Beno Denizet-Lewis article explor phenomenon of subculture lled Down Low, or DL, which enpass black men who have sex wh other men but otherwise live straight liv; says they are products of culture that ems masculy and fatherhood as black man's primary rponsibily, and homosexualy as whe man's perversn; says that while blacks make up only 12 percent of populatn US, they acunt for half of all new reported HIV fectns; says mastream gay world has fought AIDS mostly among whe, openly gay men and has ltle tert mori who do not intify as gay; says DL culture is expandg and is alarmg to public health officials bee men may spread fectn to wiv or girliends; says many blacks see DL as announcement of masculy and separatn om whe gay culture, and th many reject ndom e; profil several men who embrace DL culture; photos (L)
Contents:
- 14 CELEBRY MEN ACCED OF BEG GAY
- ‘DOWN LOW’ REVIEW: GAY HEARTTHROB LAS GAGE GIV ZACHARY QUTO ONE HELL OF A HAPPY ENDG
- WATCH VIRAL FOOTAGE OF KG VON ADMTG TO BEG GAY TO THE POLICE
14 CELEBRY MEN ACCED OF BEG GAY
r/Onthedownlow: Are you aaid to e out? Are you married but secretly gay? Or are you Married and your wife knows but no one else do? Maybe … * gay men on the down low *
I've found gay porn on his phone, my vibrator hidn unr his mattrs, my lace undi tucked unr his bed, strange whe men e over and they eher go the basement or his room. Then the next day I brought up and he went ballistic that he is not gay. Now I know 's e he is watchg gay porn and stickg thgs up his A%* for pleasure.
‘DOWN LOW’ REVIEW: GAY HEARTTHROB LAS GAGE GIV ZACHARY QUTO ONE HELL OF A HAPPY ENDG
* gay men on the down low *
But do this mean he is gay or uld be he always been this way or n be a phase.
WATCH VIRAL FOOTAGE OF KG VON ADMTG TO BEG GAY TO THE POLICE
(RNS) While the language of the down low n afford a certa glimpse at gay black inty, some rearchers suggt the term’s e says more about racial forc at play the wir culture. * gay men on the down low *
Down Low men keep their bisexual behavr a secret om their female partners bee they’re unfortable wh homosexualy and are aaid of the negative nsequenc of g out. But what I found bothersome is that a few of his signs seem to rerce homophobic stereotyp, which might only enurage prejudice.
He’s really homophobic to the pot which he ref to be around gay men. On the cy's predomantly whe Wt Si, Club Cleveland -- which opened 1965 and recently settled to a morn 15, 000-square-foot space -- attracts many whe and openly gay men.
Bisexual men are ls likely to disclose and more likely to nceal their sexual orientatn than gay men. * gay men on the down low *
Flex is on the East Si, and serv a mostly black and Hispanic clientele, many of whom don't nsir themselv gay. He was 22 then, and AIDS seemed to kill only gay whe men San Francis and New York. Wallace and the other black men who equented Flex the early 80's worried jt about beg spotted walkg the ont, while there are black men who are openly gay, seems that the majory of those havg sex wh men still lead secret liv, products of a black culture that ems masculy and fatherhood as a black man's primary rponsibily -- and homosexualy as a whe man's perversn.
Black men is homosexual sex (some of which tak place prison, where blacks disproportnately outnumber wh).
-posive, and 90 percent of those are unaware of their don't hear much about this aspect of the epimic, mostly bee the two muni most directly affected by -- the black and gay muni -- have spent the better part of two s eyeg each other through a haze of nial or studied distert. For Ain-Amerins, facg and addrsg the black AIDS crisis would require talkg hontly and passnately about homosexualy -- and that has proved remarkably difficult, whether be black church, black anizatns or on ner-cy playgrounds. The mastream gay world, for s part, has spent 20 years largely fightg the epimic among whe, openly gay men, showg ltle staed tert reachg mori who have sex wh men and who refe to ll themselv gay.
On the Downlow: Directed by Abigail Child. Wh Kerw Benyoun, Clifton 'Ray Ray' Hudson, Anton Jackson, Natalie Jackson. Four Ain-Amerin men livg Cleveland, Oh nont the issu and emotns related to g out as gay men." data-id="ma * gay men on the down low *
Rejectg a gay culture they perceive as whe and effemate, many black men have settled on a new inty, wh s own vobulary and ctoms and s own name: Down Low.
Abstract. Sce the early 2000s, the phenomenon of the “down low”—black men who have sex wh men as well as women and do not intify as gay, queer, or bisexua * gay men on the down low *
Other DL men form romantic relatnships wh men and may even be peripheral participants mastream gay culture, all unknown to their lleagu and fai. Most DL men intify themselv not as gay or bisexual but first and foremost as black.
''If Cleveland is the kd of cy many gay people flee, Atlanta is a cy they pe to. Christopher, who ss the back seat wh me, is the only one of the three who is openly gay and not on the DL (although he won't tell me his last name, for fear of embarrassg his parents).
He says he's ''an urban black gay man on the DL, '' which he says reflects his fort wh his sexualy but his unwillgns to ''broadst . ''I'm a guy's guy, a totally mascule black gay man, and that's jt beyond my fay's prehensn, '' he Rakeem and William proudly proclaim themselv on the Down Low, they wouldn't have been nsired on the DL when men first started claimg the label the mid-90's. And as DL culture expands, has bee an open many men on the Down Low, cludg William and Rakeem, the DL label is both an announcement of masculy and a separatn om whe gay culture.
In 2004, J.L. Kg revealed secrets of men on the down low and nied beg gay. Fd out how his life has changed. Pl, his ex-wife speaks publicly for the first time. * gay men on the down low *
' ''Masculy is a surprisgly effective fense, bee until recently the only popular reprentatns of black gay men were what William lls ''drag queens or sissi. ''We know there are black gay rappers, black gay athlet, but they're all on the DL, '' Rakeem says.