Fantasies of Black Manhood: Black Masculinities in Brenda Jackson’s Westmoreland Series
Start Date
13-4-2018 10:05 AM
End Date
13-4-2018 11:05 AM
Proposal Type
Individual Presentation
Abstract
In a world that caters to the male point of view, the majority of the stories we find in media are not only androcentric, but often negligent of women’s experiences and perspectives. Popular romance is truly one of the few communities and forms of media where the male point of view is not catered to. While the romance genre is the most profitable and least respected literary genre, romance novels have nevertheless become a safe space to explore marginalized identities. Our study focuses on the representation of black masculinities in Brenda Jackson’s Westmoreland Series, published as category romances via Harlequin. This study focuses on category romance novels, which are shorter and often more formulaic than single title romances, to explore marginalized identities within a space confined by length and format. Currently, The Westmoreland series contains thirty-one titles published between 2002 and 2015, approximately every 6th title was chosen for thematic analysis; titles with heroines who drove the primary plot were excluded. The researchers examined six titles within The Westmoreland series to investigate how hegemonic masculinity is challenged and reinforced in category romances that focus on marginalized identities.
Keywords: popular romance, black masculinity, literature, popular culture, gynocentric media
Fantasies of Black Manhood: Black Masculinities in Brenda Jackson’s Westmoreland Series
In a world that caters to the male point of view, the majority of the stories we find in media are not only androcentric, but often negligent of women’s experiences and perspectives. Popular romance is truly one of the few communities and forms of media where the male point of view is not catered to. While the romance genre is the most profitable and least respected literary genre, romance novels have nevertheless become a safe space to explore marginalized identities. Our study focuses on the representation of black masculinities in Brenda Jackson’s Westmoreland Series, published as category romances via Harlequin. This study focuses on category romance novels, which are shorter and often more formulaic than single title romances, to explore marginalized identities within a space confined by length and format. Currently, The Westmoreland series contains thirty-one titles published between 2002 and 2015, approximately every 6th title was chosen for thematic analysis; titles with heroines who drove the primary plot were excluded. The researchers examined six titles within The Westmoreland series to investigate how hegemonic masculinity is challenged and reinforced in category romances that focus on marginalized identities.
Keywords: popular romance, black masculinity, literature, popular culture, gynocentric media