Citation

Dines G. Violence Against Women 1998; 4(3): 291-307.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1998, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/1077801298004003003

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The demonization by the media of Black men as rapists and murderes has been well documented by scholars interested in film, television, and rap music. Recently, a number of researchers have turned their attention to pornography, specifically, how the codes and conventions of this genre (re)construct the Black male body, especially the penis, as dangerous and as a threat to White male power. These studies focus on the poorly produced, hard-core pornography movies that, because of their explicit imagery, are relegated to the shelves of adult-only stores. What tends to be ignored is the content of the mass-produced, mass-circulated pornography magazines that have a much larger audience. Of the three giants that dominate the mainstream pornography magazine market (Playboy, Penthouse, and Hustler), Hustler is the only one that features representations of Black masculinity. Although these representations can only be found in the humor sections, particularly the cartoons, they have much in common with those representations found in nonhumorous media forms. This article will examine how Hustler draws from past regimes of racial representation and articulates a more contemporary myth that Black masculinity, having been allowed to run amok in the post-civilrights era, has finally rendered White men impotent, both sexually and economically.

Language: en