Black Gay Men’s Blog looks at the way we react, when faced with blatant homophobia, in the midst of members of the black community. It is one thing to voice our opinions online, on blogs and social network sites, but how do we REALLY behave when homophobia stares us in the face. As black gay men, do we care if the homophobic abuse is directed at other black gay men? What about when we are faced with homophobia directed towards white gay men, by one of our own – do we react or say nothing? When faced with homophobia from members of the black community, is it more important for black gay men to appear to be straight/in cahoots, at the expense of our self-esteem, or should we stand up and say something? As they say on the New York City subway, if you see something, say something – does this apply to black gay men, when dealing with homophobic members of the black community?
What brought this all on was a trip on the G train(nyc subway) last Monday. I was heading to the Boerum Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn and I got on the G train at Bedford-Nostrand, minding my own business, as most New Yorkers do. I noticed a somewhat attractive brother and we did the black man acknowledgement, “I see you” nod thing. Before we even got to the next stop, I noticed he was getting increasingly agitated, his body language was all tense and weird and he was visibly shaking. I looked towards the direction he was facing and saw that he was staring at a gay couple – white. The brother became increasingly agitated and his body language became quite intimidating, to the extent that I decided to move a few seats over. At this point, he had ceased being attractive, in my eyes. I knew some madness was about to happen and I didn’t wish to be tarred with the same brush, because he kept looking at me, like I was supposed to join in the intimidation. He hadn’t said anything to the gay couple at this point, just grunting and staring, but let’s be honest, some of us(black men) know how to intimidate without saying a word. Especially, when it comes to white folks (yeah I said it, what?). Some of us have mastered the art of putting the fear of God in them, when it suits us. We know they often see us as aggressive and sometimes, we play on it. This was one of those times, so I moved, I wasn’t going to sit there and be part of the let’s make white gay men terrified brigade. Read More
Like Follow and Subscribe