Who Gets to Be a Man?
- 15 hours ago
- 2 min read
Watching this footage of Nigerian performer Area Scatter from decades ago has me thinking about masculinity, belonging, and whose stories we make room for.
My own experience of being a man has felt relatively straightforward, but over the years I have become increasingly aware that this is not everyone’s experience. Across the Black diaspora, tremendous pressure can push us to conform to narrow ideas of what men should look like, how we should behave, and how we should express ourselves.
I am also reminded that conformity is not necessarily the same thing as strength. Sometimes we have to interrogate the ideas we inherit about what it means to be a Black man. Which parts of masculinity genuinely belong to us, and which parts have been imposed, rewarded, or expected of us?
In my work as a social worker, I have seen how identity, masculinity, culture, family, and faith can intersect in complicated ways, particularly when someone’s lived experience does not fit neatly within the expectations around them.
It also reminds me that healthcare cannot take a one-size-fits-all approach to men of colour. Even well-intentioned efforts to engage men can sometimes rely on an overly masculinized, “broey” model of manhood that may resonate with some while quietly excluding others.
I am exploring some of these questions in my academic work, and I want to continue approaching them with humility, recognizing that there are experiences I do not fully understand and people from whom I can learn.
As a person of faith, I keep returning to the example of Jesus: compassion, dignity, humility, and making room for people who were so often pushed to the margins.
How many stories have been silenced across Nigeria and the Black diaspora because they did not fit the narratives we were prepared to accept?
And what has that silence cost all of us?
Comments