A man among other men : the crisis of Black masculinity in racial capitalism

A Man among Other Men examines competing constructions of modern manhood in the West African metropolis of Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire. Engaging the histories, representational repertoires, and performative identities of men in Abidjan and across the Black Atlantic, Jordanna Matlon shows how French colonial legacies and media tropes of Blackness act as powerful axes, rooting masculine identity and value within labor, consumerism, and commodification. Through a broad chronological and transatlantic scope that culminates in a deep ethnography of the livelihoods and lifestyles of men in Abidjan's informal economy, Matlon demonstrates how men's subjectivities are formed in dialectical tension by and through hegemonic ideologies of race and patriarchy. A Man among Other Men provides a theoretically innovative, historically grounded, and empirically rich account of Black masculinity that illuminates the sustained power of imaginaries even as capitalism affords a deficit of material opportunities. Revealed is a story of Black abjection set against the anticipation of male privilege, a story of the long crisis of Black masculinity in racial capitalism. This book examines competing constructions of modern manhood in the West African metropolis of Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire. Engaging the histories, representational repertoires, and performative identities of men in Abidjan and across the Black Atlantic, the book shows how French colonial legacies and media tropes of Blackness act as powerful axes, rooting masculine identity and value within labor, consumerism, and commodification. Through a broad chronological and transatlantic scope that culminates in a deep ethnography of the livelihoods and lifestyles of men in Abidjan's informal economy, the book demonstrates how men's subjectivities are formed in dialectical tension by and through hegemonic ideologies of race and patriarchy. The book provides a historically grounded and empirically rich account of Black masculinity that illuminates the sustained power of imaginaries even as capitalism affords a deficit of material opportunities. Revealed is a story of Black abjection set against the anticipation of male privilege, a story of the long crisis of Black masculinity in racial capitalism. This title examines competing constructions of modern manhood in the West African metropolis of Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire. Engaging the histories, representational repertoires, and performative identities of men in Abidjan and across the Black Atlantic, Jordanna Matlon shows how French colonial legacies and media tropes of Blackness act as powerful axes, rooting masculine identity and value within labour, consumerism, and commodification. Through a broad chronological and transatlantic scope that culminates in a deep ethnography of the livelihoods and lifestyles of men in Abidjan's informal economy, Matlon demonstrates how men's subjectivities are formed in dialectical tension by and through hegemonic ideologies of race and patriarchy A Man Among other Men Contents Acknowledgments Introduction: Greatness in Each Man Part I THEORIZING BLACK MASCULINITY IN RACIAL CAPITALISM 1. Tropes of Black Masculinity 2. The Evolution of the Wage Labor Ideal 3. Producer, Consumer, Commodity, Surplus Part II BETWEEN PLACE AND IMAGINARIES 4. Imaginaries of Negation 5. Acculturation as Evolution 6. Imaginaries of Affirmation 7. La crise Part III IMAGINARIES IN A CRISIS ABIDJAN 8. Citoyens and citadins 9. Political Imaginaries 10. VIP Imaginaries 11. The Visual Terrain of Blackness Conclusion: With Every Grace and Cuff Link Postscript: Reflections on Intersections/Infrastructure Notes References Index "This book examines constructions of masculinity among men in the informal economy of Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire. It demonstrates how French colonial legacies and global media representations of Blackness anchor identity and value within labor, consumerism, and commodification" -- Provided by publisher