Rewind: The Great Down-Low Debate, Village Voice Circa 2001
Nope. We still can’t get past the almost comic arrogance in which ABC Network dismissed GLAAD’s demands for a correction on the statements made by D.L. Hughly and Sherri Sherpherd on The View when they both attributed the high HIV infection of black women to bisexual “down low” black men.
And we’re left wondering if that is that—no more discussion or concern to be had. We certainly hope that’s not the case. But we feel bad for GLAAD. They can’t do this on their own. They need the assistance and visible support of black institutions such as the NAACP and other black community organizations—particularly those who work in the black community providing HIV/AIDS related services. You’d think by now especially after the way ABC showed up in response, for some of these black orgs and agencies would speak up.
We don’t know what’s worse: ABC’s arrogance or the chicken shit head-in- the-sand ways of black folks when they’re desperately needed to stand up to their own in the public light on matters of critical truth.
Tragic. Just tragic.
We came across this fascinating article written in 2001 that more or less demonstrates why the “down low” phenomenon became such an ingrained part of the belief system of blacks in regard to black male bisexuality. The article is as sensationalistic as they come; interviews with bi-black men braggin’ about how they occasionally creep out in the dark on their women for some hot man love.
But fortunately there’s more to the article than that. It also contains some respectable examinations on how black male sexuality became so jacked up in the last 40 years in terms of masculinity and identity. When we were reading and came across a quotes by bell Hooks and Cleo Manago we knew we’d found something worth reposting. Now remember, this article was published nine years, ago. And yet at least to us, it seems to relevant right now. So without further adieu:
The Great Down-Low Debate
A New Black Sexual Identity May Be an Incubator for AIDS
By Kai Wright Tuesday, Jun 5 2001
Richard Pryor used to do a bit where he joked about his experiences “fucking the faggot.” He wasn’t declaring himself gay, far from it, and no one listening assumed as much. He was just admitting that he could get off by screwing another guy. Pryor made his living parading life’s dirty little secrets onstage. In this case, the fact that a lot of black men “get with dudes,” as we now say when being circumspect.
That was 1971, before identity came to America’s bedrooms. While some black folks have since assumed our place in the gay rainbow, many have rejected sexual identity in favor of keeping Pryor’s secret undercover. In a much discussed 2000 U.S. Centers for Disease Control survey, a quarter of black men who acknowledged that they have had sex with other men identified themselves as heterosexual, compared to around 6 percent of their white counterparts.
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Tags: African American community, African American LGBT, marriage equality
Community | Derrick Mathis July 17, 2010
2 Comments to “Rewind: The Great Down-Low Debate, Village Voice Circa 2001”
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By Cleo Manago, July 20, 2010 @ 11:56 am
This article represents how limited the Black voice is, and how White biased (which explicitly buying into gay identity is) it has to be to appear in a mainstream media context. This piece is written by a defensive gay-biased Black “journalist” (Sidney Brinkley is another) who present themselves as neutral reporters, when in fact they are spreading their opinion under the guise of journalism. I had and have never met this guy. It was a phone interview. I remember being quite calm, yet matter of fact during the conversation. Yet, whenever he refers to my voice he prefaced it with terms like he “rails,” and to be dismissive he contextualizes my work as “peddling” something. This is ironic because the purpose of the article was to peddle and re-imply that gay identity is some healthy, self-actualized, positive location for Black homosexuals to ascend too. When, in fact, gay identity has helped to set Black homosexual men up for unparalleled levels of HIV infection. Tragically and ironically, this nine year old article attempts to privilege gay identity as the way to go, and classifies anything outside of it as "[repackaged] closet casing." This in internalized oppression on steroids.
What this thinking reveals is how successful the White homosexual gay movement has been at brain-washing, disorienting and derailing the cultural consciousness and focus of legions of same-gender-loving (SGL) brothers. Tragic, and deadly.
By Cleo Manago, July 20, 2010 @ 12:31 pm
A more contextualized version of the same thought (for clarity. couldn't delete first version).
This article is an example of how limited the Black voice is in America, and how White biased (which explicitly buying into gay identity politics is) it has to be to “make it” into a mainstream media context. There’s a reason why perspectives like mine are often distorted and sometimes unrecognizable (edited) before the public ever sees them. This piece is written by an “acceptable” (to White media) gay-biased Black “journalist” (Sidney Brinkley is another) who presents themselves as neutral reporter. When, in fact, they are spreading their opinion under the guise of journalism. I had and have never met this guy. It was a phone interview. I remember being quite calm, yet matter of fact during the conversation. Yet, whenever he refers to my voice he prefaces it with terms like he “rails,” and to be dismissive he contextualizes my views as “peddling” something. This is ironic because the purpose of the article was to peddle and re-imply that gay identity is some healthy, self-actualized, progressive location for Black homosexuals to ascend too. When, in fact, gay identity has helped to set Black homosexual and bisexual men up for identity disorientation, barriers to HIV services, thus unparalleled levels of HIV infection.
Tragically and ironically, this nine year old article attempts to privilege gay identity as the way to go, and classifies anything outside of it as "[repackaged] closet casing." This in internalized oppression and Whiteness on steroids.
What this writer’s thinking reveals is how successful the White homosexual gay movement has been at brain-washing, disorienting and derailing the cultural consciousness, focus and behavior of legions of same-gender-loving (SGL) brothers. Tragic, and deadly.