"Dissed: Male Violence and the Language of Identity Formation"

Traditions, Institutions & Bush…isms

Languages, Voices, Symbols & Appropriation

Communicates coded & encoded:

• Messages• Permissions• Conscious Social Praxis

In regards to:Gender

Masculinity or Maleness

Identity

Sex

Age – Privilege

– Entitlement

– Power

– Class

– Position

– Responsibility

– Other?

Race, Class, World – 1st 2nd & 3rd

Not = non & language of “exclusion” (Jackbooting & Bootstapping)

The Bro-Code or learning the language of the Streets

It Will come to this!

Mine is Bigger then yours!

The “Civilisation / Maleness” Project

"Tradition has it that whenever a group of people has tasted the lovely fruits of wealth, security and prestige it begins to find it more comfortable to believe in the obvious lie and accept that it alone is entitled to privilege." Steve BIKO

“Dissed” Urban Dictionary• Dissing someone is showing disrespect to them.

Yo, back off. Don't dis' my peeps.

• The act of putting someone down with words.

Yo, she just dissed you out!

• To disrespect: to make such an awesome and clever comeback that it renders the person whom you disrespected speechless.

• For one to get rejected, played, or turned down.

• Dissed and Dismissed

Man Alice just dumped my ass. For the 10th time! ohh, dissed and disMISSED!

A Colonial Heritage of being Dissed

Dis

- empower

- inherit - poses

- respect- trust

- ingenuous

- aggregate

- miss

Engaging the Challenges?

• Generative Mechanisms• Significant Others• Authentic Relationships• Feedback & ‘Speak Up’• Reflective Listening• Re-evaluation Therapy• Natural Consequences• Unconditional Love• Touch• No Dysfunctional Rescue

Emasculated

Betrayed

Disempowered

Embattled

Oppressed

Depressed

The ‘modern male’ suffering from resentment, bitterness, and a perceived victimization?

Obama helps people of mixed race find identity.

Mixed Identities?

• Ascribed

• Political

• Chosen / Self / Identification

• Racism & Identity Formation

Multiple Social Identities, Stereotypes, Beliefs & Expectations, Engender

Dis – alienation & the Liberator Present (Fanon)

“…So as a prelude whites must be made to realise that they are only human, not superior. Same with Blacks. They must be made to realise that they are also human, not inferior.“

Biko As quoted in the Boston Globe, 25 October 1977.

Malcolm X and The Black Middle Class

Here are a few observations about the thinking of the black middle class:

• Homophobia and anti-gay attitudes are pervasive

• Affirmative action policies, though it helped many ascend to middle class status, are no longer needed

• Black politicians are needed to protect the economic status of the black middle class, not to speak about social justice

• Black liberals have no focus and can no longer speak for the burgeoning black middle class

• Intra racism has long been the standard among blacks of different shades of blackness

• Academic underachievement is the result of the black home, not institutional problems such as racism

• Poverty is a problem that should be addressed by local communities and not the federal government via taxes and welfare

Malcolm X and The Black Middle ClassEdward Carson, Blog The ProfessorMay 20, 2009