Customer Reviews

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

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Scott Poulson-Bryant is a bright young artist with heady credentials and a true gift for creative thinking and well-crafted writing skills. He joins the growing ranks of young African American strong writers such as E.L. Ayala, E. Lynn Harris, Keith Boykin, J.L. King, Caesar Brunswick, Christopher David, and Stanley Bennett Clay who not only address issues heretofore considered taboo in the Black community, but succeed not only as brave new voices but also as gifted, important writers.

HUNG: A MEDITATION ON THE MEASURE OF BLACK MEN IN AMERICA starts out with a terrific cover, promises revelation of secrets everyone wants to know, addresses his reader with pertinent facts, and then progresses to relax and offer a rather personalized memoir of his experiences as a black man in America, a man who knows the myths and the realities about phallic secrets, and shares his own insights as well as those of gentlemanly unnamed confidents from whom he gathers his facts.

Along the way Poulson-Bryant not only discusses phallus size, but he also explores the mystique of black men who model for books (Mapplethorpe is a frequent reference point), the porn industry, the world of athletes (yes, naming names), the rap world, and the executive world. But he doesn't limit his meditation to experiences interviewing men: Poulson-Bryant wisely includes women in his foray of questioning the importance of size as a feature of desirability vs. myth vs. disadvantage. It is a well-rounded book and one that never lets the interest lag.

But what one comes away with from this book is an appreciation of the exceptional style of writing of Scott Poulson-Bryant. He is a writer of charm, of humor, of wit, and of intelligence. This reader would like to see how he performs in the field of fiction: in reportage he is up there with the best! Grady Harp, October 06

Is it a myth that Black men are more hung than White men? Do White men possess "penis envy" because of what is purported to be a myth? In the grand scheme of things, does size really matter? And if it does, whom does it matter to most? Author Scott Poulson-Bryant discusses these and other questions concerning Black male sexuality in HUNG: A Meditation on the Measure of Black Men in America. Amusing and sometimes chatty, this book delves heavily into the discussion about why people are so caught up in the size of the male penis. Men, White and Black alike, sometimes subconsciously use the penis size as a measuring point for their own sexuality. White men, the author reports, sometimes develop an envious nature when it comes to Black men because of their fixation on the "hungature" a Black man has. He traces this back to the slavery era when Black men were hung because of the perceived sexual threat to White women as White men saw it.

Some Black men, to a certain degree, use penis size to measure their own success. From the childhood games that little boys play to the locker rooms they share as adults, Black men are checking each other out to see how they measure up. And yes, men do check each other out. Mr. Poulson-Bryant even relates a humorous story where a Black male didn't get any respect until his comrades discovered he was well endowed. The author also covers how women relate to this issue as well. Surprisingly enough, this matter also causes quite a stir in the gay community.

The author provides an entertaining as well as interesting dialogue on the fixation America seems to have on phallic size. He provides this discussion through engaging accounts of his true-life experiences and those of people he has interviewed. He relates many stories about penis size as well as the idiosyncrasies encountered by various races and the stereotypical presumptions shared in the entertainment industry because of it. Unfortunately, it is nearly all stories. There is just a smidgen of history on the subject as he covers a multitude of areas where this discussion has reared its head (pun intended). His sources are almost all friends or acquaintances and a few celebrities, some of whom are gay and many of whom have been given other names to protect their identity. At times I wondered if this was really about the Black man's legendary member size or Scott Poulson-Bryant. Whatever the intent, this discourse, I'm sure, will inspire some very interesting debates on the subject.

Reviewed by Brenda M. Lisbon
(...)

Hung is an intelligent and fearless examination of the ways that the centuries-old sexual stereotypes about African American men have and continue to shape Black men's self-image today. I have used this book in the classroom (at the college level), and it always sparks a lively and productive discussion on the ways that objectification can and does effect specific populations of men.

The prose is lucid and highly readable, but never dumbed-down or simplistic. Poulson-Bryant has an interesting mind, and his candor about his and the lives of other Black men in his age group and beyond as refreshing as it is revealing.

I would just like to add that the misunderstanding of shallow minded men is of size. I can say....there are Black men with less than '4, and other races with more than '8. I just wish men would be honest about it. Come on, wouldn't a man like to know if a woman has been around, and has no walls at all? Color has nothing to do with size!

In the 1960s, before the boom of hard-core pornography, there was a big market for soft-core. Sell The Sizzle, Not The Steak! was the mantra of soft-core. HUNG is all sizzle and no steak. The author is a very talented writer, but he seems to be gagging on his own politics. In the world of Scott Poulson-Bryant, if you don't like black men you are a racist. If you do like black men you are a racist (or at best an eracist) since you only like them because they are black. And that damned if you do, damned if you don't way of thinking seems to permeate much of his writing. He even delves into what I call the Politics of Perception: if a black man takes photographs of black men, it's art. If a white man takes photographs of black men, it's exploitation (or as the author puts it, a cultural violation). It's all about the black and the white. Grey does not exist in the world of Scott Poulson-Bryant, but I guess that is life on the Color Line.

Lili Von Shtupp: Tell me, schatze, is it twue what they say about the way you people are... gifted?
[sound of zipper opening]
Lili Von Shtupp: Oh, it's twue. It's twue. It's twue, it's twue!
- from Mel Brooks' "Blazing Saddles" (1974)

OK, so Brooks' script played into the myth about black men and that's what Scott Poulson-Bryant explores that somewhat combination of myth and truth in "Hung," a book that is insightful, provocative, direct, and frequently amusing, divided into chapters that explore how a black man's sexuality is categorized in American society.

