Gay really is the new black

JOHN MCWHORTER: WHAT THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE TEACH ABOUT GAY RIGHTS
GAY REALLY IS THE NEW BLACK
YOU CAN’T ‘STEAL’ A CULTURE: IN DEFENSE OF CULTURAL APPROPRIATNSHARING IS CARINGWHAT BEGAN AS A LEGIMATE PLAT HAS MORPHED TO A HANDY WAY OF BEG OFFEND AT SOMETHG THAT SHOULD BE TAKEN AS A PLIMENT.JOHN MCWHORTERUPDATED APR. 14, 2017 3:21PM EDT / PUBLISHED JUL. 15, 2014 5:45AM EDT OLIVIA HARRIS/RTERSYOU’VE HEARD AROUND FOREVER. ELVIS PRLEY STOLE ROCK MIC. OR EMEM ULDN’T BE NSIRED A TLY “THENTIC” RAPPER BEE HE’S WHE.AND THERE WAS SENSE ALL OF THAT. BUT WHAT BEGAN AS A LEGIMATE PLAT HAS MORPHED TO A HANDY WAY OF BEG OFFEND BY SOMETHG THAT SHOULD BE TAKEN AS A PLIMENT.A MUCH-DISCSED RECENT EDORIAL TIME, WHERE A BLACK WOMAN TELLS WHE GAY MEN TO STOP IMATG THEM BY TAKG ON THEIR GTUR AND EXPRSNS, NEATLY ILLTRATED THE NUT OF THE ISSUE. TO HER, THE MEN ARE “STEALG” BLACK WOMANHOOD.BUT WHAT DO MEAN TO “STEAL” SOMEONE’S CULTURE WHEN WE’RE NOT TALKG ABOUT MONEY? WH GAY WHE MEN AND BLACK WOMEN, FOR EXAMPLE, ’S NOT AS IF THE BLACK WOMEN ARE BEG LEFT WHOUT THEIR CULTURE AFTER THE “THEFT,” OR AS IF GAY WHE MEN ARE SOMEHOW OUT THERE “OUT-BLACKG” THE WOMEN THEY “STOLE” OM. THE BATE OVER WHAT WE LL CULTURAL APPROPRIATN HAS ROOTS THE JTIFIABLE RENTMENT OF WHE POP MICIANS IMATG BLACK GENR FOR MOARY GA. PRLEY WAS THE CLASSIC EXAMPLE. HOWEVER, THIS LEGIMATE OBJECTN WAS ABOUT BUCKS: PRLEY AND ARTISTS LIKE HIM WERE REAPG FANCIAL REWARDS THAT THE ORIGATORS OF THEIR MIC NEVER SAW.BUT OVER TIME, THE NCEPT OF CULTURAL APPROPRIATN HAS MORPHED TO A PARODY OF THE ORIGAL IA. WE ARE NOW TO GET ANGRY SIMPLY WHEN WH HAPPILY IMATE SOMETHG THAT MORI DO. WE NOW E THE WORD STEAL AN ABSTRACT SENSE, SEPARATED OM ANY KD OF MATERIAL VALUE.IT ED TO BE THAT WE SAID THAT IMATN IS THE SCERT FORM OF FLATTERY. BUT NOW THERE IS NEW WAY TO SEE THE MATTER: IMATN IS A KD OF DISMISSAL.BUT DO THIS IA HOLD UP? I DOUBT . IF ONE IS SEEN, AND SEEN AN APPROVG LIGHT, ONE WILL BE IMATED. THIS IS WHAT HUMAN BEGS DO. THE VERY FACULTY OF LANGUAGE IS, TO A LARGE EXTENT, A MATTER OF IMATN. THE IA THAT WHEN WE IMATE SOMETHG WE ARE SEEKG TO REPLACE RATHER THAN JO IS WEAK. THK ABOUT : DO THAT EVEN MAKE SENSE? IT’S CERTALY UP FOR BATE.YET SOME WILL SIST THAT WE SQUEEZE OURSELV TO THE MENTAL STRAJACKET AND ALLOW THIS AS A “PROGRSIVE” NEW TAKE ON WHAT IS TO BE A HUMAN A DIVERSE SOCIETY. BUT WON’T WORK. WHAT’S THE EVINCE? ALL OF HUMAN HISTORY.THE GRAND OLD EMPIR (CLUDG THE ON AI) WERE ALL ABOUT RAMPANT TERETHNIC APPROPRIATN. EVERY LANGUAGE THE WORLD IS SHOT THROUGH WH WORDS AND GRAMMATIL PATTERNS OM OTHER LANGUAG—THAT IS, SIGNS OF PEOPLE THE PAST DOG WHAT WE WOULD LL “APPROPRIATG.”IN THE MELTG POT THAT WAS HARLEM THE 