The recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention statistics recently reported that one in 50 black men and one in 160 Black women are infected with HIV - an infection rate that is among the highest in the world.
Health officials and church leaders don't attribute the sharp rise in AIDS to Black Exploitation Television and its overtly (pervertedly?) sexual programming (where R&B is more akin to T&A) but instead to an emerging gay community that indulges in "covert and reckless sexual behavior."
Black churches have even started a modern crusade against homosexuality (See Song of Roland) imploring black gay males to stop the "destructive behavior" that puts them (us?) at risk.
Being a good indoctrinated Southern Baptist, I would never rise against the enlightened wisdom of my pastor or the text from which he preaches (cousin Ham and I go way back, which may explain my people's affinity for pork). In spite of my upbringing, however, I learned to not only "tolerate" my gay friends' "aberrant behavior" as I do my heterosexual friends' multiple "conquests."
Unfortunately, my experience is the exception and not the norm partially because I worked in housing for two years, but more so because I represent a small percentage of black males in college,Columnist Earl Hutchinson argues that a homophobic attitude among males especially has been cultivated since birth. We have "believed and accepted the gender propaganda that real men talk and act tough, shed no tears and never show their emotions."
As many in our community know, "the greatest insult that can be leveled is to call someone a 'queer' or 'faggot.'" Basketball star Allen Iverson, enraged at a fan who shouted racial obscenities at him in a game, shouted anti-gay slurs in retaliation.
Former Green Bay Packer Reggie White once made offensive remarks about gays in a speech to the Wisconsin legislature.
In both situations, noticeably absent was condemnation from the black community. A 1994 survey in Jet magazine (known for its scientifically valid surveys) attempts to offer some insight. The survey found that "a sizable number of blacks were suspicious and scornful of gays."
The study also indicated hostility toward gays decreased among the more educated, less religious and more affluent blacks, but only if the gay male was white.
Social scientist Charles Zastrow said, "Nonwhite gay men may see their racial and ethnic communities as safe havens from the oppressive white majority culture."
In her essay "Are Black Males Homophobic?" Clara Jones said, "The unrelenting hostility toward gays ... forces them to repress, hide and deny their sexual preference from family members, and friends." When coupled with the danger of AIDS, "it also makes them reluctant, even fearful, to seek counseling, and treatment ... if at all."
There are some in the community who try to remind blacks that homophobia and racism are two sides of the same coin and that those who oppose civil rights also oppose gay rights but their plea for tolerance is rarely heard.
The brothers on the block are more likely to relate to Louis Farrakhans' prostitution and drug addiction analogy more than they would Sigmund Freud's proposition that homophobic men were those with "feelings of sexual inadequacy, possibly ... [because] they themselves were latent homosexuals."
Unfortunately, I fear the view of Farrakhan may indeed reflect an underlying anti-gay sentiment in the black community. I would contend the black community's ability to cope with the AIDS epidemic and other problems that plague our communities are undermined when antiquated, ignorant and homophobic attitudes are allowed to run rampant.
Write to Anthony at Neonegro@blackplanet.com
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