Reconfiguring Masculinity in the Racialized South: A Critical Reading of To Kill A Mockingbird

Author: Tanisha Agarwal
Affiliation: University of Delhi

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Abstract:

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Masculinity is often associated as a rigid construct, characterized by dominance, physical strength, and emotional restraint. Rooted in patriarchal ideals, it has long dictated authority over both the public and private spheres, reinforcing hierarchies of gender and power. In the racially segregated American South of the 1930s, where Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is set, this hierarchy of masculinities is further complicated by race, class, and the socio-political upheavals of the era.

 

The Great Depression, one of the most unforgettable events in history, had left many white men economically disenfranchised, intensifying racial tensions as they sought to establish their identity in a rapidly transforming social landscape. It had left the American economy severely devastated, leading to massive unemployment particularly among the working class

white men whose traditional roles as providers and protectors were profoundly threatened. This economic instability did not just foster despair—it also intensified anxieties around power, status, and identity. As white men lost jobs and social standing, many responded by clinging more tightly to patriarchal and racial hierarchies, seeking to reassert dominance in other spheres, particularly over Black communities.

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Meanwhile, white supremacist groups like the Ku Klux Klan maintained a violent grip on racial hierarchies, using fear and intimidation as tools to fortify white male dominance. Their ideology, rooted in toxic masculinity and racial purity, perpetuated a violent model of manhood rooted in aggression, control, and white male supremacy. Their legacy of racial terror shaped the ways in which masculinity was understood and performed: white manhood was elevated as the standard, while Black masculinity was demonized and systematically suppressed.

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Within this volatile setting, To Kill a Mockingbird explores masculinity as both a tool of oppression and a site of vulnerability, revealing it as a fluid and contested space shaped by the structures of power and prejudice.

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Keywords: masculinity, panopticon, black manhood, hegemony, power

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ISSN 3069-8200