1920S, WH WERE PICKG UP NEW WAYS OF SGG AND MAKG MIC OM BLACK PEOPLE AND CREATG TODAY’S AMERIN MIL LANDSPE. WERE GEE GERSHW AND ALL OF THOSE UNTRY SGERS PICKG UP THE BLU “APPROPRIATG” MIL STYL THEY SHOULD HAVE GIVEN BACK?A GREAT AL OF BLACK CULTURE WAS “APPROPRIATED” BY YOUNG AMERI AS RECENTLY AS THE ’90S. IT BEME NORMAL FOR YOUNG AMERIN WOMEN OF ALL EXTRACTNS TO, UNRSRG A POT, DO A CERTA SWIVEL OF THE NECK WHICH BEFORE THEN WAS KNOWN ONLY TO BLACK (AND PERHAPS MANY LATA) WOMEN. EVEN MANY EXTREMELY WHE YOUNG MEN TODAY HAVE “APPROPRIATED” OM BLACK MEN CERTA VOL NC, EXPRSNS LIKE “YO” AND “BRO” AND GREETG STYL. HAS ANYONE THOUGHT ANYTHG WAS WRONG WH ANY OF THIS?SO WE DON’T EVEN NEED TO EXPLORE WHETHER CULTURAL CROSS-FERTILIZATN IS A GOOD THG SELF (ALTHOUGH ROBERT WRIGHT IS ONE PERSON PECIALLY EFUL ON THAT). ALL WE NEED TO KNOW IS THAT WE WILL NEVER ARRT , AND THAT A STIPULATN THAT BROWN PEOPLE AMERI MT BE SHIELD OM WILL SERVE NO PURPOSE EXCEPT TO PROVI PEOPLE WH SOMETHG TO BE UPSET ABOUT. IT WILL KEEP HAPPENG.SURE, APPROPRIATN N BE DONE CLUMSILY. LAST YEAR, MILEY CYS’ HEART WAS THE RIGHT PLACE BUT SHE ULD HAVE ED SOME SENSIVY ACHG. THAT’S AN OLD STORY. IN THE ’20S, WHE CARL VAN VECHTEN STARTED FEELG SO FORTABLE AROUND BLACK PEOPLE AS A CHRONICLER OF THE HARLEM SCENE THAT HE MISSTEPPED TLG A BOOK “NIGGER HEAVEN.”BUT BEWARE ANY IA THAT STORI LIKE THAT MEAN THAT WH IMATG BROWN PEOPLE IS, FUNDAMENTALLY, WRONG AND THAT WH’ JOB IS TO SOMEHOW PASS BY MORY CULTUR WH SOME FORM OF WHAT IS SOMETIM TERMED “RPECT,” WHATEVER THAT WOULD MEAN PRACTICE.WE SHOULD JT GET BACK TO BASICS ON THIS. FOR EXAMPLE, WHE GAY MEN IMATE BLACK WOMEN OUT OF ADMIRATN, MUCH OF OUT OF A SENSE OF BLACK WOMEN AS FELLOW SUFFERERS OF OPPRSN. THE LUMN TIME ARGU THAT THE MA PROBLEM IS THAT WHE GAY MEN SUFFER LS OPPRSN THAN BLACK WOMEN. BUT AS J. BRYAN LOWR HAS PUT , THAT’S A SLIPPERY PROPOSN. COMPARG HOLOTS ISN’T A EFUL WAY TO UNTIE THE KNOT HERE.HOW ABOUT THIS? THE CLAIM THAT WHE GAY MEN ARE WRONG TO IMATE BLACK WOMEN BEE THEY AREN’T AS OPPRSED IMPLI THAT BLACK WOMEN’S CULTURAL TRAS ARE ALL A RPONSE TO OPPRSN. BUT THAT’S A RCTIVE TAKE ON WHAT IS TO BE A BLACK WOMAN, WHICH WOULD BE DISMISSED AS RACIST IF VENTURED BY A WHE PERSON.RALPH ELLISON WAS EFUL ON THIS: “CAN A PEOPLE,” HE ASKED, “LIVE AND VELOP FOR OVER THREE HUNDRED YEARS SIMPLY BY REACTG?” SO VERY MUCH OF WHAT IS TO BE A BLACK WOMAN IS SIMPLY BEG SOMEONE, BEG SOMEONE BETIFUL WH A PARTICULAR PLEX OF CULTURAL TRAS THAT SIMPLY ARE, FOR THEMSELV. THAT ISN’T SOMETHG ANYONE N “STEAL.”WHAT WAS GOOD FOR THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE IS GOOD FOR 2014. THE IA THAT PEOPLE N E TOGETHER WHILE “RPECTFULLY” REAG OM BEG MORE LIKE ONE ANOTHER IS, ALL SENS, HOPELS. JOHN MCWHORTER