The chapters are:
1) "Measuring Up"
2) "Strange Fruit, or History Repeating"
3) "Look but Don't Touch"
4) "The Long and Short of It"
5) "Green with Envy"
6) "Size Matters"
7) "How's it Hanging in Hollywood?" (my favorite)
8) "Shaft, Mandingo, and Other Assorted Superstars" (my second favorite)
9) "That's the Way the Balls Bounce"
10) "Don't Peek/Just Looking"
11) "Pass the Remote" (a look at the porn industry and its racial baises
12) "South Beach: A Fantasia"
13) "New Directions: Hip Hop Hooray" (expose' on hip-hop music and its "swaggering" male artists
14) "The Big Finish

Poulson-Bryant doesn't answer all the questions but he provides some food for thought in a manner that is both entertaining and thought-provoking.

"Hung" was released sometime in 2005 and written by Scott-Poluson Bryant, a founding editor of Vibe magazine. This book is one of the very few books about black male sexuality in the African-American book market. "Hung" discusses the basics of black male sexuality and America's love/hate relationship with the black penis (even though he doesn't expose all aspects of this relationship).

The author opens this book with a letter to Emmett Till (a 14-year-old black boy who was brutally murdered in 1955 for making a "sexual pass" at a white woman) and a formal introduction about the author, from the author. In this book, the author discusses a sexual experience he's had back in college, how some men "hang" differently from others, the old "locker room" tales and rap songs that make references to big (black) penises. He goes on to discuss America's outrage amid "The Trial of the Century" (which is The O.J. Simpson trial), as well as how America views the black male athlete (such as Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Mike Tyson). He deconstructs movies such as "Shaft", "The Godfather", "Boogie Nights", "Good Fences", "The Full Monty", "Mandingo", "He Got Game", which either closets or exposes the black man's sexuality. He discusses how Hollywood perceives black male sexuality, discussing how white America feels about Will Smith, Denzel Washington, etc... My favorite chapter in this book is "Pass The Remote", which is the chapter about black male sexuality in the porn industry, where he interviews interracial porn-king Lexington Steele. Towards the end, he discusses how rap music perpetuates black male sexuality and how some rap artists ooze with sex appeal, from L.L. Cool J. to Big Daddy Kane. Finally, he exposes brothers on the DL on a whole new level.

Overall, Scott cracks down on the stereotype about black men with big penises and that some black men buy into the stereotype for power issues and whatever else. Although he points out that penis size isn't everything and that even though not all black men are "well-endowed", some people still desire the phallacy of the black man. Because of this, he consistently asks "Is it the size, or the color?" He ends this book simply by saying (in other words) that black men need to start thinking about packing heat on Wall Street instead of packing heat for the public's fascination.

Although the book is very enlightening, nothing new is really discussed here. A year after this book was published, Todd Wooten's "White Men Can't Hump (As Good As Black Men)" was published, which is a much better read! However, I must say that "Hung" is recommended (just not highly)!

There isn't anything to say really about this book. I knew after reading a couple of pages what this book was about. It was an interesting topic but not a lot of anything in it. Just to let folk know something.... every black man is not packing and the saying size doesn't matter is a big fat lie to protect the smaller sized men that need their ego's babied a little bit. However sex isn't everything. It won't get you what really matters in life anyway. I wouldn't rush to get this book though.

The title `Hung: A Meditation on the Measure of Black Men in America,' is an informative book. It is quite interesting to hear a man speak so candidly about a topic that most men discuss amongst themselves. A lot of readers had bought this book because of the cover and the title and ended up being disappointed, mostly because they felt it was overly written, using words and anecdotes that are not a part of everyday writing, which lead them wondering what Scott Poulson Bryant was talking about. After reading these feed-backs I said to myself is everyone that hung up over sex novels that when a book about a real issue that our black men are facing comes out that none can get passed the cover? I am glad that Scott wrote this book because he tackles a sensitive issue that has a lot people pondering about how the black men measure up.

Scott Poulson Bryant is an intelligent man who has done a tremendous amount of research and he is proud to let you know that his homework has not been in vain because there is not a single person or topic that he will shy away from. He seems to be obsessed with all of the confines of the male penis and he tells all. Sometimes he goes a bit far and it appears that it sounds like a good ole gossip round-up. He boldly shares his own personal experiences and examines the media and its profiles of men from Richard Roundtree in "Shaft" to rapper/actor LL Cool J to porn star Lexington Steele, one of the industry's official "Big Ten" Club--to show how black men have been envied, chased, revered and scorned because of their assumed physical endowment. It's a stark look at our men and the social and economic consequences they suffer because of it.

The discussion in this book is not the only thing I found intriguing but also the page numbers representing the male anatomy was pretty clever and the unexpected visual surprise between two certain pages might hold your attention. I have to admit I was a bit confused on what type of person could write such a book and after carefully reading his work; I have discovered that Scott is a dormant man with heterosexual tendencies. He certainly is not bisexual but he is aroused by sex whether the partnership is male or female.

Scott Poulson Bryant has provided a well-written and thought provoking book that shouldn't be over looked.

This book is very well written and most African American males will be able to relate to the many funny stories, witticism, and just plain sad events found within it. I have recommened it to my male friends and to my three sons. Well worth the price.