Break it Down: Homophobia in Hip-Hop [Excerpt From the July/August 2011 Issue]
The hypermacho world of hip-hop is notoriously homophobic. But as times change, so does rap. XXL takes a look at the issues. Straight up…
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When it comes to homophobia, hip-hop doesn’t have the best track record. “Faggot” and other anti-gay slurs have been used as generic insults on wax throughout the genre’s history. In the mid-1990s, Wendy Williams sent a shiver through the industry by threatening, daily, to out the then-unimaginable “gay rapper” on her radio show on New York’s Hot 97. Strong female rappers have been automatically branded lesbians out of a need to marginalize their voices. Girl-on-girl action began showing up in videos at a certain point, but only as an objectifying peep show. (What exactly about M.O.P.’s “Ante Up” would inspire two women to make out?)
However, recent events suggest a more complicated picture. In fact, while violence, misogyny and materialism may be with hip-hop for a long time, there are signs that the culture’s attitude toward gays may be changing.
It started, one could argue, in the late 1990s, when Puffy and Jay-Z immersed themselves in the world of fashion. It’s hard to run in those circles with any deep-seated prejudice against gays, even if the stereotype of the nattily dressed gay man is itself a harmful one. (It’s worth noting, though, that even as Jay was running Rocawear and rubbing shoulders with the fabulous at fashion shows, in 2001’s “Takeover,” he hit both targets hard, calling out Nas as “the fag model for Karl Kani/Esco ads.”) In 2001, Eminem, so famous for his homophobic lyrical content, took the stage with the famously gay Elton John at the Grammy Awards—the two held hands at the end of their performance of “Stan.” By 2009, when Lil Wayne and Baby were photographed kissing on the mouth, after a collective Internet giggle, fans forgot about it and moved on. Wayne later rhymed about it, taunting anyone so uptight to think this made him gay, but he was also, apparently, not particularly worried about blurring those boundaries.
In June 2010, Em told the New York Times that he supported gay marriage. “I think if two people love each other, then what the hell? I think that everyone should have the chance to be equally miserable, if they want.” When Hot 97’s Mr. Cee was arrested this past April for engaging in oral sex in a parked car with self-proclaimed “drag queen” Lawrence Campbell, a.k.a. Brooke-Lynn Pink Lady, hardcore vets like Prodigy and 50 Cent spoke out in his defense. “I’ll make him my DJ any day,” Fif told Hot 97’s Miss Info. Cee’s reputation, and the role he has played in the careers of icons like Big Daddy Kane and The Notorious B.I.G., seemingly outweighs any concerns about his sexual preferences. Cee pleaded guilty on June 1; five days later he was spinning for 50,000 rap fans at the 18th annual Summer Jam, and made light of the incident by dropping both Shawnna’s “Gettin’ Some” and Diana Ross’s “I’m Coming Out”—the sample for Biggie’s “Mo Money, Mo Problems,” but also a statement in itself. The crowd either didn’t notice, didn’t care or appreciated the honesty and humor.
Tyler, the Creator, the underground’s latest critical darling, has been taken to task for his over-the-top use of “faggot” in his lyrics. But he delivers those lyrics over beats spun by an openly lesbian DJ, Syd Tha Kid. Lil B, another rising Internet-age star (and a favorite of Tyler and his OFWGKTA crew), who was chosen as one of the cover subjects for XXL’s 2011 Freshman Class issue, has announced that his new album will be titled I’m Gay.
I’m Gay is the flash point for hip-hop’s new attitude toward the gay community. Since the April announcement, Lil B has received death threats and had some stereotypical thug rappers go at him—at least once on wax. But he has stuck by the title, even if no one knows exactly what it means. The Oakland, California, MC, noted for his bizarre, lo-fi style and cryptic sensibility, wants it known that he’s straight. He also wants you to know that the title is no mere publicity stunt. Lil B’s motivations, at least the ones he will admit to, get at the paradox of hip-hop’s homophobia. The language is used without thinking, but the underlying prejudice won’t go away just because the words do. “If I want to say that I’m gay, I can say whatever I want to,” Lil B insists. “Really, the word doesn’t mean anything to me but ‘happy.’ ” At the same time, he hopes that “some people that might have been homophobic and respect my music might widen their horizons and ease up, relax and say, ‘People are human.’
