It is often forgotten that the very same Moynihan report that promoted the idea that black men had been “unmanned” by black women urged black men to enter military service. Moynihan called war an “utterly masculine world,” and it was in this world of killing that he imagined black men would develop personal confidence and pride. … Given the strains of the disorganized and matrifocal family life in which so many Negro youths come of age, the armed forces are a dramatic and desperately needed change: a world away from woman, a world run by strong men of unquestioned authority.

bell hooks, Ain't I a Woman_ Black Wome…, loc. 306