Black Gay Men's Blog | A Blog For Black Gay Men

Do black gay men care enough about HIV and what role should we be playing in the fight against HIV and AIDS?

chocolate muscle stud Akira Jyn brings some eye-candy to the blog

black gay men homophobia and the black church

Black Gay Men's Blog looks at homophobia in the Black Church and asks how black gay men balance their sexuality with homophobic teachings of our churches. Is it possible to lead a fulfilling life as both a christian and a black gay man?

$black gay male escort\'s true story - crystal meth addiction, bareback sex, AIDS and depression$

A retired black gay male escort tells a story of prostitution, crystal meth and alcohol addiction, anger, depression, AIDS, bareback sex and self-hatred.

black gay men and PrEP as HIV prevention

Black Gay Men and PrEp - would you take a pill to prevent you from contracting the HIV virus?

$black gay incest and sexual abuse - LaDarrell\'s story$

Black Gay Incest & Sexual Abuse: LaDarrell Speaks. Black Gay Men's Blog explores a world of incest, sexual abuse, family dysfunction and survival.

black men on the DL and HIV - Robert Wesley Branch Show

The Robert Wesley Branch Show Discusses Black Men on the DL and HIV.

Fighting Nigeria’s Anti-Gay Bill

13

Posted by Storm on December 7th, 2011

Nigeria Anti-Gay Bill - Black Gay Men Fight Homophobia

Unless you have been living under a rock, you have probably heard that Nigeria’s senate recently passed a bill, the Nigerian Same Sex Marriage Bill 2011, making gay marriage a criminal offence, punishable by 14 years in prison. The Anti-Gay Bill, as it has been dubbed also seeks to punish supporters of gay marriage and anyone who officiates or is involved in said marriage, by 10 years in prison. As if that wasn’t bad enough, anyone found guilty of operating a gay club also faces 10 years in prison, without fine. The prison sentence also extends to those ”register, operate or participate in gay…organizations.” So, technically, if Black Gay Men’s Blog were in Nigeria, we could all be locked up for a very long time. The bill still has to be passed by Nigeria’s House of Representatives and signed by President Jonathan, before it becomes law, but many believe this is inevitable. Reactions from members and supporters of the LGBT community have been swift – on Monday, a small group of gay Nigerians led a peaceful protest outside the Nigerian Embassy in New York.
Read More

Categories empowerment, homophobia, lgbt news, religion and spirituality, sexuality

Black Gay Incest & Abuse With A Twist Chez Johnson

9

Posted by Storm on December 7th, 2011

The Strange Thing About The Johnsons - black gay incest and sexual abuse

Black Gay Men’s Blog has dealt with incest and sexual abuse in the past, but I have been meaning to get your reactions to this short movie, The Strange Thing About The Johnsons. I’m sure some of you have already seen it and I meant to post it on the blog a couple of weeks ago – better late than never. I really don’t want to say too much about it, for those, who haven’t seen this 29 minute short, directed by Ari Aster. It is disturbing, on a variety of levels and reactions to The Strange Thing About The Johnsons have been strong. It is about abuse and gay incest in an affluent African-American family. Some black people were mad, because it was directed by a non-black individual, some were mad at the parents of the boy at the beginning of the movie, some were mad because we really don’t have such things in our community.
Read More

Categories abuse, entertainment, sexuality

World AIDS Day Health Show – Tonight at 8pm

0

Posted by Storm on December 1st, 2011

black gay mens' blog presents the HIV and AIDS health show on Papi Chulo Radio

Black Gay Men’s Blog and BMK (Brooklyn Men Konnect) are sponsoring the World AIDS Day Health Show, tonight at 8pm Eastern on Papi Chulo Radio. A panel of HIV activists and health care professionals get together to discuss HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention. Panelists include, Kevin (Kaoz) Moore (Out Hip Hop Artist & HIV/AIDS Activist), yours truly aka Storm, Justin B. Terry Smith (HIV Activist/Author), Tree Alexander (National Speaker on HIV) and Dr Cary English(HIV/AIDS Specialist). The panel is moderated by Papi Chulo and Amore. If you can’t catch it tonight, be sure to check out the replays every Friday in December(starting tomorrow) at 7.30pm Eastern.

