CONSTRUCTING GENDER - AN EXPLORATION OF AFRO-AMERICAN MENS CONCEPTUALIZATION OF MANHOOD

This article explores the meanings of manhood as articulated by Afro-American men (N = 32). Conceptualization and Q-sort methods are used to examine (1) men's construction of manhood and (2) men's ratings of the importance of selected attributes to being a man. Manhood emerged as a multidimensional construct with four major domains (self-determinism and accountability, family, pride, and spirituality and humanism) and 15 distinct clusters of ideas. The cluster of attributes rated as most important to being a man paralleled the conceptualization of manhood derived from the open-ended interviews for both professional and nonprofessional men. Men's ratings of attributes in the areas of ownership, manliness, spiritual and religious, and power varied by, occupational status.