JOHN MCWHORTER: WHAT THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE TEACH ABOUT GAY RIGHTS

John McWhorter is a regular ntributor to The more thought on the ia of homosexualy as wrong, light of New York state's legalizatn of gay marriage last week. We need both ways of lookg at thgs evaluatg how we look at gay tolerance, gay marriage and anti-gay language 's start wh the past: New York 1929. It was actually a pretty gay place.

Like the rt of the cy, Harlem was home to untls gay bars.

At the annual Haton Lodge drag ball, hundreds of drag queens peted for the top prize while thoands of straight Harlem and other New Yorkers crowd to get a "fairy, " as he was termed at the time -- even by gays themselv -- was often sought as an emcee even at mastream nightclub shows. Gay people were part of the scenery at the rent parti so famo now Harlem tch hts om Fats Waller, who was not gay but sprkled a mp sensibily to his rout. "Seafood" was gay slang for a sailor pickup.

Of urse homophobia was rampant as well, and would bee worse om the '30s on, when the police started clampg down on the old-time ee and easy atmosphere. And the profany is what we ll also wre about another f-word, the one sometim ed to refer to gay men.

If so, you n unrstand how would jump to beg ed for gay men – to imply that a gay man is somehow weaker than quote-unquote a real man.

YOU CAN’T ‘STEAL’ A CULTURE: IN DEFENSE OF CULTURAL APPROPRIATNSHARING IS CARINGWHAT BEGAN AS A LEGIMATE PLAT HAS MORPHED TO A HANDY WAY OF BEG OFFEND AT SOMETHG THAT SHOULD BE TAKEN AS A PLIMENT.JOHN MCWHORTERUPDATED APR. 14, 2017 3:21PM EDT / PUBLISHED JUL. 15, 2014 5:45AM EDT OLIVIA HARRIS/RTERSYOU’VE HEARD AROUND FOREVER. ELVIS PRLEY STOLE ROCK MIC. OR EMEM ULDN’T BE NSIRED A TLY “THENTIC” RAPPER BEE HE’S WHE.AND THERE WAS SENSE ALL OF THAT. BUT WHAT BEGAN AS A LEGIMATE PLAT HAS MORPHED TO A HANDY WAY OF BEG OFFEND BY SOMETHG THAT SHOULD BE TAKEN AS A PLIMENT.A MUCH-DISCSED RECENT EDORIAL TIME, WHERE A BLACK WOMAN TELLS WHE GAY MEN TO STOP IMATG THEM BY TAKG ON THEIR GTUR AND EXPRSNS, NEATLY ILLTRATED THE NUT OF THE ISSUE. TO HER, THE MEN ARE “STEALG” BLACK WOMANHOOD.BUT WHAT DO MEAN TO “STEAL” SOMEONE’S CULTURE WHEN WE’RE NOT TALKG ABOUT MONEY? WH GAY WHE MEN AND BLACK WOMEN, FOR EXAMPLE, ’S NOT AS IF THE BLACK WOMEN ARE BEG LEFT WHOUT THEIR CULTURE AFTER THE “THEFT,” OR AS IF GAY WHE MEN ARE SOMEHOW OUT THERE “OUT-BLACKG” THE WOMEN THEY “STOLE” OM. THE BATE OVER WHAT WE LL CULTURAL APPROPRIATN HAS ROOTS THE JTIFIABLE RENTMENT OF WHE POP MICIANS IMATG BLACK GENR FOR MOARY GA. PRLEY WAS THE CLASSIC EXAMPLE. HOWEVER, THIS LEGIMATE OBJECTN WAS ABOUT BUCKS: PRLEY AND ARTISTS LIKE HIM WERE REAPG FANCIAL REWARDS THAT THE ORIGATORS OF THEIR MIC NEVER SAW.BUT OVER TIME, THE NCEPT OF CULTURAL APPROPRIATN HAS MORPHED TO A PARODY OF THE ORIGAL IA. WE ARE NOW TO GET ANGRY SIMPLY WHEN WH HAPPILY IMATE SOMETHG THAT MORI DO. WE NOW E THE WORD STEAL AN ABSTRACT SENSE, SEPARATED OM ANY KD OF MATERIAL VALUE.IT ED TO BE THAT WE SAID THAT IMATN IS THE SCERT FORM OF FLATTERY. BUT NOW THERE IS NEW WAY TO SEE THE MATTER: IMATN IS A KD OF DISMISSAL.BUT DO THIS IA HOLD UP? I DOUBT . IF ONE IS SEEN, AND SEEN AN APPROVG LIGHT, ONE WILL BE IMATED. THIS IS WHAT HUMAN BEGS DO. THE VERY FACULTY OF LANGUAGE IS, TO A LARGE EXTENT, A MATTER OF IMATN. THE IA THAT WHEN WE IMATE