“You see how serious life is, and, you know, it’s time to grow up and quit being inside your head so much,” he says. “I think a lot of people are inside their head. [They’ve] just gotta really live life. And once they get away from some stuff they’ve been taught the last 100 years—what their parents taught them or whatever—they’ll be mentally free. That’s what it’s all about. You won’t have any shackles.”
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and look at Beanie Sigel’s career now!…It’s really sad because most of the rappers and people who condemn it, are the ones practicing it behind closed doors. They date and marry women for the public, I’m not saying everyone should put their business out there but COME ON!
Ok….. This is some serious FLAMETHROWER Sh*t right here!!!
First of all, Fu*ck GLAAD!
My problem with homosexuals has never been about the fact that they participate in a different type of sexuality than heterosexuals. That ish never bothered me. Because truth be told, a large percentage of WOMEN allow their men to participate in anal sex in their heterosexual relationships.
But the REAL problem I have with homosexuals and GLAAD is the way they try to attach their cause or the pain they feel from discrimination to THE BLACK MAN. Let me explain….
They’ll try to equate the brutality and persecution they experience to being a black person. And to me, that some dumb sh*t.
First, like it or not, you can hide your sexuality. You can CHOOSE to walk down the street as a person and nobody could EVER know your sexuality.
But a Black Man can’t hide his skin color. A Black Man can’t suddenly change his genetics. And THAT is the real sh*t that pisses me off. Don’t attach your struggle to someone else’s just because you want to come up. Call it what it is. Gay rights for Gay people.
And my 2nd problem with Gays is this….
What makes you gay? Is it the sexual aspect? Because I always thought that was the primary reason someone would classify themselves as gay. The attraction to the same sex. That’s gay, right?
So WTF do you call it when dudes be flaming and cross dressing and sh*t? According to the pure definition of the word “gay”, that isn’t gay. Matter of fact, that has nothing to do with webster’s definition.
So am I wrong to call you, the cross dresser, or flamingly loud idiot a f*ggot? Because if you talk to any heterosexual man, it’s not the dude that’s quietly making gay choices that annoys the ish out of him, it’s the flaming dude that pisses the heterosexual (and obviously the military) off.
Personally, I don’t care what anyone does behind closed doors. But some of yall be asking for it. And in my opinion, justifiably so….
Your an idiot… are you justifying racism if blacks act an ass in public ? is it then correct for people to throw n***er at them?
Secondly the thing that makes the black community and the gay community similar is this, people hate them for something they CANNOT control, your hating on GLAAD for using the black mans pain? there is no excuse for hatred and your only supporting it however indirectly.
Third historically the Jews have had it pretty bad, if they banded together and decided to stop racism towards them would you support their struggle?
Oh wait that’s the Illuminati
@TheGhostface….
You see…. That’s the pure example of what I’m talking about right there. Your comments. Don’t try to put black people in your desire for homosexual equality. Deal with it. Fight the gay person’s war (or society’s fear of the gay man, however you want to phrase it). But leave the Black Man out of it. IT’S COMPLETELY DIFFERENT.
While I firmly believe every person’s sexuality is determined at birth, I don’t buy into the notion that you have to advertise your sexuality on your sleeve. Nope. It is absolutely not the same as being black.
And the comment about “fagg*t”. Ok…. So gays don’t like that word. Fine. So what would you call it when a dude is all flaming and all loud, strutting around like an idiot. It’s obviously NOT BEING GAY. Yet that behavior is extremely prevalent in the gay community. It’s obviously NOT BEING HOMOSEXUAL. So what would you call it? Ok….. for the sake of this conversation I’ll just call them “Fu*kin jerks”. Is that better for you? That term is equally offensive but if it will allow you to sleep better at night, I’ll use that. Cause like it or not, that behavior has absolutely nothing to do with being gay (per the dictionary).
And about your “ni**er” comment. I don’t know what society calls them. But yeah, I’ll call them the same thing A Tribe Called Quest calls them, “Sucka Ni**as”. Because they’re clowns and bringing bad press to themselves as well as the black race in general.
There is a similarity between the plight of black people and gay people. To say that there aren’t any similarities between the two struggles is a ridiculous assertion to make. I’ll explain why:
Interracial marriage was illegal up until 1967. Marriage entitles both parties to rights they wouldn’t otherwise have such as access to your partner’s social security if he dies.
The fight for the right to marry someone of a different race was fought against a backdrop of prejudice and out right hate informed by fear of the unknown and of course a misinterpretation of the Bible which was perpetuated in allot of cases not by just white people but black people too.