Categories empowerment, hiv and aids, hiv health and wellness, lgbt news

World AIDS Day – Get Tested and Remembering

4

Posted by Storm on December 1st, 2011

World AIDS Day - black gay men get tested

As we all know, today is World AIDS Day and Black Gay Men’s Blog urges black gay and bisexual men and MSM to get tested. There is a lot of power in knowing your HIV status, it can save your life and prevent you from passing the virus on to others, in our already ravaged community. If you are nervous, call a friend and arrange to go together and support one another. There are testing centers all over the country, so there really is no excuse. If you don’t know where the closest center to you is, then you are in luck. Starting from today, to commemorate World AIDS Day, Get Tested ads, from the CDC, will be appearing on Black Gay Men’s Blog. It is a campaign targeting black gay men and MSM, so just enter your zip code and away you go!

Categories empowerment, health, hiv and aids, sex and dating

Black Gay Men’s Blog Reflects and Gives Thanks

10

Posted by Storm on November 24th, 2011

Black Gay Men's Blog says thanks at Thanksgiving

Black Gay Men’s Blog wishes a Happy Thanksgiving and Thanksgiving weekend to all who celebrate it. By the time you read this, most of you would have finished stuffing your stomachs with turkey and all the trimmings. Many would have had a litle too much to drink and had the obligatory family holiday fights. For me, Thanksgiving marks the countdown to the end of the year and is a time to take stock and give thanks. We all talk about giving thanks on this day, but even though we utter the words, very few of us are truly thankful. At least, not all the other days of the year. I tend to get a little more introspective from Thanksgiving until the end of the year, so I thought I’d share a few words with you guys.

Categories blackgaymensblog, community, empowerment

Sexuality and Identity: Does Gay Sex Make One Homosexual?

21

Posted by Storm on November 17th, 2011

The previous blog post about black gay and bisexual men seducing straight men prompted a lot discussion on Facebook and on Skype. I decided to start a separate dialog, because there was a lot of focus on whether or not a man could be considered straight if he has had gay sex. For me, the previous blog post had more to do with wanting someone, who was unattainable and lusting after straight men, who are often perceived as sexually superior, than whether or not straight men who might engage in gay sex are still heterosexual. The minute straight men are mentioned on Black Gay Men’s Blog, some of us immediately lose sight of the totality of the article and focus on whether or not straight men, who engage in gay sex can still be straight. So, I thought we could explore that here.

Personally, I do not believe that engaging in gay sex once makes a man(or woman) gay. I don’t believe sexuality is that clear cut – it all depends on the circumstances surrounding the sexual encounter. I am not suggesting homosexuality is a choice, but I think engaging in homosexual acts can be. Let me make one thing clear, I am not talking about repetitive, on-going sexual encounters or referring to those men, who might be in denial. I think that any man who has gay sex for a prolonged period of time, or has numerous male sexual partners is at the very least bisexual. Especially, if he does so when he has free access to women and the life of a loved one is not threatened. This is just my opinion and not the opinion of other contributors on Black Gay Men’s Blog. I have never claimed to be politically correct 100% of the time. Quite frankly, I prefer being thought-provoking and getting us to have some sort of dialog, than being politically-correct. I think some gay men are too quick to want to label anyone who has had homosexual sex as gay or no longer straight. Sexuality is simply not that black and white – not all sexual encounters define one’s sexuality. The label “gay” is a western concept and there are societies, in which that label doesn’t exist and others where the gender of one’s sexual partners is not as big a deal as it might be here in the USA. In those societies, “gay” is not a political statement and Black Gay Men’s Blog does have readers from all corners of the globe, so I try to look at things more broadly. We don’t have to agree, but we can respect and maybe learn from one another.