SOMETHG WE ARE SEEKG TO REPLACE RATHER THAN JO IS WEAK. THK ABOUT : DO THAT EVEN MAKE SENSE? IT’S CERTALY UP FOR BATE.YET SOME WILL SIST THAT WE SQUEEZE OURSELV TO THE MENTAL STRAJACKET AND ALLOW THIS AS A “PROGRSIVE” NEW TAKE ON WHAT IS TO BE A HUMAN A DIVERSE SOCIETY. BUT WON’T WORK. WHAT’S THE EVINCE? ALL OF HUMAN HISTORY.THE GRAND OLD EMPIR (CLUDG THE ON AI) WERE ALL ABOUT RAMPANT TERETHNIC APPROPRIATN. EVERY LANGUAGE THE WORLD IS SHOT THROUGH WH WORDS AND GRAMMATIL PATTERNS OM OTHER LANGUAG—THAT IS, SIGNS OF PEOPLE THE PAST DOG WHAT WE WOULD LL “APPROPRIATG.”IN THE MELTG POT THAT WAS HARLEM THE 1920S, WH WERE PICKG UP NEW WAYS OF SGG AND MAKG MIC OM BLACK PEOPLE AND CREATG TODAY’S AMERIN MIL LANDSPE. WERE GEE GERSHW AND ALL OF THOSE UNTRY SGERS PICKG UP THE BLU “APPROPRIATG” MIL STYL THEY SHOULD HAVE GIVEN BACK?A GREAT AL OF BLACK CULTURE WAS “APPROPRIATED” BY YOUNG AMERI AS RECENTLY AS THE ’90S. IT BEME NORMAL FOR YOUNG AMERIN WOMEN OF ALL EXTRACTNS TO, UNRSRG A POT, DO A CERTA SWIVEL OF THE NECK WHICH BEFORE THEN WAS KNOWN ONLY TO BLACK (AND PERHAPS MANY LATA) WOMEN. EVEN MANY EXTREMELY WHE YOUNG MEN TODAY HAVE “APPROPRIATED” OM BLACK MEN CERTA VOL NC, EXPRSNS LIKE “YO” AND “BRO” AND GREETG STYL. HAS ANYONE THOUGHT ANYTHG WAS WRONG WH ANY OF THIS?SO WE DON’T EVEN NEED TO EXPLORE WHETHER CULTURAL CROSS-FERTILIZATN IS A GOOD THG SELF (ALTHOUGH ROBERT WRIGHT IS ONE PERSON PECIALLY EFUL ON THAT). ALL WE NEED TO KNOW IS THAT WE WILL NEVER ARRT , AND THAT A STIPULATN THAT BROWN PEOPLE AMERI MT BE SHIELD OM WILL SERVE NO PURPOSE EXCEPT TO PROVI PEOPLE WH SOMETHG TO BE UPSET ABOUT. IT WILL KEEP HAPPENG.SURE, APPROPRIATN N BE DONE CLUMSILY. LAST YEAR, MILEY CYS’ HEART WAS THE RIGHT PLACE BUT SHE ULD HAVE ED SOME SENSIVY ACHG. THAT’S AN OLD STORY. IN THE ’20S, WHE CARL VAN VECHTEN STARTED FEELG SO FORTABLE AROUND BLACK PEOPLE AS A CHRONICLER OF THE HARLEM SCENE THAT HE MISSTEPPED TLG A BOOK “NIGGER HEAVEN.”BUT BEWARE ANY IA THAT STORI LIKE THAT MEAN THAT WH IMATG BROWN PEOPLE IS, FUNDAMENTALLY, WRONG AND THAT WH’ JOB IS TO SOMEHOW PASS BY MORY CULTUR WH SOME FORM OF WHAT IS SOMETIM TERMED “RPECT,” WHATEVER THAT WOULD MEAN PRACTICE.WE SHOULD JT GET BACK TO BASICS ON THIS. FOR EXAMPLE, WHE GAY MEN IMATE BLACK WOMEN OUT OF ADMIRATN, MUCH OF OUT OF A SENSE OF BLACK WOMEN AS FELLOW SUFFERERS OF OPPRSN. THE LUMN TIME ARGU THAT THE MA PROBLEM IS THAT WHE GAY MEN SUFFER LS OPPRSN THAN BLACK WOMEN. BUT AS J. BRYAN LOWR HAS PUT , THAT’S A SLIPPERY PROPOSN. COMPARG HOLOTS ISN’T A EFUL WAY TO UNTIE THE KNOT HERE.HOW ABOUT THIS? THE CLAIM THAT WHE GAY MEN ARE WRONG TO IMATE BLACK WOMEN BEE THEY AREN’T AS OPPRSED IMPLI THAT BLACK WOMEN’S CULTURAL TRAS ARE ALL A RPONSE TO OPPRSN. BUT THAT’S A RCTIVE TAKE ON WHAT IS TO BE A BLACK WOMAN, WHICH WOULD BE DISMISSED AS RACIST IF VENTURED BY A WHE PERSON.RALPH ELLISON WAS EFUL ON THIS: “CAN A PEOPLE,” HE ASKED, “LIVE AND VELOP FOR OVER THREE HUNDRED YEARS SIMPLY BY REACTG?” SO VERY MUCH OF WHAT IS TO BE A BLACK WOMAN IS SIMPLY BEG SOMEONE, BEG SOMEONE BETIFUL WH A PARTICULAR PLEX OF CULTURAL TRAS THAT SIMPLY ARE, FOR THEMSELV. THAT ISN’T SOMETHG ANYONE N “STEAL.”WHAT WAS GOOD FOR THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE IS GOOD FOR 2014. THE IA THAT PEOPLE N E TOGETHER WHILE “RPECTFULLY” REAG OM BEG MORE LIKE ONE ANOTHER IS, ALL SENS, HOPELS. JOHN MCWHORTER

