeatedly told CJ how much she depended on him to take care of his family. CJ was left on his own to reconcile this conflict concerning being needed for his perceived “maleness” and being hated for the male he represented in his father. Because of the coping strategies she had learned from her parents, CJ’s mother wasn’t emotionally available to CJ and would model emotional withdraw as a method of coping with challenging situations.
CJ had a distant relationship with his father. The experience of having to be the “man of the house” as well as the constant reminders from his mother about how “bad” of a man his father was contributed to a conflictual relationship between the two. As a youth, CJ would oscillate between missing his father during his periods of imprisonment and being angry with his father when the burden of his “promotion” would become too much for him within the family system. Whenever CJ would go to visit his father in prison his father would attempt to assert a disciplinary role if he had gotten in trouble or would provide advice about managing conflicts and being a man. These pieces of wisdom from his father would be summarized in sayings such as, “men don’t cry,” “men don’t let other people put their hands on them,” “respect is all a man has in the world,” and “don’t trust institutions or systems.” Many of these sayings were given to CJ within the context of the father’s experience but were not as easily translatable to CJ’s lived experience. Additionally, CJ’s father was not around to provide support and guidance as he attempted to put these sayings into practice in his daily life.
Additional male figures in CJ’s life (e.g., coaches and his uncles) focused on teaching him traditional principles related to manhood such as personal responsibility and the use of aggression and conflict management. However, the version of maleness advocated for by these male figures offered a prescribed masculinity that did not address the experience of extreme emotions, building and maintaining positive relationships, and coping with racism and discrimination. Because these men demonstrated a consistent source of modeling for male behavior, CJ tended to follow their advice and guidance. But when challenges arose related to racism and discrimination or dealing with emotions that came with difficult situations, these male figures were unable to provide CJ with the help he needed. For example, when CJ was in the 7th grade he was falsely accused of shoplifting at a retail store. CJ was the only African American male in the store and his every step was followed by store employees. CJ’s phone vibrated in his pocket and when he reached to answer it, an employee called over the security guard and said he was trying to steal merchandise. CJ was held at the store for over two hours while the police ← 2 | 3 → investigated the accusations made by the employee. While they eventually let CJ go because there wasn’t enough proof that he had stolen something, the experience stayed with him for a long time.
CJ attempted to process the experience of being falsely accused of stealing with the male figures in his life, but it did not go very well. His football coach told him that if he “didn’t wear such baggy pants” the store employee wouldn’t have thought he was stealing anything. His uncles acknowledged that he may have been racially profiled, but stated that he should just “deal with it.” CJ learned a number of significant lessons from being falsely accused and the subsequent responses from the male figures in his life. First, he learned that as a Black male he would be judged mostly on his physical appearance and other individual’s prejudgments. Secondly, CJ learned that the experience of racism and discrimination was common place for Black males. Third, he learned that coping with the experience of racism and discrimination involved an inherent “just deal with it” attitude that assumed the recipient of racism knew what “dealing with it” meant. Lastly, CJ learned that processing his experience of racism and discrimination with other Black males was not a meaningful coping strategy that would garner support for his racialized masculinity expression. These lessons would be reinforced throughout his childhood and would significantly influence his racialized masculinity performance and expression as an emerging Black male. Another area where these learned lessons were significantly reinforced for CJ was in the school setting.
When CJ first started school, his teachers described him as a “bright child who has a hard time sitting still.” In kindergarten, CJ was able to grasp the concepts presented to the class quickly which led to him being bored in class. Combining CJ’s social nature with being under challenged contributed to CJ becoming more disruptive throughout his kindergarten year. Despite consistently high marks on his assignments, CJ’s teachers labeled him a “problem child” due to his disruptive behaviors. This label would follow him throughout his elementary school years with subsequent teachers being less and less likely to see his giftedness and more likely to hyper focus on possible disruptive behaviors. As CJ got older he would become more aware of this trend. One day he tried to vocalize this experience to one of his favorite teachers. The teacher told CJ that while they all thought he was “really smart,” he was a “headache” in class and had earned his reputation as a “bad kid.” CJ’s school experience was compounded by his father’s stints in and out of prison.
Details
- Pages
- VIII, 168
- Year
- 2018
- ISBN (ePUB)
- 9781433144899
- ISBN (PDF)
- 9781453916933
- ISBN (MOBI)
- 9781433144905
- ISBN (Hardcover)
- 9781433131714
- ISBN (Softcover)
- 9781433131707
- DOI
- 10.3726/978-1-4539-1693-3
- Language
- English
- Publication date
- 2018 (January)
- Published
- New York, Bern, Berlin, Bruxelles, Frankfurt am Main, Oxford, Wien, 2018. VIII, 168 pp.
