Keyonne Session

Survry of African-American Theater

Professor Shaw
What Makes ME Masculine: A Journey Into the Theory of Black
Masculinity
Throughout theater, black males have been perceived as
uneducated, vicious, or as general stereotypes of what a black male
should or do act like. It becomes very difficult for black males to play
roles that they typically would not play in the eyes of society. The
question that haunts me though is, what defines a black male role a
black male role? What defines a black male within a play, and how
does one portray a black male in theater? A deeper question though,
that I would like to examine, is what defines a black male as a black
male and what is black masculinity? Masculinity according to MerriamWebster is relating to, or suited to men or boys1, yet this definition
varies from race to race. If one were to Google image the term, they
would find primarily white individuals who were muscular, and playing
sports. Though if you were to Google white masculinity, the images
that appear are white males in business attire, taking on professional
jobs. On the contrary, when Googling black masculinity, the individual
is shown photos of black males with guns, pants below their waist,
rappers, and images that would portray a stereotypical black male in
1 Masculine." Merriam-Webster.com. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 11
Dec. 2014. <http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/masculine

society, the same roles that black males are portraying within theater.
This paper analyzes a prominent black play by Suzan-Lorie Parks
entitled Topdog/Underdog, where brothers Lincoln (Topdog) and Booth
(Underdog) go throughout their daily lives as black males. This play
tackles the idea of masculinity what it means to each of these
characters. This paper will look at masculinity through the lenses of:
family, women, and measures of success. I will critically analyze the
ways in which both of these characters portray their own manhood, but
also attack one anothers idea of manhood. The end of this paper will
then analyze the final scene of the play in which the Underdog kills the
Topdog, trying to find the symbolism within this action.
Booth and Lincoln are both brothers who live together in a modern day
society. Both of their parents left them at a young age, when then both
brothers split ways. Lincoln currently works as an Abraham Lincoln
impersonator, dying every night in the reenactment of Abraham
Lincolns death. Lincoln is required to where whiteface due to him
being black in order to help portray an accurate depiction of Abraham
Lincoln. Lincoln is the sole financial provider of him and his brother due
to his constant paycheck, yet Booth, Lincolns brother, uses Lincolns
paycheck as freely as he pleases. Though Lincolns job is tedious, and
he must tolerate some mistreatment by his employers, Lincoln
perseveres through his job to be a successful individual. Prior to this

job, Lincoln was a successful 3-card Monte player until the death of
one of his close friends persuaded him to move away from the
business. Despite the youngers bombast, Lincoln earns the salary
they share and, more importantly for this relationship, he has the skill
to run a successful three-card monte hustle.2 When Lincoln realized
that the lifestyle of a hustler was risky, he made the decision to change
his exciting life as a card hustler to the boring security of his current
life as a workingman, pretending to be somebody who he is not. The
way, in which Lincoln lives his life, can be seen as being a successful
black male in society, having the ability to earning a salary in order to
provide fro his family. Though a question that I propose is, is giving up
ones identity worth it in order to earn a salary? Lincoln states that
[They say the clothes make the man. All day long I wear that getup.
But that dont make me who I am. Old black coat not even real old just
fake old. Dont make me into no Lincoln. I was Lincoln on my own
before any of that.3 This indicates that Lincoln understands his
identity as an individual, but a wonder is if he understands his identity
from a societal viewpoint? One may say that Lincoln is giving up any
2 Patrick Maley. "What Is and What Aint: Topdog/Underdog and the
American Hustle." Modern Drama 56.2 (2013): 186-205. Project MUSE.
Web. 9 Nov. 2014. <http://muse.jhu.edu/>.
3 Parks, Suzan-Lori. Topdog/underdog. New York: Theatre
Communications Group, 2001. Print.

form of masculinity by subjecting himself to whiteface, a reverse

method of blackface, that whites performed in, which is a form of
subordination of blacks. The fact that Lincoln is willing to change his
identity, makes his brother see him as less of a man. Booth states
you play Honest Abe. You aint going back but you going all the way
back. Back to way back then when folks was slaves and shit.4 Booth is
convinced that Lincoln is a sellout, pretending to be something hes
not, subjecting himself to slavery. It is difficult for Lincoln to grasp a
societal view of manhood because, society say that a man should
provide for his family, yet when Lincoln does provide for his family, he
does it in a way that makes it seem as if hes losing his identity,
virtually making him less masculine.
Booth, the underdog in this play, finds himself earning money via his 3card monte scheme. Following in his older brothers old footsteps,
Booth earns all of his money by scamming people on the streets with a
classic card trick and also by stealing items. The house that both of the
brothers live in is Booths, so Lincoln is required to pay rent to Booth.
Because of this system that is in place, Booth assumes a more
dominating role within the household, making it seems as if Booth is
the Topdog within the family. The way in which Booth talks to Lincoln in

