Looking for Leroy: Illegible Black Masculinities

Abstract

In Looking for Leroy: Illegible Black Masculinities, the author explores how African American masculinity is constructed and contested through media representations, particularly focusing on figures who defy traditional stereotypes of black manhood. Building upon previous work in New Black Man (2006), this study introduces the concepts of "legible" and "illegible" masculinities to analyze how certain individuals subvert normative scripts of heteronormative black masculinity. The book argues that media figures like Leroy Johnson from Fame (1980) embody an "illegibility" that challenges conventional understandings of gender performance, even when their queerness remains unacknowledged or obscured by mainstream narratives. Through close readings of various cultural texts—ranging from television shows and music videos to interviews and song lyrics—the author examines how these figures offer alternative models for interpreting masculinity. By focusing on artists such as Jay-Z, R. Kelly, and Luther Vandross, the study reveals how their performances resist or complicate dominant representations of black manhood, thereby contributing to a more nuanced understanding of gender identity within African American culture.

(The abstract and keywords were prepared retrospectively for indexing purposes using AI-assisted tools and editorial review, based on the original article. They did not appear in the original publication.)