Boyz n the Hood Response

After watching Boyz N the Hood, I noticed that the film depicted both masculinity and femininity in a number of different ways. For the most part, the movie revolves around the plight of black men in 1990s South Central LA, with the women not receiving nearly as much focus throughout the movie. As an aside, I'd like to point out that many of the depictions of gendered and racial behaviors in the movie ring true to a certain extent, but I feel they are also heavily colored by the time period focused on and are also a bit exaggerated, which makes drawing clear-cut conclusions based on the content of the movie alone difficult (and likely a bad idea, in my opinion). That's just something to note.

Masculinity was a central theme of the movie- with both good and bad traits being portrayed. As far as good traits go, Tre's father teaching him the principles of responsibility and independence are portrayed in a very positive light. These are traits that most people value and that a wide variety of people from different backgrounds can identify with. On the "bad" side, male aggression is shown to be the root of the cycle of violence that keeps the South Los Angeles community down. Violence, aggression and revenge are all traits exhibited by the gang members and also by Tre's friend, Doughboy. Although Doughboy eventually comes to realize the problems that aggression brings in the end, he still adds to the problem through his own violent and vengeful actions. I have heard in the past that within low income, financially depressed communities like South LA, gang life and the dangers associated with it can lead to the development of a culture of heightened masculinity- a culture that affects both men and women. Within such a culture, the need for men to live up to the expectations of "hardness" and "toughness" discussed in Don Sabo's article "Doing time, Doing Masculinity" increases. I believe that a drive to assert one's manhood combined with the effects of a culture of heightened masculinity both lead to the high violence level in South Central. Despite all of this, as discussed earlier, positive representations of masculinity still exist in the movie. Tre and his father represent the male "outsiders within", with his father taking responsibility for his son and Tre going on to get a college-level education.

Although many of the women depicted in the film appear to be very stereotypical both gender-wise and racially, several women- including Tre's mother, Reva, and girlfriend, Brandi- act uniquely, which sets them apart. Generally, the women in the movie are treated in a degrading manner by men- called obscene names and sexually objectified. A few of them protested to a degree and questioned their degradation, but these objections were never met with much respect by men. Reva, while pursuing her education, broke past the stereotypes and asserted herself when she was being blown off by Furious. Brandi also resists giving in to Tre's demands and refuses to have sex before she is ready. As "outsiders within", Brandi and Reva both exhibit characteristics that oppose common negative stereotypes of black women living in low-income neighborhoods.