Stereotypes of black men as studs and rapists persist in popular culture. Fighting racism is therefore also about fighting dominant images of men and masculinity, such as racist fantasies of black sexuality which are oppressive to women and men alike. Racism informs our images and treatment of women. These and other minority women are subject to sexualised racial harassment and public intrusions. Race, power, theory THE recognition of differences and divisions among men complicates and unsettles our analyses of men's power.
Gendered power is intersected by race power and class power.
Men of colour and from NESB backgrounds are clearly not the beneficiaries of patriarchal capitalism in the same way as other men. On the other hand, in focusing only on diversity, we run the risk of losing sight of men's power as a gender. The acknowledgement of race and ethnicity also unsettles earlier feminist analyses and strategies to do with the labour market, families and violence. Pettman describes for example the complex political issues surrounding violence in Aboriginal communities. Naming Aboriginal men's violence may reinforce racist images, and seeking the protection of the state is problematic especially for Aboriginal women - state intrusion in their communities is chronic already, and imprisonment is dangerous.