Wednesday, April 28, 2004
The lowdown on the down low
This particular post may seem a late addition to the raging discussion on black men on the down low. It isn't, as mah friends can tell ya. The down low refers to a lifestyle defined by straight black men who have sex on the regular with other men. We've been on about this for YEARS! Yesterday, Lala forwarded the (unauthorized, unofficial) transcript of Oprah's recent hour focusing on the DL. Even if you haven't read the transcript, do yourself a favor and watch the After the Show video. I applaud Oprah for widening the conversation to include a larger portion of the general public.
It became evident to me just from watching the 9-minute video that we as a society spend too much time pasting labels on people. Sure, it simplifies things but labels are STEREOTYPES! What we currently define as "gay" or "straight" are fairly recent social conventions and do not begin to encompass the full range of human sexuality.
I personally don't care what convenient labels you apply to yourself. If you are having unprotected sex with a mulitplicity of partners, you need to 'fess up and test up. AIDS/HIV is a reality! What you don't know can kill you.
And who is suffering the most? Zora Neale Hurston was right. Black women are the "mules of the world."
This particular post may seem a late addition to the raging discussion on black men on the down low. It isn't, as mah friends can tell ya. The down low refers to a lifestyle defined by straight black men who have sex on the regular with other men. We've been on about this for YEARS! Yesterday, Lala forwarded the (unauthorized, unofficial) transcript of Oprah's recent hour focusing on the DL. Even if you haven't read the transcript, do yourself a favor and watch the After the Show video. I applaud Oprah for widening the conversation to include a larger portion of the general public.
It became evident to me just from watching the 9-minute video that we as a society spend too much time pasting labels on people. Sure, it simplifies things but labels are STEREOTYPES! What we currently define as "gay" or "straight" are fairly recent social conventions and do not begin to encompass the full range of human sexuality.
I personally don't care what convenient labels you apply to yourself. If you are having unprotected sex with a mulitplicity of partners, you need to 'fess up and test up. AIDS/HIV is a reality! What you don't know can kill you.
And who is suffering the most? Zora Neale Hurston was right. Black women are the "mules of the world."
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