Are Beliefs About "Being a Man" Associated With White Men's Self-Perceptions About Confronting Racism?

• Published in: Psychology of men & masculinity 2024-07, Vol.25 (3), p.317-332
• Main Authors: Simon, Stefanie, Reiman, Anna-Kaisa
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Beliefs; Black People; Black white relations; Endorsements; Human; Human Males; Insecure; Male; Manhood; Masculinity; Men; Perceptions; Racism; Self-Perception; White People
• ISSN: 1524-9220; 1939-151X
• DOI: 10.1037/men0000469

We examined the relationship between White American men's endorsement of precarious manhood (i.e., the belief that manhood is a status that must be earned, needs to be demonstrated in public, and can be lost) and their beliefs about confronting racism targeting Black people. Three preregistered studies revealed that White men from the United States who scored higher on precarious manhood beliefs were less motivated to confront racism (Studies 1 and 3; Ns = 398 and 447), reported they would view themselves negatively if they confronted racism (Studies 1-3), and reported more negative attitudes toward Black people in general (Study 3). Exploratory free-response data from Study 2 (N = 366) showed that the more strongly White men endorsed precarious manhood, the less likely they were to report they would feel proud of themselves for confronting racism. Together, these findings suggest that White men's precarious manhood beliefs may represent a hindrance to confronting racism. Public Significance Statement Across three studies, we find that White American men who endorse precarious manhood (i.e., believe that manhood must be earned and can be lost) are less motivated to confront racism and report that they would view themselves negatively if they confronted racism. Precarious manhood may prevent some White men from becoming allies.