Aside from the legal status, if you were seen to be dating a white woman or vise versa you were shunned and persecuted. Look at what happened Mildred Jeter and Richard Loving and how they were persecuted and the lengths they had to go to attain the rights that we take so much for granted. Given, it isn’t as bad for gay people now, homophobia is far more insidious in today’s culture, nevertheless, it’s still very prevalent.
Just imagine the feeling of not being able to hold you girls hand because he’s white in public for fear of being persecuted and perhaps you’d have some insight into why there are similarities in the two struggles.
“So what would you call it when a dude is all flaming and all loud, strutting around like an idiot.”
That’s your perception which is stacked with allot of hate. Just because someone acts differently to widely, and frankly ignorant, held social conventions does not mean they are a flaming idiot. They’re just different. Accept it and move on. In case you didn’t realize that sentiment is Hip Hop personified; rebelling against social convention.
I’m not gay but I identify with their struggle because I am a black man. Yes there are differences of course but parallels can be drawn and you’d truly have to be an idiot not to realize that suppressing the rights of a minority for the sake of appeasing a largely ignorant majority is exactly what black people have had to deal with in regards specifically to love, let alone marriage as I demonstrated with Loving v Virginia.
Now the tide is turning with gay marriage. On a state level a domino effect is taking place. I real zeitgeist shift. More than anyone we should be on the side of a minority fighting for equality, not just in terms of legal recognition but in terms of a cultural acceptance.
Duce
@GoGoMicFiend
Your point is taken. But the fact still remains…. Just because there are similarities doesn’t make it the same plight. Black share some of the same persecution as Jews. Do you see us trying to compare it to the holocaust? Do you see the NAACP dick ridin’ on the backs of what the Jews experienced? Nope.
Being gay is not the same as being Black. IT ABSOLUTELY IS NOT!!!
Want to defend homosexual rights? Do that! But keep BLACK PEOPLE OUT OF YOUR CONVERSATION!
Am I saying that gay people don’t get treated badly? No. Hell yeah they get discriminated on. But deal with that issue on it’s individual merit. Don’t drag Black people into that fight because we haven’t experienced the same thing. Not even close.
You use interracial marriage in your argument also….
Dude, do me a favor…. Defend Gay rights for Gay people. But don’t try to build similarities between two different arguments to justify your position. To me, that’s a cop out because you can articulate reasons to support your argument.
That’s my whole point with GLAAD. Stop bring us black folks into your argument. Fight for your gay people without using our storied history to support your argument. We are not the same.
Sha,
While I feel your passion I think you are a little misguided in your response. First, your argument totally ignores the fact that a number of Gays, Lesbians, Bi-sexual, Transgender, Cross Dressers, gender benders are black. For many, it is not only a challange to hide the color of their skin, it is exceedingly dissicult for them to conceal their gender bending this resistance to the ridgid binaries that suggests that boys aren’t effiminate or that girls don’t engage in rough and tumble play.
Many experience discomfort not because it challanges thier own sexuality but because it’s so different from what their taught are acceptable behaviors. I abhor the idea that cross dressers and effiminate boys or massculinized girls should be tucked away from view no more that it would and does bother me when folk suggest that black men who can’t articualte themselves in ways that are socially acceptable (using appropriate english) ways or those folk of color who dress in ways that bend the social norms (baggy pants with the ass hanging out) should be hidden away. The parrellel there is remarkable when you think about it but again I see these as self expressions or simple forms of resistance to the so called ‘norm’. Should it be ok for those that don;t understand the self expression of some blacks to use derrogatory words or actions to keep these folk in check?
I appreciate your statement that you dont get it which means that there is hope-hope that you can explore those things that you don;t get to get a better understanding and appreciation for why difference exists. In the end, I think that we all want to be not just tolerated but respected in the communities where we live…
FYI I’m Black and I’m Gay-Hi you doin?
@mc….
First, let’s deal with something right now. No one is saying homosexuals aren’t treated badly. I do feel badly for any of God’s creatures that are mistreated based on a different belief. It’s wrong. It’s uncalled for. It’s stupid. Besides, the whole point of the bible, if you ask me, is that we all have individual control over our souls. Judgement Day is an individual thing, so no man should judge another.
But…..
With that being said, let me tell GLAAD once again to fu*k off!
