The Fetishization of Black Men

The power, aggression, and lust of Black masculinity

“Do you have a big dick?”

It is a question I was asked more than once by an inebriated white girl in college. It was an assumption made about me by practical strangers.

…And I usually liked it. I wasn’t exactly conscious of the fetishization of black men at the time, or at least a woman’s attention was more important to me than trying to unravel such a complex issue.

It wasn’t until years later that I looked back at those situations and realized how those girls viewed me.

I was one of very few black men at my college. Many of those girls had never even had a real conversation with a black person. I was a curiosity. I was nothing but a living caricature.

They always made it clear that I wasn’t the type of guy to take home. I wasn’t the type of guy they wanted to hang out with when the sun was out. I represented the mythology of the black man. It was a way to assuage that curiosity.

The fetishization of black people in America goes back centuries and it is still prevalent today.

This article is to spark discussion and not to judge anyone and what they enjoy. You may reflect and ask yourself questions, but that is okay. This is not an attack on anyone.

With that being said, it is usually best to start at the beginning.

Slavery

Black bodies have been fetishized since slavery. Despite being viewed as less than human, black people were sexualized. Eldridge Cleaver, a respected mind in his earlier years, argued that white men grew to envy the physical superiority of black men. Muscular bodies and bigger bodies were valued in Western society, and white men needed to find a way to change the narrative. To balance this, they separated black men from their minds. They were all muscle and basic instinct. White men may not be as physically impressive, but they had the power of critical thought.

The obsession with black men’s bodies didn’t stop there. The physical pain committed during slavery is well known. Sometimes this physical pain was a part of buck-breaking, an attempt to psychologically break rebellious slaves.

Another aspect of buck-breaking is rape. Raping slaves, even male ones, became so popular that sex farms even popped up. Unsurprisingly, homosexuality was frowned upon during this period, but raping male slaves was viewed as okay.

That is because their bodies were viewed as tools. It was just a way to receive pleasure from that tool. It wasn’t a homosexual act because slaves were not human.

The lustful black man and the pure white woman

After slavery, the Black man’s mind wasn’t suddenly returned. He was still characterized as an unintelligent creature that only craved the most basic desires. This is probably best displayed in 1915’s Birth of a Nation. In the film, a black man portrayed by a white man in blackface is a monstrous, sex-crazed villain seeking to taint the purity of a white woman.

This is the same movie in which the Ku Klux Klan is portrayed as a heroic organization. This idea is still used to justify racist acts. We have to protect White women.

Ironically, the sexual nature that is thrust upon Black men is sometimes found desirable by white women. The myth of the Black penis is still prevalent today.

A good stereotype

A stereotype is an oversimplified belief about a group of people. It is usually negative, but not always. Some people lean into the stereotypes even if they are a bit dehumanizing.

I’ve spoken to a few black men about their thoughts on the myth. They all felt the same. They don’t necessarily want to be stereotyped, but they confessed to benefitting from the big penis myth. Some of them even implied that they were glad it existed.

Blackness in the world of porn

If you want to see the black penis myth play out, you need to look no further than pornography. There are plenty of popular fetishes, but some of the most popular involving black men still stem from old racism and stereotypes.

Again, I will never judge what anyone enjoys, but titles and names like Black Bucks, Black Beasts, and Mandingo stem from racism and hatred. Black Bucks not only dehumanizes Black men but calls back to slavery. Black Beast once again has the black man being more animal than human. Mandingo comes from a name the British called the Mandinka tribe. They made up a large portion of the slaves in America and the name likely stems from this knowledge.

Interestingly, in a relatively small survey, Black porn stars were asked if porn was racist. They all initially said that it was not racist. One star that had been working in the genre for almost ten years said he would have argued that it was racist ten years ago, but felt that the industry had improved.

The surveyor asked a few follow-up questions about IR (Interracial Rates). In porn, white women are paid more for having sex with black men. It is a popular genre, specifically the cuckold, which in this case, is where a white man watches, or is forced to watch, a black man have sex with his white wife.

Despite the popularity, white women are still paid extra for these scenes. It is because the Black men are still seen as dirty and animalistic. These white men are sacrificing their pure bodies by being with Black men.

I can’t remember the source, but years ago I heard a white woman say that her father was okay with her being in porn, but he was upset that she slept with a black man. This woman should not be shamed for her profession, but it does say something about the father’s hatred and the way many White men view Black men’s bodies.

