“All Men Are Created Equal?”: Insights and Implications of Intersectional Precarious Manhood
type: CreativeWork
description: Manhood that is characterized in terms of dominant culture in the United States includes strength, power, status, affluence, and occupational success (Vandello et al., 2008). However, men who are not members of dominant culture, such as Black men in the United States, often are excluded from access to characteristics of masculinity framed by dominant culture due to potential negative consequences that can result when they perform behaviors that symbolize strength and power (Bush & Bush, 2018; Katz, 1995; Staples, 1982). Precarious Manhood Theory (PMT) is a social psychological theory that explores the social category of gender (men/manhood/masculinity) as relates to identity threat. PMT posits that manhood is rooted in the common cultural belief that boys earn their manhood through social efforts that exhibit significant power, strength, and endurance (Gilmore, 1990). However, manhood can be retracted after it is granted if a man commits a faux pas that violates socially prescribed manhood codes, such as aggression, power, and status, and must be restored through social efforts if "lost". PMT may not express itself and be received in the same way when aspects of people's identities are made salient, particularly race and gender intersections. The current research addressed this issue in ways that previous PMT research did not, through the investigation of PMT in cross-gender and cross-racial contexts, and in America's multicultural setting. Intersectionality theory guided the present research's deeper examination of PMT. Three key questions from Cole (2009)'s article, "Intersectionality in psychological research," "Who is included (and excluded)? What role does inequality play? Where are the similarities?,"framed the current research. The present research used experimental surveys to explore PMT with an intersectional lens. Study 1 is a replication of Weaver et al. (2010). In Weaver et al. (2010), participants completed a measure on internal and external attribution…
abstract: Manhood that is characterized in terms of dominant culture in the United States includes strength, power, status, affluence, and occupational success (Vandello et al., 2008). However, men who are not members of dominant culture, such as Black men in the United States, often are excluded from access to characteristics of masculinity framed by dominant culture due to potential negative consequences that can result when they perform behaviors that symbolize strength and power (Bush & Bush, 2018; Katz, 1995; Staples, 1982). Precarious Manhood Theory (PMT) is a social psychological theory that explores the social category of gender (men/manhood/masculinity) as relates to identity threat. PMT posits that manhood is rooted in the common cultural belief that boys earn their manhood through social efforts that exhibit significant power, strength, and endurance (Gilmore, 1990). However, manhood can be retracted after it is granted if a man commits a faux pas that violates socially prescribed manhood codes, such as aggression, power, and status, and must be restored through social efforts if "lost". PMT may not express itself and be received in the same way when aspects of people's identities are made salient, particularly race and gender intersections. The current research addressed this issue in ways that previous PMT research did not, through the investigation of PMT in cross-gender and cross-racial contexts, and in America's multicultural setting. Intersectionality theory guided the present research's deeper examination of PMT. Three key questions from Cole (2009)'s article, "Intersectionality in psychological research," "Who is included (and excluded)? What role does inequality play? Where are the similarities?,"framed the current research. The present research used experimental surveys to explore PMT with an intersectional lens. Study 1 is a replication of Weaver et al. (2010). In Weaver et al. (2010), participants completed a measure on internal and external attribution…
author: Thelus, Cleopatre M.
keywords: Experimental Survey Research, Gender, Hyper-Precarity, Intersectionality, Precarious Manhood Theory, Race, Psychology, Social Psychology
date published: 2022-01-01T08:00:00Z
date modified: 2026-07-24T01:39:59Z
provider: Claremont Graduate University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Claremont Graduate University