GLAAD has made a tremendous issue of trying to connect The Black Man’s struggle to their Gay Rights cause. It’s totally wrong to utilize a race or class of people for your own personal gain.
And to further clarify my statements…..
I have the same feelings about REV. AL SHARPTON & JESSE JACKSON. Sure, they gave some things to the cause. But the only REAL time you hear from them is when there’s an opportunity to do some heavy self-promotion (don’t even get me started with Jesse being caught on Fox news calling Obama the “N” word).
So with me, it’s not that I want to hold my “Blackness” so close to my heart that nothing can touch it. I could easily pull the same example from numerous people belonging to different causes.
GLAAD are a bunch of leaches. Sure, they’ve done some good. But trying to attach your cause to a different struggle for political and monetary gain is foul.
Now with you, you’re Black AND Gay. That’s some tough ish to try to overcome. No one is trying to minimize your struggles. But just because you possess duality in your sufferings from other people’s stupidity, doesn’t mean that you get a pass on trying to weave those two issues into one. Hell no. They are different.
What if I went to the doctor and complained about pain in my leg and the doctor turned around and gave me a root canal? That would be pretty stupid, huh? Just because I have pain doesn’t mean that the pain is connected. It’s not. Sure, it’s in the same body. But treating it the same as the other might kill me.
Bottom line….. Fight your gay fight. Fight for gay rights. But stand on your own merit. Black people aren’t political weapons to be used to push your agenda.
And by the way, I’M HETEROSEXUAL. I’m cool, my brother.
“the thing that makes the black community and the gay community similar is this, people hate them for something they CANNOT control”
^ hate?
I haven’t seen gays whipped and chained, hung from trees, crosses burned in front of their homes, forced to use different toilets and drinking faucets, forced to ride the back of buses, forced to work demeaning jobs, had hydrantss and hoses turned on them when they parade or protest, had their men killed or incarcerated or their women raped because of their sexuality. Black people were done like that because of the hatred towards their race.
Some gays getting beat up or slandered is not equal to the plight of the African American, no matter how you try to spin it, it is a foolish debate to attempt.
I also don’t think that it is equal to the plight of African-Americans and what they’ve had to endure, but I think that you underestimate just how homophobic some areas of society truly are. I’m not gay, and I am black, but I feel for them, because I hear stories about them being murdered, tortured, and other violent things done to them. I heard about a group of guys that made me sick. They stuck a disabled, gay man inside his own house, locked the door, stole his keys, and set fire to the place, and he died of severe burns.
So just consider things such as this when making broad statements, but I’m going to have to agree with you that it’s not the same.
“I haven’t seen gays whipped and chained, hung from trees, crosses burned in front of their homes, forced to use different toilets and drinking faucets, forced to ride the back of buses, forced to work demeaning jobs.”
Actually, many of them have experienced such things. Hate groups that focused on exploiting African American’s also attacked and did many of the same things to other minorities and homosexuals.
“What makes you gay? Is it the sexual aspect? Because I always thought that was the primary reason someone would classify themselves as gay. The attraction to the same sex. That’s gay, right? So WTF do you call it when dudes be flaming and cross dressing and sh*t? According to the pure definition of the word “gay”, that isn’t gay. Matter of fact, that has nothing to do with webster’s definition.”
There are always people that make certain groups look bad in the public’s view. Pointing out flamboyant, excessively loud people out as your issue to gays would be like me pointing out thug inner-city blacks as someone’s issue of blacks. Judge the individual, not the group. Also, I would have to ask why these people piss you off, as it seems that all they are doing is challenging the western conceptualizations of masculinity.
Did you ever see me type hatred towards gays? I stated more than once…the gay plight for equality IS NOT the same as the Black plight for equality. This statement entails no hatred whatsoever. And no I don’t like the throwing around of sexuality, the same way I don’t like the excessive gangsta. I don’t care for excessive behavior, period.
I’ve emailed this thread to some of the homies and went to an event this weekend and we had a long discussion with some other homies about this thread. They feel the same way, although there IS discrimination present, it’s not the same plight. I KNOW there have been incidents, but it’s not of the same magnitude.
Did I need to notate that “we” is my girl and I…and some of the “homies” are gay couples & singles of all races?
I enjoyed this convo, but it’s getting to the point where if you don’t agree with the GLAAD sentiment you’re a gay hater.
