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So. Someone is saying “Yeh you right – you Beta male AF”… 😂… Entitled to your opinion you are.
Now that we got that out the way –
ALPHA MALE –
• the dominant male animal in a particular group.
• a man tending to assume a dominant or domineering role in social or professional situations.
The key characteristic here is “dominance”. That’s it. There’s no substance to this ideal. Yet we are socialised to adopt it as an aspiration. Because no body wants to be the dominated beta male.
Yet – in the quest for “dominance”, have we neglected to define what it means to be a Man? Have we identified characteristics – without character? There’s nothing here about self mastery, cooperation, goals, standards for living, roles, function, production & purpose.
To speak of Manhood without these things is to be having a deficient conversation. Especially as Black Men. This Eurocentric idea imposed on us by White men, with the intention of making us the Beta to their Alpha. We must question whether in our quest to become “Alpha males”, we have chosen to become them – rather than ourselves.
This is mostly a distraction. I see nothing inherently wrong with the idea being a High Value Man. All men should seek to be of Value to our families & community. But that requires us to, again, define and set standards for Manhood…. And then assess our where we place our Values!
So… We Affirm Black Manhood…. Afrikan Manhood. In doing so we begin this process from the foundation of having culture & experiences that inform our understanding. We move beyond unthinkingly adopting whatever dominant values have been imposed on us. We become conscious agents of the definition, development, demonstration & defence of our own Manhood.
