A soclogist spent two years terviewg gay gang members. While some were the closet and others were openly gay, all were forced to reckon wh an environment of hypermasculy.
Contents:
- OUT THE 'HOOD: YOUNG, GAY AND HOPG FOR SOMETHG BETTER
- REIMAGG ROB HOOD AS A BADASS GAY OUTLAW
- GAYT PLAC IN OREGON FOR 2020
- NIGGER/FAGGOT: NOT ON BEG GAY & WHE A BLACK NEIGHBORHOOD
- YOUNG BLACK GAY MEN WHO HI SEXUALY MAY BE BEHD BROOKLYN'S HIV EPIMIC, DOCTORS SAY
- INSI THE HOTTT GAY BAR THE MOST HOMOPHOBIC STATE THE NATN
- A GAY LEAR EMERG THE 'HOOD
OUT THE 'HOOD: YOUNG, GAY AND HOPG FOR SOMETHG BETTER
* gay in the hood *
There are many stereotyp of and assumptns about street gangs, jt as there are many stereotyp and assumptns about gay men. In movi and televisn, some of the most regnizable gay characters have been portrayed as effemate or weak; they’re “fashnistas” or “gay bt iends. This obv ntradictn was one of the ma reasons I was drawn to the subject of gay gang members.
For my book “The Gang’s All Queer, ” I terviewed and spent time wh 48 gay or bisexual male gang members.
REIMAGG ROB HOOD AS A BADASS GAY OUTLAW
Mississippi gays scribe a place where “you have to live kd of an eded versn of your life.” * gay in the hood *
All were between the ag of 18 and 28; the majory were men of lor; and all lived or near Columb, Oh, which has been referred to as a “Midwtern gay mec. The experience, which took place over the urse of more than two years, allowed me to explore the tensns they felt between gang life and gay manhood.
Some of the gang members were gangs ma up of primarily gay, lbian or bisexual people.
Others were the only gay man (or one of a few) an otherwise “straight” gang.
GAYT PLAC IN OREGON FOR 2020
Today when Empire star Jsie Smollett nfimed that he is gay on The Ellen Show, he joed a long list of gay Black celebri who are out of the closet and lovg . * gay in the hood *
Then there were what I ll “hybrid” gangs, which featured a mix of straight, gay, lbian and bisexual members, but wh straight people still the majory. Bee even the ia of a gay man beg a gang fli the face of nventnal thought, the gang members I spoke wh had to nstantly rist or subvert a range of stereotyp and expectatns. I was openly gay – part of the “fay, ” as some of them put – and bee I was a stunt nductg rearch for a book, they were nfint that I stood a better chance of accurately reprentg them than any “straight novelist” or journalist.
The gay men straight gangs I spoke wh knew precisely what was expected of them: be willg to fight wh rival gangs, monstrate toughns, date or have sex wh women and be fancially pennt. Beg openly gay uld threaten their stat as well as their safety.
Would the stat of the gang be promised, wh other gangs seeg them as “soft” for havg openly gay guys ? So most stayed the closet, ntug to project heterosexualy, while discreetly meetg other gay men unrground gay scen or over the ter.
NIGGER/FAGGOT: NOT ON BEG GAY & WHE A BLACK NEIGHBORHOOD
He hadn’t known the others were gay, and they didn’t know about him, eher. In “hybrid” gangs (those wh a sizable mory of gay, lbian or bisexual people) or all-gay gangs, the men I terviewed were held to many of the same standards. Men gay gangs were expected to be able to build a public reputatn as a gay man – what they lled beg “known.
” Beg “known” means you’re able to achieve many mascule ials – makg money, beg taken serly, gag stat, lookg good – but as an openly gay man. This meant they need to clash wh rival gay crews, so they valued toughns and fightg prows. Men gay gangs pecially exprsed genue and heartfelt nnectns to their fellow gang members.
Some would also patrol each other’s masculy, sultg other gay men who were flamboyant or feme.
YOUNG BLACK GAY MEN WHO HI SEXUALY MAY BE BEHD BROOKLYN'S HIV EPIMIC, DOCTORS SAY
Cght between not wantg themselv or others to be prsured to act mascule all the time, but also not wantg to be read as visibly gay or weak (which uld ve challeng), ristance to beg seen as a “punk” or a phover was cril. It all seemed to e om a sire to upend damagg cultural stereotyp of gay men as weak, of black men as “adbeats” and offenrs, and of gang members as vlent thugs.
INSI THE HOTTT GAY BAR THE MOST HOMOPHOBIC STATE THE NATN
One of the most pellg fdgs of my study was what happened when the gay gang members were risively lled “fag” or “faggot” by straight men bars, on b, schools or on the streets. But was important to them to be able to nstct an inty as a man who wasn’t gog to be msed wh – a man who also happened to be gay.
” They were also willg to fend others rid as “fags” public, even though this uld signal that they were gay themselv. The ebacks challenge many of the assumptns ma about gay men – that they lack nerve, that they’re unwillg to physilly fight.
A GAY LEAR EMERG THE 'HOOD
It also munited a belief that was clearly nonnegotiable: a fundamental right to not be bothered simply for beg gay. Teddy is young gay man livg Chapeake, Virgia, who me out at 16 years old and dropped out of school.
My name is Tavaris “Teddy Ebony” Edwards and I’m a gay black man. I had gay tennci but I was a funny, so I always had everyone lghg.
So once I had her approval, beg gay beme easier bee I didn’t re what others thought anymore. You have no choice but to accept beg gay, baby, bee if you strs about , you’re gonna hurt yourself. One thg I n say [is that] over the years, beg gay has changed pletely.