Shortly after midnight on October 7, 1998, Shepard met Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson for the first time at the Fireside Lounge in Laramie, Wyoming.[3] It was decided that McKinney and Henderson would give Shepard a ride home.[4] McKinney and Henderson subsequently drove the car to a remote, rural area and proceeded to rob, pistol-whip, and torture Shepard, tying him to a fence and leaving him to die. According to their court testimony, McKinney and Henderson also discovered his address and intended to steal from his home. Still tied to the fence, Shepard was discovered 18 hours later by a cyclist, Aaron Kreifels, who initially mistook Shepard for a scarecrow.[5] Shepard was in a coma.
Shepard had suffered fractures to the back of his head and in front of his right ear. He experienced severe brain-stem damage, which affected his body’s ability to regulate heart rate, body temperature, and other vital functions. There also were about a dozen small lacerations around his head, face, and neck. His injuries were deemed too severe for doctors to operate. Shepard never regained consciousness and remained on full life support.
Shepard was pronounced dead at 12:53 a.m. on October 12, 1998, at Poudre Valley Hospital, in Fort Collins, Colorado.[7][8][9][10]
[edit] Funeral; Protests
Kansas Baptist Fred Phelps, pastor of the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas, took his church’s “God Hates Fags” crusade to the Saturday, October 17, 1998, funeral of Matthew Shepard, held in Casper, Wyoming. Two of his picket signs read: “No Tears for Queers” and “Fag Matt in Hell.”
just saying. and i am also a heterosexual.
@$yk,
Then I would say that you don’t know much about history. gays were once a very visbile part of society. Overtime Christianity (Catholics) began to build momentum in the focus on gays (Rennasance, middle ages) and as a result a number of countries made sodomy a crime punishable by death (please read people). It’s a known although at times a disputed fact that when Hitler devised his cleansing plan that as many as 50,000 individuals that were considered homosexual were jailed tourtured and killed in the same camps as the jews.
The origingal colonist the the states, although trying to escape the heavy arm of religion eventually made laws that were also punished sodomites by death. So your argument that you haven’t seen this or that it’s not to the same magnatude is just a way to dismiss the fac that gays have a much longer history of being hated. And while they were never enslaved because of their sexuality they have had a long history of abuse.
During the 50′s when police and the public reestriced housing jobs and other rights from blacks, the same efforts were made to fire, harrass individuals that were percieved as ‘homo’. Employees from teachers to postal workers had to sign a document denying that they were gay (Google Anita Bryant). Just as MLK and Malcom X were assinated for their efforts so too was Harvey Milk and a number of others who wanted nothing more that to fight for freedoms.
here are some that say that gays are riding on the coatails of blacks to make their case and that ‘gays should stand on thier own feet, there are just as many people who say that slavery was decades ago and that recent generations should stand on thier own feet and stop making excuses for their current state. Bth comments are dissmissive and do little to address the concerns of either group.
Lastly, while I see that there are some who kept asking folk to stay focused, where were their disccusions on the topic at hand which was homophobia in Hip Hip. The discussions about GLAAD and the irreavant comparisons between the plight of gays compared to people of color while interesting was just a little off topic….
First off to compare the gay community to a black person is offensive. I wish all you gay sympathizers would stop pushing that perversion. Blacks owe gays nothing and if you are going use hatred then you might as well use every ethnicity and race because they were all enslaved. The Slavs were enslaved even after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed, also the word slave come from Slav. I wish you people would read Black Rednecks and White Liberals by Thomas Sowell and no it is not fair to use blacks being second class citizens when the only you homosexuals can’t do is marry. I do not see GLAAD comparing themselves to Jews, Polish, Slavic’s, or Armenians. Black people in America earned their rights by dying for this country in wars paying the ultimate price and now these gay people want to disrespect you are as a people. Wake up Black America and stop listening to these liberals they hate, the fucking KKK was the enforcers of the Democratic, Plan Parenthood and Eugenics was condone by these people and now they dehumanizing you with Homosexuals. If you any you all are religious remember this Judaism, Islam, Christianity, and Buddhism are despise Homosexuality.
At no point in your statement did you make any sense. “Blacks owe gays nothing”… True statement, but what does that have anything to do with gays? When the hell did gays ever demand that blacks should support them? People support other people because they have compassion. They see something that is not right and they fight for something that’s so fundamental to EVERY human being as civil rights. Do you condemn white people who sympathized with blacks during the civil rights movement in 1960s? Would you say those white people “pitied” blacks and only support the cause out of their own white guilt?
