Boys and Race

Why Chicken Means to Much to Me. Sherman Alexie.
In this short story by Sherman Alexie poetically encapsulates the frustrations and expectations created within poverty, race, and constructed views of fatherhood. Chicken, as Alexie describes, was the savior of the very thing that is possibly the worst thing about being poor. However, there were things that caused more helplessness and anger than anything, which was when poverty finally caused his father to appear weak. In the case of his dog getting heat exhaustion and become fatally sick, the family has no money to take him to the vet; Alexie's father decides he has no choice but to mercy kill the dog. Alexies reaction to his fathers decision, let alone tears, creates an anger beyond something he can describe- mostly geared towards his father's weakness. This story really points out a key moment for boys, especially ones that come from a lineage of poverty and racial discrimination. Alexie wants to badly for his parents to be strong, to not be brought down by the stigma and reality of what has happened to their people, for his father to have strength, yet it causes an anger in him that he seems to only be able to run away from.
Making a Name for Yourself: Transgressive Acts and Gender Performance: Ann Ferguson.
In Ann Ferguson's essay, she is both looking at transgressive behavior from boys, specifically in schools, and also specifically African-American males. The essay is very specific in its attention on african-american boys because she claims they are generally witnessed as rule-breakers and performers- which perhaps makes a more direct observation for Ferguson.
She discusses three major strategies that boys use to emphasize and construct their masculinity as youth, which include heterosexual power, disruptive performance, and fighting. One of the underlying themes I sensed in all these 'tactics' that Ferguson proposed was a strong sense for boys to get attention and respect from their fellow peers, and also to dis-identify themselves from the realm of femininity comp. What was most interesting to me however was how Ferguson claimed how oral performance was a way in which blacks can express masculinity and make a name for oneself, which is strange because in one sense I think it's one of the most valubale things, but I wish she would explain more how she came to this conclusion, or railed it up against the 'performance' of other races.
The Puerto Rican Dummy and the Merciful Son.
Martin Espada.
Espada is a Puerto-Rican living in Massachutes. As a poet and intellect raising his four year-old son, Espada fears for his son in his knowledge and experience in a world where racism has brought him hurtling through the hoops of anger, violence, and stifled emotions. It's a world where Espada knows that will in some way or another cause his son to experience what it means to be a Latino male. What is important about this piece of writing however is that Espada's view is not to encourage the outward anger and violence that might be felt by such events, but to encourage his anger to be channeled in the most constructive of ways. He also understands the natural inclination for boys to experiement "with power and control" reguardless of how he may be raised in a way that does not condone violence. What he sees is Latino males being stereotyped as violent, and as stereotypes cause anger and then perpetuate the cyle.

In conclusion, the effect and stigma of certain races certainly creates a specific way of acting for men and boys that can be worlds apart from other races. It is important to historically understand how races construct their genders and to understand why certain things keep perpetuating themselves because they are stereotypes.