Hung: A Meditation on the Measure of Black Men in America

Following in the footsteps of such bestselling, taboo-breaking books as Randall Kennedys Nigger and J. L. Kings On the Down Low, Hung brings a topic previously discussed only in intimate settings out into the open. In a brilliant, multilayered look at the pervasive belief that African American men are prodigiously endowed, Scott Poulson-Bryant interweaves his own experiences as a black man in America with witty analyses of how black male sexuality is expressed in books, film, television, sports, and pornography.

“Hung” is a double entendre, referring not only to penis size but to the fact that black men were once literally hung from trees, often for their perceived sexual prowess and the supposed risk it posed to white women. As a poignant reminder, he begins his book with a letter to Emmett Till, the teenager who was lynched in Mississippi in the mid-1950s for whistling at a white woman.

For Poulson-Bryant and other men of his generation, societys deep-seated obsession with the sexual powers of black men has had an enormous, if often deceptive, influence on how they perceive themselves and on the assumptions made by others. His tales of his sexual encounters with both sexes, along with anecdotes about the lives of various friends and colleagues, are wryly and at times shockingly revealing. Enduring racial perceptions have shaped popular culture as well, and Poulson-Bryant offers a thorough, thought-provoking look at media-created images of the “Well-Hung Black Male.” He deftly deconstructs movies like Mandingo and Shaft, articles in the popular press, and edgy works like Robert Mapplethorpes Black Book, while also providing distinctive profiles of icons like porn star Lexington Steele and rapper L.L. Cool J.

A scintillating mixture of memoir and cultural commentary, Hung is the first and only book to take on phallic fixation and uncover what lies below. Readers may be scandalized, but theyll also have plenty to ponder about Americas views on how black men measure up.

"'For a lot of men, how you hang has a lot to do with who you hang with, where you hang, and sometimes, how long you hang once you get there,' writes Poulson-Bryant, founding editor of Vibe and co-author of What's your Hi-Fi IQ?, in his new book, a libidinous hybrid of cultural commentary and personal anecdotes. The pervasive belief that African American men are prodigiously endowed presents a conundrum for the contemporary black male, who is simultaneously drawn to- and repelled by- this notion. In the book's opening pages, Poulson-Bryant admits that, as an African American man, he should be 'hung like a horse,' but he's not, nor does he want to be. 'I think of black-man dick and I think that once upon a time we were hung from trees for being, well, hung.' Today, Poulson-Bryant says, black men risk being viewed as little more than an engorged sex organ. Take 'Simon' for example, a successful athlete who refuses to take showers at the gym and changes clothes with a towel wrapped around him, because he would rather be a star on the basketball court than in the locker room. For those seeking an academic approach, Poulson-Bryant's 'meditation' on the 'measure of black men in America' may not measure-up, as much of the research is internet-based or culled from anecdotal narratives provided by largely unnamed acquaintances. Still, Poulson-Bryant's assertion that black men 'need to start thinking like the Big Swinging Dicks on Wall Street instead of acting like the Big Swinging Dicks of the public's fascination' has the kind of thrust and vigor necessarily to stimulate dialogue on this topic." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

In a brilliant, multilayered look at the pervasive belief that African-American men are prodigiously endowed, Poulson-Bryant interweaves his own experiences as a black man in America with witty analyses of how black male sexuality is expressed in books, film, television, sports, and pornography.

SCOTT POULSON-BRYANT was a founding editor of the premiere urban magazine Vibe. Before the launch of Vibe, he worked at Spin, where his groundbreaking column “Dream America” made him the first African American columnist of a major music monthly. He is the coauthor of Whats Your Hi-Fi IQ? and has written articles and reviews for Rolling Stone, The Village Voice, The New York Times, The Source, Essence, New York magazine, and Londons The Guardian and The Face. He is currently senior editor of the quarterly fashion/lifestyle magazine America, and resides in New York City and Miami, Florida.