And “gays comparison to blacks” is a very loosely used term. There is no way we can compare the plight of blacks to the plight of gays. Two very different sufferings and backgrounds. But, as human beings – sentient beings – we strive to understand each other by finding common ground. And the common ground is the movement. We can draw similarities between civil rights movement and gay rights movement because of what it represents: equality. The ideology and the strive to destroy the notion of “second class citizen” still rings true no matter how dissimilar the subjects. (And you may think that gay marriage isn’t as important as the right to vote, but being able to marry, to many gays, is one very certain way to be acknowledged as first class citizens in the eyes of the government.)
All people really want in life is to be understood – to be seen as equal to the next person. That’s the basis of the comparison. So, why not try to see where each other are coming from instead of amassing the differences. That’s how hate is born, and that’s what you’re instigating.
“But the REAL problem I have with homosexuals and GLAAD is the way they try to attach their cause or the pain they feel from discrimination to THE BLACK MAN.”
^ Yep
“Because if you talk to any heterosexual man, it’s not the dude that’s quietly making gay choices that annoys the ish out of him, it’s the flaming dude that pisses the heterosexual (and obviously the military) off.”
^ that too…that extra sh^t ain’t necessary…bottom line is I don’t throw around my hetero sexuality, you don’t need to throw around your homosexuality…
do you talk about your girlfriend/wife or whatever? if you do, you’re throwing your heterosexuality around.
I always come back to this quote by Coretta Scott King
“I still hear people say that I should not be talking about the rights of lesbian and gay people and I should stick to the issue of racial justice… But I hasten to remind them that Martin Luther King, Jr., said, ‘Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere’ … I appeal to everyone who believes in Martin Luther King, Jr.’s dream to make room at the table of brotherhood and sisterhood for lesbian and gay people.”
see the above statement to Mos
I’ll be more impressed with XXL when they actually start writing about some ACTUAL gay and lesbian rappers like Feloni from Detroit (surprised Em didn’t give her a nod since she was cool with Big Proof–they were in the same damn indie organization called “The Movement.” When she dropped with that hard azz les song “Brand New” on a small promotional Hip-hip Summit mixtape in 2005 sponsored by WJLB and Russell Simmons, they wanted to cancel her freakin contract because they didn’t know she was going to rapping about taking a man’s “b-tch.” WJLB ended up giving her only 16 bars on the song on the mixtape because they were so uptight about the homophobes protesting. Then Nicki Minaj drops and everybody thinks she’s the first “out” female rapper. Well, she ain’t, Feloni was. She released a debut album called “A Woman’s Revenge” in 2007. The media still has yet to give her a nod, even after MTV gave her an episode on their gay/lesbian documentary series called “Coming Out Stories.” Feloni said A&Rs told her she needed to be more “femme” looking and soften her lyrics. Mainstream is a freakin joke. I’m a fan of Feloni’s and you should check her out on iTunes or on myspace. It’s sad that it take rappers like “Lil B” to claims he’s not gay to even talk about the subject. But at least it’s a start, I’ll give y’all that much.
“bottom line is I don’t throw around my hetero sexuality, you don’t need to throw around your homosexuality…”
funny cuz society throws around ITS heterosexuality with its love stories and advertisements etc etc everywhere you LOOK
just like whites all over television back in the 90s.
@justin I’m going to have to completely agree with you there. Valid point.
Congratulations!
Of all the stupid comments on here yours was by far the most ignorant and ridiculous.
This whole post is just stupid. Fuck all you fags destroying hip hop and the world.
The first response to Justin’s post completly missed the point. One need only look just a few moments at television commercials, newspaper ads, movies, and just TV in general to see that heterosexual relationships (mostly white) predominate what we see on the screen. How many shows with cast members of color do you see on stations other than BET, MTV, and perhaps Logo. Take that a little further, these are all cable channels which means that a number of us subscribe to stations where we are by and large under-represented but I digress.
