Box Turtle Bulletin
News and commentary about the anti-gay lobby“Now you must raise your children up in a world where that union of man and box turtle is on the same legal footing as man and wife…”
News and commentary about the anti-gay lobbyJuly 6th, 2009
Alvin McEwen found an article about Black gay men and AIDS hitting really close to the gut. He posted his reaction on his blog. It’s a perspective we never talk about. I’m re-posting it with his permission. — Jim Burroway
AIDS is killing off black gay men and lack of LGBT community support may an unfortunate factor:
Black gay men have less choice when it comes to sexual partners than other groups and, as a result, their sexual networks are closely knit. These tightly interconnected networks make the rapid spread of HIV more likely. In a study looking at social and sexual mixing between ethnic groups in men who have sex with men, H. Fisher Raymond and Willi McFarland, from the San Francisco Department of Public Health in the US, show that social barriers faced by Black gay men may have a serious impact on their health and well-being.
. . . Black gay men are the least preferred of sexual partners by other races. Black men are perceived to be riskier to have sex with, which can lead to men of other races avoiding Black men as sexual partners. They are also perceived as less welcome in the common social venues of gay men in San Francisco. As a result, Black men are three times more likely to have sexual partners that are also Black, than would be expected by chance alone.
In the authors\’ view, the combination of attitudes on the part of non-Black gay men, friendships and social networks that are less likely to include Blacks, and the environments found in gay venues serve to separate Black gay men from other groups.
So the personal ad phrase “no fats, no olds, no fems, no blacks” is now taking on sinister proportions. It’s not that I’m passing judgment on people’s personal dating choices. But it does go farther than that. The LGBT community can sometimes be consumed with the gay ghetto clique mentality. And as you can see, it’s killing those who are generally not allowed to be in the “clique.”
But hey, at least the black community supports us . . . when we seem to be at death’s door. That’s when folks make these lovely speeches about “it’s not just a gay disease,” and “let’s not stop until we find a cure.”
I got an idea – how about giving us a little support while we are healthy. How about not isolating us or making our lives seem dirty by using the word “lifestyle” like it’s a pooper scooper.
So both the LGBT and black community have work to do. I can only hope the work gets done before too many LGBTs of color suffer.
Latest Posts
Featured Reports
In this original BTB Investigation, we unveil the tragic story of Kirk Murphy, a four-year-old boy who was treated for “cross-gender disturbance” in 1970 by a young grad student by the name of George Rekers. This story is a stark reminder that there are severe and damaging consequences when therapists try to ensure that boys will be boys.
When we first reported on three American anti-gay activists traveling to Kampala for a three-day conference, we had no idea that it would be the first report of a long string of events leading to a proposal to institute the death penalty for LGBT people. But that is exactly what happened. In this report, we review our collection of more than 500 posts to tell the story of one nation’s embrace of hatred toward gay people. This report will be updated continuously as events continue to unfold. Check here for the latest updates.
In 2005, the Southern Poverty Law Center wrote that “[Paul] Cameron’s ‘science’ echoes Nazi Germany.” What the SPLC didn”t know was Cameron doesn’t just “echo” Nazi Germany. He quoted extensively from one of the Final Solution’s architects. This puts his fascination with quarantines, mandatory tattoos, and extermination being a “plausible idea” in a whole new and deeply disturbing light.
On February 10, I attended an all-day “Love Won Out” ex-gay conference in Phoenix, put on by Focus on the Family and Exodus International. In this series of reports, I talk about what I learned there: the people who go to these conferences, the things that they hear, and what this all means for them, their families and for the rest of us.
Prologue: Why I Went To “Love Won Out”
Part 1: What’s Love Got To Do With It?
Part 2: Parents Struggle With “No Exceptions”
Part 3: A Whole New Dialect
Part 4: It Depends On How The Meaning of the Word "Change" Changes
Part 5: A Candid Explanation For "Change"
At last, the truth can now be told.
Using the same research methods employed by most anti-gay political pressure groups, we examine the statistics and the case studies that dispel many of the myths about heterosexuality. Download your copy today!
And don‘t miss our companion report, How To Write An Anti-Gay Tract In Fifteen Easy Steps.
Anti-gay activists often charge that gay men and women pose a threat to children. In this report, we explore the supposed connection between homosexuality and child sexual abuse, the conclusions reached by the most knowledgeable professionals in the field, and how anti-gay activists continue to ignore their findings. This has tremendous consequences, not just for gay men and women, but more importantly for the safety of all our children.
Anti-gay activists often cite the “Dutch Study” to claim that gay unions last only about 1½ years and that the these men have an average of eight additional partners per year outside of their steady relationship. In this report, we will take you step by step into the study to see whether the claims are true.
Tony Perkins’ Family Research Council submitted an Amicus Brief to the Maryland Court of Appeals as that court prepared to consider the issue of gay marriage. We examine just one small section of that brief to reveal the junk science and fraudulent claims of the Family “Research” Council.
The FBI’s annual Hate Crime Statistics aren’t as complete as they ought to be, and their report for 2004 was no exception. In fact, their most recent report has quite a few glaring holes. Holes big enough for Daniel Fetty to fall through.
“Google” is a trademark of Google Inc.
© Box Turtle Bulletin. All Rights Reserved.
Posts 
Posts via daily email:
AJD
July 6th, 2009
I think the closet/downlow and its greater prevalence among black gay men than among white gay men does a lot to feed the perception that black men are riskier as sexual partners. Not that I buy into that perception personally, but that seems to be where a lot of it comes from.
Timothy Kincaid
July 6th, 2009
Alvin,
Thank you for sharing your perspective on this article. I too found the article interesting in that while I knew that HIV rates were higher among African-American gay men, I had not considered ‘dating pool’ as a factor.
Whatever the reason, we do have to find some solutions. And I agree with you that these solutions need to address men (and women) before they become infected.
Mark F.
July 6th, 2009
Well, preventing AIDS is not rocket science. Either abstain from anal sex OR use condoms every time. It’s a pretty simple, 99% effective solution for gay and bisexual men — black, white or whatever.
a. mcewen
July 6th, 2009
I agree with you Mark to a point. But if we see a part of the population not using condoms, there must be an examination of the reasons as to why.
It’s not as simple as you put it. If it were, this would be a perfect world.
Timothy Kincaid
July 6th, 2009
I just ran across an article about a mother who “grew up in a conservative Christian world where it’s unacceptable for a black man to be gay” and wrote a book about her difficulties in coming to terms with her gay son.
This caught my attention:
The world needs a lot more women like Rashad’s mother. And somehow we need to find a way to reach those like his father.
charles
August 16th, 2009
Could it be possible to conclude that the reason that African American men choose to partner with other African American men is because of desire. I believe that it is unreasonable to conclude from “survey” that these gay men “settle” for others of their own race simply because of lack of opportunity. Consider the revolutionary concept, although widely accepted among other races, that African American’s simply prefer their own.
Leave A Comment