Hung

I've sometimes wondered where the image of the black man as the possessor of a preternaturally large phallus entered American folklore. In the back of my mind I've half-speculated that it was part of the image of blacks as brutes. A picture used to justify slavery.

I've known a few black men who resented the typecasting. Probably there are others who have profited by it in finding people to sleep with.

There's a new book exploring the pop culture mythography of African-American male sexuality: Hung : A Meditation on the Measure of Black Men in America

When did we begin to buy into the belief that African American men are hugely, powerfully, and sexually endowed, and why do we continue to believe? Pop-culture journalist and author, Scott Poulson-Bryant, answers these questions and many others.

In his new book entitled Hung: A Meditation on the Measure of Black Men in America (Doubleday), Mr. Poulson-Bryant exposes the sociological, psychological and historical reasons this idea has lasted through the years. The book uncovers and reaches under the covers to spotlight our obsession with the African American males sexuality and penis size.

Going back to slavery and the civil rights movement to Hollywood's blaxploitation of sex, Mr. Poulson-Bryant illustrates America's fixation through interviews, personal experiences and historical illustrations.

A New Book Entitled Hung Dispels the Myth About Sexual Prowess in African American Males