4 &ibid

terms of rent paying, seems as if Lincoln is less masculine in this

situation, giving Booth the upper hand within the house. Though
Lincoln is the primary money earner, we see Booth speaking down to
Lincoln: Every Friday you come home with yr paycheck. Today is
Thursday and I tell you brother, its a long way from Friday to Friday. All
kinds of things can happen. All kinds of bad feelings can surface and
erupt while yr little brother waits for you to bring in yr share.

The

way that both characters prioritize money, show the difference in how
they also value money and what money indicates to them. With Booth
not having a steady job, one may see him as less masculine because of
a non-formal way of earning an income, though in this play he is seen
as having the upper hand within the household, making it seem as if
he is more masculine. This dichotomy between the two characters
makes it difficult for the idea of masculinity to be truly defined through
the lens of money. Both characters have different takes on the value of
money, yet they both display masculine characteristics, yet one
thinks they are more masculine than the other. What changes the idea
of masculinity in the middle of this play though is when Lincoln rejoins
the lifestyle of the three-card monte scheme once again and plays
against his brother. When a wager of $500 is put up, you see Lincoln
5 Parks, Suzan-Lori. Topdog/underdog. New York: Theatre
Communications Group, 2001. Print.

never cedes the position of top dog to his brother; he only fills his mark
with the false confidence necessary for an effective hustle.6 The a way
in which Lincoln has created a world in which he maintains his Topdog
status, showing that his masculinity is greater than his brother Booth.
But one may argue that a man is truthful and would not defy his own
family, possibly reducing the masculinity of his character.
A way in which masculinity is also challenged within this play is with
the idea of women and sex. Analyzing both characters, you begin to
see the way in which each character values the idea of sex and how
they treat women. Before Lincoln moved into the house with Booth, he
was previously married to a woman named Cookie, until they ended
their marriage because of parties cheating on each other. When
Lincoln refers to Cookie, you feel a sense of remorse for his actions,
showing that he understands the errors of his ways. Though he
understands the errors of his ways, does this mean that his masculinity
is tainted or not? Is he less masculine because he feels remorse for his
actions or because of the fact that he cheated, or is he more of a man
because he did on a woman? Though he cheated on his wife, Cookie
was also a perpetrator in cheating on her husband, cheating on him
with Booth. Booth constantly mocks Lincoln, bragging about the sexual
6 Patrick Maley. "What Is and What Aint: Topdog/Underdog and the
American Hustle." Modern Drama 56.2 (2013): 186-205. Project MUSE.
Web. 9 Nov. 2014. <http://muse.jhu.edu/>.

interactions he has had with Lincolns ex-wife. Booth further couples

sexual prowess and topdog status when he tells Lincoln that he and his
(real or imagined) girlfriend Grace have sex Dogstyle. . . . In front of a
mirror (41). In all of his fantasies, Booth is literally the topdog.

By

Booth making himself seem manlier by expressing his sexual

interactions with Lincolns wife, would that also equate to Booth being
more masculine? Does one increase their masculinity by subordinating
another individual? Another way in which booth abuses his idea of
masculinity is by the way in which he treats women. The role of Grace
within this play enacts much of his self-crafted identity; he says that
she likes his new name better, that he dominates her sexually, and
ultimately that he murders her for disrespecting him.8 The role of
Grace within this show is not as a spouse, but as a sexual figure that
Booth believes he can exploit. In comparison to his brother, Booth
seems women as objects whose only goal is to advance the sexual
fantasies of himself. When Grace confronts Booth about reality and her
role as an individual, Booth kills her, thus removing the possibility of

7 Michael LeMahieu. "The Theater of Hustle and the Hustle of Theater:

Play, Player, and Played in Suzan-Lori Parks's Topdog/Underdog."
African American Review 45.1 (2012): 33-47. Project MUSE. Web. 9
Nov. 2014. <http://muse.jhu.edu/>.
8 Patrick Maley. "What Is and What Aint: Topdog/Underdog and the
American Hustle." Modern Drama 56.2 (2013): 186-205. Project MUSE.
Web. 9 Nov. 2014. <http://muse.jhu.edu/>.

replacing his symbolic sex life with an actual one. Grace apparently
paid with her life for trying to force Booth to face reality. "Who the fuck
she think she is," asks Booth, "{t}elling me I don't got nothing going
on"

