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:
- ‘DOWN LOW’ REVIEW: GAY HEARTTHROB LAS GAGE GIV ZACHARY QUTO ONE HELL OF A HAPPY ENDG
- CRIL MEDIA PROJECTABOUTCMP MISSNCMP TEAMCONNECT WH CMPCOMMON COREFAIR USEHOW TO CELEARN & DOWHY INTY MATTERSMEDIA LERACIPLAYLISTSDIY ACTIVIUSEFUL LKSGLOSSARYCMP ACTNCMP SCHOOLSCMP PROGRAMSSTUNT MEDIACONFERENCIMPACTTTIMONIALSREPORTS & PRSDONATEAGECLASSDISABILYGENRLGBTQRACE & ETHNICYRELIGNALL LAW & ORR SVU–F ON THE “DOWN LOW”
‘DOWN LOW’ REVIEW: GAY HEARTTHROB LAS GAGE GIV ZACHARY QUTO ONE HELL OF A HAPPY ENDG
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 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. 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. I don't know if this is a fantasy thg or if he is gay.
CRIL MEDIA PROJECTABOUTCMP MISSNCMP TEAMCONNECT WH CMPCOMMON COREFAIR USEHOW TO CELEARN & DOWHY INTY MATTERSMEDIA LERACIPLAYLISTSDIY ACTIVIUSEFUL LKSGLOSSARYCMP ACTNCMP SCHOOLSCMP PROGRAMSSTUNT MEDIACONFERENCIMPACTTTIMONIALSREPORTS & PRSDONATEAGECLASSDISABILYGENRLGBTQRACE & ETHNICYRELIGNALL LAW & ORR SVU–F ON THE “DOWN LOW”
Queerty is reportg that a recent natnal survey released by the CDC revealed that more Amerins are intifyg as bisexual than ever and more straight-intifyg men are admtg to havg tried gay sex. Rearchers terviewed more than 9,000 men and women ag 18 to 44 years of age. Of all the men terviewed, 6.2 percent * gay on the down low *
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.
But do this mean he is gay or uld be he always been this way or n be a phase. Hi I'm a 34 year old gay man that has lived wh his iend of 20 years and her hband\kids for the last 10 years. I have spected the last 3 years that my iend hband is gay.
Bisexual men are ls likely to disclose and more likely to nceal their sexual orientatn than gay men. * gay on the down low *
One day i cleared my history and when he took my phone he later put on the kchen table I checked the history and saw that he viewed gayporn. I would go out wh iends that are gay and when I would e back home he would not talk to me. L., he nied beg gay, but over the past six years, he's changed his story.
"I have accepted the fact that I am a black, gay, proud man, " he says. After meetg some strong, gay men who gave him a "gay crash urse, " J.
Told Oprah he wasn't gay back 2004, he says he wasn't lyg—he was nial. Was havg a relatnship wh this guy, that this guy was homosexual, " she says. Me clean about his homosexualy, he says his relatnship wh Brenda has evolved to an hont iendship.
Co-wrten by Las Gage, unapologetilly queer edy 'Down Low' imag the most trmatic first time a sexually experienced gay man uld have. * gay on the down low *
"He was already sick, and he had never unrstood [homosexualy]. Though he was volved sexual relatnships wh both men and women, this man—who's now steppg forward to reveal his face and his name, Ulandsey Peterson—also didn't fe himself as gay. Queerty is reportg that a recent natnal survey released by the CDC revealed that more Amerins are intifyg as bisexual than ever and more straight-intifyg men are admtg to havg tried gay sex.
Rob prefers gettg together wh other married men on the DL, as opposed to sgle or openly gay men. My challenge is that New York Cy is a very feme gay cy, and that’s not my type.
I’m only to guys who are DL, not beg noticed as gay. She is very tradnal and relig and do not believe homosexualy. “Men aren’t heterosexual or homosexual, they’re jt sexual.
The Down Low, like many terms and phras the Amerin culture, n attribute their genis to the Gay and Urban Black muny, The, "DL" has evolved to be ed universally to refer to activi nducted secretly and behd the scen. The DL n also refer to behavr scribed as slick or ceptive. The Term has tly evolved om beg ed to scribe nvert male homosexual behavr of a man Frontg (portrayg himself), as a heterosexual and relative is actually a closet Gay man to now refer to any behavr, actn, or behavr that n be scribed as secretive or ceptive. Etymology DL or “Down Low”, attribut s genis om the Inner Cy Black and Sub Culture. The Black muny was slow to accept the male homosexual their muny and th adopted the term, “Down Low” to refer to a man that is a closet homosexual or a man that engag sexual relatns wh both male and female partners. The term evolved to intify such men as their female partners were disverg that their Man was subversively engagg sexual relatns wh another man on the si, (on the DL) while their female partner was unaware of his behavr and sexual preference. Prr to the Homosexual scriptive, the term was ed to scribe: any kd of secretive, slick, and/or ceptive behavr." name="Dcriptn" property="og:scriptn * gay on the down low *
Bisexual men are ls likely to disclose and more likely to nceal their sexual orientatn than gay men. In the first study to look at the mental health of this populatn, rearchers at Columbia Universy's Mailman School of Public Health found that greater ncealment of homosexual behavr was associated wh more symptoms of prsn and anxiety. The rearchers studied 203 nongay-intified men New York Cy, who self-reported beg behavrally bisexual and had not disclosed their same-sex behavr to their female partners.
Bisexual men who were more ncerned than others about ncealg their same-sex behavr also tend to report lower levels of social support and more ternalized homophobia – that is, negative attus toward their same-sex behavr.
* gay on the down low *
First, there’s the scene om the first season of “The Whe Lot” where Jake Lacy barg to the rort manager’s office, only to fd Gage gettg his salad tossed (a history-makg moment for gay TV fans). And now there’s “Down Low, ” an over-the-top, bottom-trawlg edy that wants to be for the gay muny what “The Haner” was to the mastream — which is to say, wildly irreverent and credibly wrong. Starrg openly gay “Hero” villa Zachary Quto as Gary, a recently divorced, richie-rich zaddy hopg for a happy endg, “Down Low” don’t que unrstand s own tle — wh the Black and Lato muny for men who nsir themselv straight while havg sex wh other men — but that’s OK.
Like “Pretty Woman” on meth, the movie laced wh pop-culture referenc, rangg om “The Real Hoewiv” to “Sex and the Cy 2, ” and featur gay ins Judh Light and Simon Rex (still very much skeezy “Red Rocket” mo). Right off the bat, there’s a key difference between “Down Low” and “Bros”: Instead of tryg to expla thgs to the straight muny, Gage (who -wrote the script wh Phoebe Fisher, fully tendg to star) assum that horny gay men have let their hormon steer them to some pretty outrageo suatns, so the key appeal here is knowg that however regrettable your worst experience may have been, don’t hold a ndle to the unbelievably trmatic iatn Gary has store.
He and Gage want gay men — pecially those of a certa generatn — to overe their shame and embrace their te selv, to which “Down Low” says: Better late than never. The Down Low, like many terms and phras the Amerin culture, n attribute their genis to the Gay and Urban Black muny, The, "DL" has evolved to be ed universally to refer to activi nducted secretly and behd the scen.