One of the topics Bryon Hurt investigated in Beyond Beats and Rhymes was the portrayal of black masculinity in the hip-hop industry and the tactics used by rappers to demasculinize other rappers. These men carry themselves with synthetic power equipped with “hard” personas, dominating stances, uninviting facial expressions, and copious amounts of women and money. The use of the word “faggot” and the phrase “bitch ass niggaz” are lyrical methods employed by these individuals to feminize and queer other rappers, further defining the industry as a misogynistic and homophobic arena. The response Buster Rhymes gave, “…Whatchu mean, that gay shit?” although not surprising in any regard, truly left me disgusted. But then I started thinking about his response in relation to greater conversations about black homosexuality. From my observations and lived experiences, I can conclude that the black community is generally uninviting of serious conversation on the topic of homosexuality. This is due to a number of factors, the prominent of which being the unflattering depiction of gay black men in both black and mainstream media.
In thinking about the representation of gay black men, the archetype immediately coming to mind is the overtly effeminate and outlandishly loud and gestural black man. This individual tends to be the sidekick to a female character and is depicted in gender-specific roles, such as a hairdresser, stylist, or model. A clip from the 2005 film Beauty Shop shows a particularly androgynous black gay man selling counterfeit handbags outside Queen Latifah’s shop. Take a look: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SGR3ughRD8&feature=related. The dialogue is plagued by the usual rhetoric of a flamboyant man- fabulous, girl, diva, honey, miss thang, FIEEEEERCE!, work it, etc. The facial expressions are heightened and exaggerated, and the physical act of dropping, literally falling to the ground, becomes the cherry on the “get me bodied” sundae. The final second of the clip hints at an eye roll by Latifah as she enters through the shop’s front door.
This image of black gayness has been present since the early 70s. Its presence initially came about as a comical addition, perhaps to critique typical stereotypes of black men. For example, in Michael Schultz’ Car Wash (1976), a feminized, cross-dressing, black male character named Lindy (Antonio Fargas) stands up to the discriminatory remarks of his coworker Duane (Bill Duke) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lw0Nn1xSMHk. Standing his ground, he delivers the famous line- “Honey I am more man than you’ll ever be, and more women than you’ll ever get,” and struts away. This display of black male effeminacy is used in a rare way: as a means to question the typified and linear depiction of black masculinity.
Fast-forward nearly twenty years and we see something that comically critiques the notion of the effeminate black gay male. On In Living Color, a sketch comedy television series aired between 1990 and 1994, Men on… became a popular skit where David Alan Grier and Damon Wayans, playing the very effeminate Blaine Edwards and Antoine Merriweather respectively, would critique whatever the given topic was for that show in a graphically and homoerotically explicit manner. Men on Fitness is one of my all time favorites: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7Kbk0C3NA0. Although this skit can be seen as a dogging out of black effeminate men to some, I find its “extra” nature allows us to consider the black gay male critically. Is this really how they act or present themselves? Where’s the truth behind it all? Airing in 1993, I find it very intriguing that this skit can be placed timely with the growing popularity of gangsta rap and the ongoing craze of black pop. It is in the early 1990s that we see a spectrum of blackness in music- the lightened Michael Jackson, the permed Prince, the gangsta-fied Ice T, and the drag sensation RuPaul. All of these images are occurring at the same time, but never do they find a meeting ground outside of MTV. What does this say about our categorization of masculinity? Can’t we recognize the diversity that is the black male, but greater, the man himself?
To wrap up, I’d like to present to you Omar Little and Brandon Wright of the hit HBO series, The Wire. Omar (Michael K. Williams), a stick-up man who routinely robs those in “the game,” is portrayed as an openly gay black man romantically involved with Brandon (Michael Kevin Darnall). This edited group of scenes shows the two intimately engaging with one another, kissing, and emotionally expressing their love: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmqZkpM_ZsI&feature=related. The Wire has been described as one of the greatest television series ever made. The portrayal of an openly gay black male couple living in the slums of Baltimore is an intrinsic proponent to this greatness. But there’s more- the show also portrays a black lesbian couple that, through the seasons, start and develop a family after one is artificially inseminated. Over the duration of the Omar character, we see him with three different boyfriends. This is all so powerful to me. This is a representation of black gay men that breaks the mold of the effeminate, the extra. This is truly beautiful.
With all of this, I wonder why black homosexuality isn’t as prominent a topic in the black community as it should be. I also wonder why more gay black characters like those portrayed on The Wire aren't depicted in black and mainstream media. 50% of all individuals living with HIV are African-American. Black churches rarely acknowledge the presence of gay church members, but are quick to define homosexuality, like a majority of all churches, as a “lifestyle” or “sinful practice.” Some of the homophobic comments on my last link are disturbing, disgusting and downright ignorant. Something just doesn’t seem right to me. Thoughts?
p.s.- Y’all I am so sorry this is so long! If you’ve made it this far, text me and I’ll hook you up with an English Teatime tea bag #caffeinated (901) 340-9854.