When it comes to images of sexuality, most ads and tv shows draw the viewer in based in part on the sexual content. You think not-what was the last major purchase that you made and how did you come to make the decision to buy what ever that thing is (was). Don’t think too hard because the media does a great job of fooling the masses into not seeing what’s really there. That hot sex scene that you just watched delivered the essectialist message that all men want to have sex with hot women and that by this logic those who engage in acts that go against the grain are not only wrong-their nasty weird and should be subjected to creulty…
I would beg to differ that ‘there are more gay visuals and promiscuity shown now than actual family values’ really. On which stations because I might have missed that. Now if you’re saying that we see more LGBTQ images on the screen now than in years past then I agree but is that necessarily a bad thing? To address this issue of promiscuity-are we now saying that the only folk who engage in sex with multiple partners are LGBTQ folk or that LGBTQ folk lack family values? If so, I think somebodies been drinking th coolaid. This is a exactly what the conservative block wants-to have us divided and bickering about perripherial things rather than the true elements that lead to ones ability to obtain the ‘picket fence, both parents, son and daughter’ like how a small group gets to define family, or how this small group of conservatives can amass riches that make having these things you just listed much easier for them compared to folk from other socio economic statuses. Where do these messages come from? Who are the folk that tell you that these are good-bad qualities? You see, until you can begin to think more critically about the root of these things you’ll continue to fall prey to the systems of control.
Rather than watch a tv show perhaps a book on the subject of race, class, sexuality will be enlightening. For some light internet reading and since many have an interest in ‘family’ do google search for homeless youth to find out who they are and the reasons why they are homeless. The intersectionality between their status and some of what I’ve written here may surprise you…Have a look, I dare ya…
@mc….
First, let’s deal with something right now. No one is saying homosexuals aren’t treated badly. I do feel badly for any of God’s creatures that are mistreated based on a different belief. It’s wrong. It’s uncalled for. It’s stupid. Besides, the whole point of the bible, if you ask me, is that we all have individual control over our souls. Judgement Day is an individual thing, so no man should judge another.
But…..
With that being said, let me tell GLAAD once again to fu*k off!
GLAAD has made a tremendous issue of trying to connect The Black Man’s struggle to their Gay Rights cause. It’s totally wrong to utilize a race or class of people for your own personal gain.
And to further clarify my statements…..
I have the same feelings about REV. AL SHARPTON & JESSE JACKSON. Sure, they gave some things to the cause. But the only REAL time you hear from them is when there’s an opportunity to do some heavy self-promotion (don’t even get me started with Jesse being caught on Fox news calling Obama the “N” word).
So with me, it’s not that I want to hold my “Blackness” so close to my heart that nothing can touch it. I could easily pull the same example from numerous people belonging to different causes.
GLAAD are a bunch of leaches. Sure, they’ve done some good. But trying to attach your cause to a different struggle for political and monetary gain is foul.
Now with you, you’re Black AND Gay. That’s some tough ish to try to overcome. No one is trying to minimize your struggles. But just because you possess duality in your sufferings from other people’s stupidity, doesn’t mean that you get a pass on trying to weave those two issues into one. Hell no. They are different.
What if I went to the doctor and complained about pain in my leg and the doctor turned around and gave me a root canal? That would be pretty stupid, huh? Just because I have pain doesn’t mean that the pain is connected. It’s not. Sure, it’s in the same body. But treating it the same as the other might kill me.
Bottom line….. Fight your gay fight. Fight for gay rights. But stand on your own merit. Black people aren’t political weapons to be used to push your agenda.
And by the way, I’M HETEROSEXUAL. I’m cool, my brother.
“Being gay is not the same as being Black. IT ABSOLUTELY IS NOT!!!”
^ this…what GoGo tried to assert was a racial issue with interracial marriage, not a sexuality issue.
The minute similarities are within the fight for the law structure, not the struggle. And even with the law structure fight, it isn’t similar to what Blacks had to go through. I haven’t seen not one protest for gay marriage where the protesters were beaten, had dogs sicced on them, were beaten with batons and jailed, or had powerful water spouts turned on them. Have you?
“Now the tide is turning with gay marriage. On a state level a domino effect is taking place. I real zeitgeist shift.”
^ uncle sam needs you to help pay this credit bill…now that you’re on the tab, it’s a go.
Glad to see this article create such a discussion in the comments
Thank you Nessa! We need this ma…
“but I think that you underestimate just how homophobic some areas of society truly are”
^ no I don’t…what I am stating is that it is not on the same magnitude to merit the comparison.
“funny cuz society throws around ITS heterosexuality with its love stories and advertisements etc etc everywhere you LOOK”
^ sex sells…there are more gay visuals and promiscuity shown now than actual family values (picket fence, both parents, son & daughter)…this is another thread to speak on…