[ This was my response to Kai Wright's article "The Great Down-Low Debate" ]
This recent trend of reporting on DL lifestyles smacks of sensationalism and really concerns me. I think that it's quite opportunistic to see journalists harp on these young men as if they're either doing something that's never been done before or as if men who are of that age, race and socioeconomic class are the only ones doing what they're doing. It then borders on demonization to focus concern about HIV onto them.
There are those of us who are Black and gay who do not require rainbow-colored glasses to identify ourselves or to recognize each other; yet we still commit ourselves to the necessary work of our community. Much of my personal aversion to the term 'gay' emanates from the assumed acquiescence of Black gay people to what is white and gay. In fact, 'white gay' is almost redundant; 'gay' can be used almost interchangeably with it. Open most 'gay' magazines and you'll be hard-pressed to find diversity. Take a look at GMHC, a 'gay' organization that has finally seen the need to provide a men of color discussion group now when we are are fully twenty years into this virus. It is absurd to think that a Black person would consent to that invisibility simply because of the use of the term 'gay' to identify same-sex attraction. It's extremely important that we Black gay men continue to define our identities ourselves and that we recognize being on the DL for what it really is - subterfuge.
Being on the DL is not the "new sexual identity" that Kai Wright purports it to be, nor is it an incubator for AIDS any more than the subversion that exists between Black men who readily identify as men who have sex with men.
Did these young men create this whole life and language of being on the down low? Hell no - they learned it from older men, some of whom are married, some of whom falsely (and conveniently) claim bisexuality, personal ads that begin with "Straight-acting masculine man seeks the same" and end with "No fats, No fems.", a hip-hop culture that continues to manufacture violent hypermasculine images of men and that remains unapologetically misogynistic and a schizophrenic society that clings to Victorian ideals of sexuality while simultaneously using sex to sell everything to everyone.
Don't confuse my dissent with apathy - we desperately need to find ways to reach these brothers. As a community, our primary concern seems to be HIV prevention, but how do we nurture a sense of self-actualization within these brothers so that maybe one day they can come out - maybe not out of the archetypical 'closet', but out of such a deceptive, non-affirming lifestyle? A condom might provide a physical barrier to HIV, but feeling good about who you are and what you do results in making better choices for all aspects of your life. Even if you have HIV.
By the way, please inform your readers that the upcoming GMAD conference to be held at Brown University is NOT primarily about HIV. According to the palm card promoting the event, the focus is about "strengthening ties through vision, leadership and community."