Jonathon, this post is so thought-provoking. I think the combination of sexuality and race is an extremely intricate interaction. I have always been curious about gender-stereotypes and gender roles. I found it fascinating learning about the emerging stereotypes of African American men during the Jim Crow era, and I was painfully frustrated by the apparent hypocrisy—some of the very same white men who took practice in lynching were the criminals actually guilty of rape (often done to African American women by white men). It’s upsetting that current rappers and musicians ignore this injustice and perpetuate these constructed racially specific gender roles. Unfortunately, this almost beastly hyper-masculinity has indeed created an even stronger disapproval of homosexuality. Though I do recognize the over-exaggerated representation of black gays in the media, I feel that homosexuals of every race as depicted in a similar manner. I do not wish to minimize or generalize the constraint on homosexuality within the black community. Rather, I think it’s significant that though different races might discourage and even mock homosexual males more than other races, this trend is common. Why is this? Because our established and restricted notions of gender have been blurred. I feel the issues of gender and race are highly similar in this aspect—the crossing over, blurring the lines between a distinct dichotomy transcends our usual norms, and only points out the insufficiency of these norms.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I think that, more so than any other community, blacks discriminate against gays the most. I know of very few openly gay black celebrities, and I feel like the few who are openly gay have very large burdens to carry. I feel like, as a community that always strives for progress and identity, blacks don't want a gay person to represent them or to be their spokesperson. Maybe they also feel like a gay black man cannot effectively capture the "black struggle" in their music, acting, etc.
ReplyDeleteI also feel like the strong influence of religion in the black community also plays a part. As we learned earlier in the semester, the Baptist Church was one of the most attractive churches for the black community during the antebellum years. However, the Baptist Church is also possibly the most anti-gay of all the Christian religions- more so than Catholicism in my opinion.
I think that these two reasons- 1) a need for a leader that can accurately represent them and 2) the strong influence of religion in the black community- have caused gay blacks to be frowned upon.
Upon first pondering your questions I immediately thought of the rampant homophobia in Africa. Africa is the continent with the harshest punishments for homosexuality and the most stringent sodomy laws. Then I realized that I couldn't draw a direct correlation between the internal politics of Africa and African-Americans. The two are now separated by hundreds of years of history and cannot be directly connected in this instance.
ReplyDeleteFirstly, I think you are definitely right that the portrayal of black homosexuality in media, particularly mainstream media, is often relegated to a stereotypical outrageous effeminate character. However, I do suggest you check out Noah's Arc, a Logo TV series, from a few years ago. To some extent it is like a black Queer As Folk.
I think that Daniel's point regarding the strong influence of Christianity in the black community is important. Furthermore, the overlapping of the Black Belt and the Bible Belt surely only enhances things.
Another reason I can think of is that black homosexuality has not been a major issue because of the other struggles blacks face. The pivotal moment of the gay rights movement - the Stonewall Riots - occurred in 1969, a time when blacks still faced an uphill battle in achieving equality. I think it's pretty apparent from both class, and reading other blog posts, that the consensus is that we have not yet reached a post-racial society. Race is still so much an issue that it's not that hard to understand how other issues, such as black homosexuality, take a back seat.
But I definitely think that there is striking dichotomy in the portrayal of black males in mainstream culture. Aside from the token funny black guy, in my experience the other two most common portrayals of black males are either the hypermasculine/thug character or effeminate black gay male. Clearly this needs to be reconciled. Perhaps as the issue of race slowly fades (to whatever extent it does) then issues facing black homosexuals will come more to the forefront.
John, this is a really great blog post! It made me really think about the differences between what we're told is supposedly "true" by the media and what is true in reality, especially about gay black men in particular. So often we see exaggerated images of gay individuals who are outrageously flamboyant or excessively effeminate. Very rarely do we see images of well-educated gay (or straight) black men - just like Cecil commented, it's one extreme of hypermasculinity or the other extreme of effemininity (not sure that's a word, but I'm going with it!). I think far too often the media focuses on the images that fall into these extremes, and we lose sight of the successes of black men and what they contribute to society as a whole. We celebrate great talent like Morgan Freeman, but we also buy into the stereotypes promoted by Tyler Perry (literally - Forbes named him the highest paid and richest man in entertainment back in September). It is disappointing that so often we see damaged, toxic, heterosexual relationships dramatized (and sometimes celebrated) on TV and in movies, while there is such value in the relationships John describes from HBO's "The Wire."
ReplyDeleteI loved reading this post and am so glad you brought up this issue. I want to go off what Merideth mentioned last in her comment, though, and expand a little.
ReplyDelete'It is disappointing that so often we see damaged, toxic, heterosexual relationships dramatized (and sometimes celebrated) on TV and in movies, while there is such value in the relationships John describes from HBO's "The Wire."'
This is all to true. The entertainment industry exploits relationships for for profit. In a sense, they are running their own gamut of commodification. Relationships portrayed on TV, for example, are often valued for their outlandish behavior, so it's hard to get a true picture of what a healthy relationship looks like. I feel like this is a huge issue with younger adolescents who watch these types of shows. The TV normalizes the oddities and makes them acceptable. However, I don't think any relationship on 'Gossip Girl', any reality dating show, and etc. effectively provide a model healthy relationship. For example, if I was to follow 'The Real World' take on relationships, I would think sleeping with every one of my roommates was what I am supposed to do.