Embracing the stereotype in music

As time progressed, I would argue that Black men worked toward reclaiming their sexuality in the mainstream. Artists like Teddy Pendergrass and Barry White are examples of this. They often talk about being soft and sensuous lovers, opposing the buck stereotype.

In Can’t Get Enough of Your Love, Babe, White sings, “Girl, all I know / Is every time you’re near / I feel the change, huh / Somethin’ moves / I scream your name.”-source

In the 80s and 90s, this image was replaced by the “gangsta.” Much of the credit should be given to the NWA, a revolutionary rap act that changed the course of Hip Hop and even Black movies.

Music changed from being about providing pleasure and love to the old buck stereotype, aggressive sex centered on the man’s gratification. It was nothing more than an animalistic craving. It is probably not a coincidence that this is also when Hip Hop truly started to become commodified by White people.

Any more sensual sexual acts were described as “soft”. Many Black women desired this more sexually aggressive buck they saw all over their television screens. Many boys that could mimic that life, or even better, actually live that life were often rewarded by popularity in their small bubbles.

There were still some diverse images of Black masculinity in the media, but many were pushed to the periphery. Mainstream Black music is a little more varied again, but the attributes of the Black Buck are still prevalent and often considered idealistic Black masculinity, not just by Black people but by the White people that consume their material. -source

Bullets in Black bodies

One of America’s favorite past times is watching the torture and death of black people. It is often difficult to find a successful movie with a primarily Black cast that doesn’t involve slavery, living in poverty, or violent racism. This is why a film like Black Panther was such a big deal.

Yet, a few movies didn’t change the violent thirst of the consumers. This brutal need often spills into reality. Police shootings are discussed ad nauseam on the news. Murders are passed across the internet leaving nothing to the imagination.

After Philando Castile’s murder, I never felt the need to watch another, but I would argue some people crave it. I’ve seen students discuss a shooting as if it were just a scene from a new movie.

Nevertheless, the easiest place to find Black death presented as entertainment is in the Drill Rap scene. The rappers in the genre often discuss actual murders and often die at a very young age. Their music and their lives blur into a deadly cycle commodified for a largely white audience.

Young Dolph, a drill rapper, died a couple of years ago. I still remember walking into class and hearing many of my white students talking about his death. There was no sympathy in their voices. They laughed and made jokes at his expense.

Later, one student asked me did I ever “get caught lacking” like Young Dolph. These are rich students that live in the suburbs. They only know these terms from the music to which they listen.

What they were essentially asking their Black teacher is if I had ever been caught in the hood with my guard down and no gun. I tried to explain to them that a real person had died, but they just laughed it off.

It was just a black body. It was meant for their entertainment.

No consent needed

The assumption is Black men are strong. They are fighters. They crave sex over everything else. For many people, this means their consent is not needed during physical acts. I mentioned how girls often asked me about my penis and how I enjoyed some of the attention.

I didn’t mention how they would cross the lines physically without consent or ignore me when I said no as if I couldn’t actually mean it. If they did accept the no, they would lash out and make assumptions about my sexuality. I couldn’t be a masculine Black man and refuse sex.

The Black penis is an instrument of power, aggression, lust, and possibly violence. It is never submissive. It is never the victim. Terry Crews is the best example of this mentality.

In 2017, Terry Crews said that a powerful Hollywood Executive grabbed him by the penis. He was sexually assaulted. Many people supported him, but many others laughed at him. There was no way this strong, Black man could be assaulted. DL Hughley, a Black comedian, said about the situation, “God gave you muscles so you can say no.”-source

Ironically, Black men may be the biggest supporters of the stereotypes pushed onto them.

Conclusion

I don’t see the way society views Black men changing any time soon. Not only do many White people. find it entertaining or arousing, many Black men enjoy the benefits of the stereotype, even if it dehumanizes them.

To be clear, even the men that embrace the stereotype have lines they don’t want to be crossed. Many of them will hide their discomfort to perform America’s vision of Black masculinity. In the end, I just want people to remember one thing. No matter their own desires, remember that Black men are human too.

I encourage you to reflect and share your thoughts on this topic. I will be writing a separate article about the fetishization of Black women. If you are interested, consider subscribing. If you have pointers or resources related to the topic, please feel free to share.