No brokeback for black men: Pathologizing black male (homo)sexuality through downlow discourse (original) (raw)
In recent years, the down low phenomenon has received unprecedented attention in both the popular and academic press. However, much of this work has focused on exploring whether men on the down low present a unique threat for HIV infection to black women. Currently, there exist very few scholarly or popular works exploring the meaning attached to the down low, not only by those who promote the label for academic studies or for media dispersal. In this essay, I shed new light on the meanings attached to the down low by the popular press, critically evaluating how it is used to create a category that is marked by an undesirable categorization of black men, and provide an argument as to why black men who have sex with men may adopt the label for themselves.
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Sexuality & Culture, 2013
ABSTRACT Although the notion of a down low life style, called various things at various times, has a long history in the black community, the past few years have been marked by an exponential increase in attention of this phenomenon in both the mainstream press and scholarly work. However, much of this work has focused on exploring whether men on the down low present a unique threat for HIV infection to black women. Currently, there exist very few scholarly works exploring the lives of black men who have sex with men and women that specifically address their own experiences living on the down low or how these men personally define what it means to be on the down low. In this article, we explore why black men who have sex with men and black men who have sex with men and women, including those who self-identify as gay, bisexual or as being on the down low, come to use the down low label and what it means to them to be on the down low.
Black Sexuality, Social Construction, and Research Targeting ‘The Down Low’ (‘The DL’)
Annals of Epidemiology, 2007
PURPOSE: The purpose of this commentary is to explain how social constructions of black sexuality are relevant to research targeting black sexual behavior and the ostensibly new and race-specific phenomenon known as ''the Down Low'' (the DL). The term ''the DL'' is widely used to refer to black men publicly presenting as heterosexual while secretly having sex with other men and presumably spreading human immunodeficiency virus and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) to unsuspecting women. METHODS: We briefly review lay and public health literature from 1998 to 2004 about the DL, describe existing social constructions of black sexuality, discuss two implications for epidemiologic research, and offer recommendations to guide future research. RESULTS: The lifestyle referenced by the term the DL is neither new nor limited to blacks, and sufficient data linking it to HIV/AIDS disparities currently are lacking. Common perceptions about the DL reflect social constructions of black sexuality as generally excessive, deviant, diseased, and predatory. Research targeting black sexual behavior that ignores these constructions may unwittingly reinforce them. CONCLUSIONS: Unaddressed social constructions of black sexuality have implications for epidemiologic research targeting black sexual behavior. Explicit examination of these concerns is necessary to eliminate fundamental causes of health disparities.
Focusing "down low": bisexual black men, HIV risk and heterosexual transmission
Journal of the National Medical Association, 2005
Black men who have sex with men (MSM) and women but who do not identify as gay or disclose their bisexual activities to main female partners, also known as men "on the down-low," have been cited as the main reason for the increase in HIV infections in black women. Three online databases (PsychInfo, MEDLINE and AIDSLINE) were searched for scientific articles related to men on the down-low. A total of 24 articles and two conference abstracts were selected for review. Data from existing studies of MSM reveal low agreement between professed sexual identity and corresponding sexual behavior among black and other MSM; show that black MSM are more likely than MSM of other racial or ethnic groups to be bisexually active or identified; and, compared with white MSM, are less likely to disclose their bisexual or homosexual activities to others. However, black MSM who do not disclose their homosexual or bisexual activities engage in a lower prevalence of HIV risks than black MSM who d...
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