“I had to question why this society continues to be so fixated on making black men the sexual “animals” of this culture. This society has always conceptualized black males in demeaning physical terms – the stud with unlimited sexual prowess, for example – and so much so that many of these young men seem to have internalized a warped sense of their own humanity.”

I read an interesting article this morning by Rhonda Sherrod, an assistant professor of psychology at Alabama A&M University. I was instantly reminded of Hung: A Meditation on the Measure of Black Men in America, a book I’d read a couple of years ago.

It’s a thought-provoking piece in which the author, Scott Poulson-Bryant, talks honestly and tells secrets about the black phallus and its massive impact on America. The title alone is brilliant: ‘hung’ is a double entendre, referring not only to the black man’s penis, but also the fact that, as Poulson-Bryant put it, “once upon a time we were hung from trees for being well hung.”

After reading Hung, I picked up on not-so-subtle attempts to describe black people as nothing more than sex objects. My mom told me about a former female coworker of hers (who happens to be white) and her boyfriend (also white) who told her that the black waitress at a restaurant they were dining in was “beautiful” and then added that “black women were made for sex”. Not only is that disrespectful to an entire race of women, but to mention it in the presence of his girlfriend is even more so.

I’m also reminded of a Rolling Stones song by the name of “Some Girls” that reports “black girls just wanna get fucked all night, I just don’t have that much jam.”

Is this really what the world thinks of black females?

We can’t forget black males.

The Mandingo image being perpetuated in pop culture certainly doesn’t help. Ever been to a Mandingo party?

Back in the day, there was a site, halfhonk.com and I’m not sure if the owner came up with this or not, but I remember it being mentioned that “it’s a one of a kind thing, it’s a halfhonk…and remember girls, he’s black where it counts.”

I refuse to believe that that is all it means to be a black man — having a big, black penis.

I, myself, am a young, virile, black male, but I am not a walking phallic symbol whose only thoughts resonate sexual urges and tendencies and I refuse to be reduced to being a black man solely because of what hangs between my legs.

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1. Men and Boys
2. This Woman’s Work