Booths masculine agenda is based on his idea that sexual

fantasies are a primary characteristic of masculinity. To add onto this

theory of Booth classifying sexuality as a primary factor of masculinity ,
Lincoln also reveals to the audience that he found "like 100" such
magazines, along with more biological evidence of Booth's proclivity
for masturbation, under the younger brother's bed (49).10 This
example shows the way in which sex and sexual pleasure plays such a
large role in Booths life. He masturbates quite frequently, has an
abundance of pornography, emphasizing the role of sex in his life.
The last scene of this play is where the idea of masculinity is
challenged. Booth, the underdog of the play, puts a gun to the back of
Lincolns head and kills him. The ending of this play creates a complex
world, which then raises the question of; what is black masculinity
defined as? We see Lincoln as a character who has a lifestyle that is
built around the idea of creating a life by having a steady job and
raising money for his family. Though we see the positives of Lincoln,

9 Dietrick, John. "Making it "Real": Money and Mimesis in Suzan-Lori

Parks's "Topdog/Underdog"." American Drama 16.1 (2007): 47-74.
ProQuest. Web. 9 Nov. 2014.
10 &ibid

we cannot forget the negatives of his characters in terms of him

messing with the idea of his identity to have a job and him cheating on
his wife. With one interpretation of the end of this play, one may see
this as Booth ending the life of what he seems as false masculinity.
Because Lincoln in Booths eyes is seen as less masculine, this take on
the ending is seen as fake masculinity ending, and promoting and
asserting his dominance as a male. This also poses the question of
does killing and taking the life of one individual increase the
masculinity of another person? All of Booth's actions are driven by his
extensive insecurities, because he is the younger brother. He does not
have a real job nor does he have the ability to con people as good as
his brother. Because of this inferiority complex towards Lincoln, Booth
is caught between trying to impress his brother by shoplifting fancy
clothes or by bragging to him by reminding Lincoln that he slept with
Lincoln's wife. With the ending of Lincolns life, these insecurities that
Booth has been subjected too are no longer present. Another
interpretation of the ending of this play is seen as false masculinity
destroying the idea of what masculinity truly mean. As expressed
earlier, Booth has always been jealous of Lincoln. The ending of
Lincolns life can be seen as Booth accepting the fact that he will never
be as masculine as his brother, thus having to end his brothers life in
order to try and prove his masculinity to his brother. Throughout the

play, Lincoln is seen as he traditional role of the husband and father.

He leaves the house to work every day and spends his time in the
apartment on a recliner - that great symbol of masculine domestic
leisure.11 This can be seen as a very masculine role for one to
embody. Playing the two male roles in the family, it leaves only female
roles for Booth to play within the context of this play. This can be seen
as demeaning to Booths manhood, creating a greater riff within their
relationship. Though the question that is to still be unanswered is,
what is black masculinity? Both of the characters in this play show
masculinity through their own lens, but which of them have the correct
lens? When thinking of the idea of black masculinity and examining
these two characters, it is very easy to say which of them in your
opinion is right and which is wrong, but society has already
constructed their idea of what black masculinity is. Lincoln and Booth
show depictions of what black masculinity has the ability to be, but
they are not the definition of what it has to be. There is no definition of
what black masculinity is and how it is portrayed; yet society has
developed a stereotypical view of how it should be portrayed within
theater.
This paper has taken a critical view of what masculinity is in society
and examined it from a black male point of view. In society, when
11 &ibid

thinking of masculinity instead of thinking of male traits as a whole, we

give distinct characteristics based on stereotypes to different races. To
think of black masculinity in society, is to think of stereotypes that we
associate with black males. How does one actually portray black
masculinity in theater? To do so is to take ones race and not display
them as an individual but as what we want them to be in our minds;
but what we are accustomed too.

Work Cited
Dietrick, John. "Making it "Real": Money and Mimesis in Suzan-Lori
Parks's "Topdog/Underdog"." American Drama 16.1 (2007): 47-74.
ProQuest. Web. 9 Nov. 2014.
Maley, Patrick. "What Is and What Aint: Topdog/Underdog and the
American Hustle." Modern Drama 56.2 (2013): 186-205. Project MUSE.
Web. 9 Nov. 2014. <http://muse.jhu.edu/>.
LeMahieu, Michael. "The Theater of Hustle and the Hustle of Theater:
Play, Player, and Played in Suzan-Lori Parks's Topdog/Underdog."
African American Review 45.1 (2012): 33-47. Project MUSE. Web. 9
Nov. 2014. <http://muse.jhu.edu/>.