Categories sex and dating, sexuality

Black Gay Men and Seducing Straight Dudes

17

Posted by Storm on November 17th, 2011

It’s advice time again at Black Gay Men’s Blog, as Zamo, a bisexual black male, needs help seducing his straight neighbor. Gay and bisexual men lusting after straight dudes is nothing new and as long as same sex attraction exists, there will be a black gay man(or in this case, bi black male) trying to get in the pants of some heterosexual male. Why Zamo thought I would be the one to ask for advice, when it comes to the art of seducing an uninterested straight male, is beyond me, but he frantically and disturbingly emailed me 6 times in the space of 24 hours. One would have thought he was going to drop dead – if he didn’t get to wrap his lips around the penis of this straight neighbor, who had clearly lost whatever fleeting interest/curiousity he previously might have had. Seeing as he asked for “tips”, I was in no rush to respond, but I received another email from someone else in a similar situation(lusting after a straight male colleague, who had made it clear he was heterosexual and not interested). I decided, we should talk about it on Black Gay Men’s Blog, using one of Zamo’s emails as the catalyst.

Categories advice, sex and dating

Black Gay Relationships In A Facebook World

11

Posted by Storm on November 8th, 2011

black gay men - friendships and relationships in a socially challenged digital age

Black Gay Men’s Blog explores friendships, dating and relationships in this digital age of Facebook, Twitter and texting, which has left many of us socially challenged. It is quite ironic that with all the current means of communication, many black gay men have been left unable to and unwilling to communicate and socialize effectively in the real world. As the popularity of social network sites like Facebook and Twitter continue to explode, black gay friendships and relationships lose warmth and depth. Black gay and bisexual men are by no means the only ones affected by the digital age, everyone is – and it is not just “the young folks” either. However, the purpose of this article is to get us to look at what effects all the texting, tweeting and living on Facebook have on our friendships and relationships. Many black gay men(like a lot men in general) are not naturally blessed with the gift of effective communication. It is something one(hopefully) learns along the way, often as a result of failed friendships and relationships. As always, this is just my opinion and I am fully aware that the issues raised here affect other groups, not just black gay men(and we do have readers of all backgrounds and sexualities), but this blog targets black gay and bisexual men and MSM. So, feel free to substitute “black gay men” for whatever is most relevant to you or your life.

Categories community, empowerment, relationships, sex and dating

Black Gay Coming Out Story: Bisexual Dad

4

Posted by Storm on November 1st, 2011

black gay coming out story - Shon and bisexual dad

Just wanted to share another Youtube coming out story with readers of Black Gay Men’s Blog. As we all know, coming out can be quite nerve wracking and should be done whenever the individual is ready, whether that is at a younger age or later in life. One of the concerns I often hear from black gay men about coming out, is the reaction of their fathers(for those who are close to or have present fathers), which was why I found this coming out story particularly interesting. The young man, Shon, had already come out to his mom and brother, when he was 12 – and heard the common speech, it a sin, it a phase etc. So, he got scared and decided to say he was straight after that. At 14, he came out to his dad, who didn’t really seem that bothered by the news. When asked why he didn’t seem that concerned, he dad revealed that he was bisexual. They talked about it and obviously everything worked out okay. At 16, he came out again to his mom, who gave him the same speech, but she also expressed concern about him getting bullied and not having kids. Shon, obviously, an intelligent young man, explained to her that he still wanted and intended to have kids. A couple of months after that, his sister came out as a lesbian.

Categories coming out, homophobia, other videos

Halloween Chocolate Eye-Candy

4

Posted by Jay on October 31st, 2011

halloween chocolate eye-candy - sexy black men

It’s Halloween, which means it’s time for some candy – in this case, chocolate eye-candy aka sexy black men. Every now and then I show my face round here and when I do, you know it’s usually about some mindless, shameless fun. Some chocolate skin, sexy bodies, big bulges and bootylicious homies to help you celebrate this day of decadence and excessive candy. I have my favorites from this group of sexy black men, but I’ve numbered them, so you can tell me yours. Somehow, I think numbers one, seven, ten, eleven and twelve are going to be right up there. I was about to post the pics of all these hot black men on the blog and I thought why not add a video too. Hey, it’s Halloween and we just had some BS snow in NYC, so anything to brighten things up works for me. These pictures were all submitted to my Facebook page or Tumblr blog. If any of them belong to you and you have an issue with them appearing on this blog, just leave a comment below and I’ll take care of it. Although, anyone here should really be flattered…………. Happy Halloween and whatever y’all are doing out there make it fun and be safe!