The thugs, who shouted Tmp slogans as well as racist and homophobic slurs, seemed to know who Smollett was on sight, meang they were aficnados of the splashy black soap opera Empire, on which Smollett is a ma character. We are jtly sensized to vlence agast people for beg black and for beg gay the wake of cints I need not name. He addrsed an dience recently g note rds and llowly pared himself to Tupac Shakur, unaware that all of this is the hallmark of someone makg somethg up, speakg om a script—tellg a story, as Ameri’s victim chiefDid not occur to Smollett that if this blew up his face, he would be tarrg by associatn actual and legimate claims of racist and homophobic abe?

Too many black Amerins have ltle more tert keepg the ladr out for gay people than early femists had dog the same for black won't do to phemize as a matter of black people rentg the gay movement takg on the civil rights banner, wh s lls of "gay is the new black. " This isn't a battle over polil theory or jostlg over who's been more opprsed; 's good old-fashned, homophobia is Amerin, not Ain-Amerin. Blacks neher tnted Rutgers stunt Tyler Clementi to killg himself nor murred Matthew Shepard a field on the outskirts of Laramie, to the extent that homophobia has been more eply rooted the black muny than the whe populatn, this is percentage of blacks who favor gay marriage is about the same now as the percentage of wh, acrdg to a Pew poll taken durg the last electn season.

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JOHN MCWHORTER: WHAT THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE TEACH ABOUT GAY RIGHTS