Are Beliefs about “Being a Man” Associated with White American Men’s Self-Perceptions about Confronting Racism?

We examined the relationship between White American men’s endorsement of precarious manhood (i.e., the belief that manhood is a status that must be earned, needs to be demonstrated in public, and can be lost) and their beliefs about confronting racism targeting Black people. Three preregistered studies revealed that White men from the U.S. who scored higher on precarious manhood beliefs were less motivated to confront racism (Studies 1 & 3; Ns=398 & 447), reported they would view themselves negatively if they confronted racism (Studies 1-3), and reported more negative attitudes toward Black people in general (Study 3). Exploratory free-response data from Study 2 (N=366) showed that the more strongly White men endorsed precarious manhood, the less likely they were to report they would feel proud of themselves for confronting racism. Together, these findings suggest that White men’s precarious manhood beliefs may represent a hindrance to confronting racism.