Categories eye-candy, other videos

Black Gay Men, Depression & Mental Health Illness

13

Posted by Storm on October 23rd, 2011

black gay men, depression and mental health issues

For many black gay men and MSM, depression and mental health issues are as real as the color of our skins. However, it is not a discussion most of us feel comfortable having – be it in the black gay community or the black community at large. There are may factors, which contribute to the somewhat high incidences of mental health issues amongst black gay bisexual and MSM. Black Gay Men’s Blog kicks off our discussion on mental health illness with an interview/dialog with Mental Health Advocate, Author and Blogger, Malcolm Varner.

In what we hope will be the first of many discussions about depression and mental health illness, Black Gay Men’s Blog sat down with Malcolm Varner, via Skype, for a frank discussion. Malcolm was diagnosed with clinical depression, while in college and then a few years later(in grad school) with bipolar 2 disorder, which is characterized by episodes of depression and hypomania, a milder form of mania than the full on mania experienced by those with bipolar 1. We talk about the stigma of mental illness, HIV and mental health, the symptoms of depression and bipolar disorder, dating and much more. I think this is a very important and one we need to have with one another, so I urge you to watch and listen to the interview. I know it might be a bit long for some of you, so save this page and listen when you have time or just hit play and continue tweeting, facebooking or whatever you are doing.
Read More

Categories hiv and aids, mental health, other videos

Marshall Titus Discusses “I Will” Video & HIV Stigma

12

Posted by Storm on October 22nd, 2011

marshall titus discusses I Will music video and HIV Stigma

Black Gay Men’s Blog caught up with singer-songwriter, Marshall Titus, to discuss his new music video, I Will. For the last month or so, the internet has been abuzz with reactions to the ground-breaking video, “I Will”, which deals with black gay men, HIV, the trauma and stigma associated with testing positive and the journey to acceptance. The video was sent to me while I was “off” last month and when I finally watched it, last week, I knew I had to share it with the blog, but I also wanted to chat with Marshall Titus. I was very moved by the “I Will” music video and thought it deserved more attention than just posting it on the blog. I wanted to get to know the man behind the music, as they say. Luckily, the next day, I was interviewing Marshall Titus, whom I hadn’t heard of, prior to watching the “I Will” video – yes, I know, where have I been? It was supposed to be a Skype video interview, but the quality was so bad, we had to go audio, then phone. So the first couple of minutes had to be ditched – apologies. Check out the interview and I Will music video below.
Read More

Categories empowerment, entertainment, hiv and aids, other videos

Black Gay Fem Discrimination – Ur Story

0

Posted by Storm on October 22nd, 2011

Black Gay Men’s Blog would like to hear from black gay men, who are fem and have faced discrimination from other black gay men. I have received lots of emails from you guys asking us to explore this topic. We have set up a page with a form which has all the required info. We are particularly interested in those who are willing to be interviewed on camera, but welcome all your stories. If your are in the New York City area, we can also set up a video interview in Manhattan or Brooklyn. Judging by the number of emails we have received lately about this subject, we will probably be revisiting this topic every now and then. If you are an effeminate black gay male and you would like to speak out about being fem and the discrimination you face from other black gay men, please SEND IN UR DETAILS HERE.

Categories blackgaymensblog, community, empowerment, homophobia, relationships, sex and dating

Sexual Monogamy and Black Gay Relationships

17

Posted by Storm on October 17th, 2011

Black Gay Men’s Blog advice column, Ask Storm, returns with a question about sexual monogamy and relationships. Jonathan is an out and proud black gay man in a relationship, but he doesn’t believe in monogamy. He says he loves his man, but wants to have sex with other guys and would be fine if his “baby” also had sex with other men. Jonathan is able to make the distinction between sex and being emotionally attached/available, but wonders if he is wrong for feeling this way. This is a discussion I have had with a few friends and associates, so I thought we should explore it on the blog. Is there anything wrong with black gay men defining their own relationships? In a world where so many people cheat, should everyone be expected to be monogamous? If monogamy isn’t for you, shouldn’t you bring that to the table before entering into a relationship?
Read More

Categories advice, relationships, sex and dating