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 Roots to Rap
Rahiel Tesfamariam
Columnist Page
Friday, February 18, 2005; Page 15
Black Folks Living Alternative Lifestyles
U.S. leadership is too often hypocritical, condemning pro-choice supporters while advocating for capital punishment and sending soldiers to fight for Iraqi democracy as U.S. citizens face grave injustices right here at home. In my opinion, a government that has committed and continues to commit some of the worst crimes against humanity has no right to paint itself as a moral authority (and we all know that Election 2004 was centered on the issue of morality).
It seems that at the center of that dialogue is controversy over homosexuality: aged old questions about whether or not sexuality is biological or socialized, nation-wide debates over gay marriages, Christians declaring it an abomination to God and nature while asking “who am I to judge” and its role in the penal system is a topic within itself. It’s no longer a White thing, a San Francisco thing, a secret thing; it’s an undeniable thing.
For a long time, African Americans didn’t have to (or chose not to) confront homosexuality head on; it was always masked behind comedic elements. Many found comfort in the extremes of men nicknamed Ray-Ray who walked around in short shorts and halter tops, popping bubble gum while swinging their purse from side to side. News reports telling of horrific hate crimes and talk shows giving accounts of brothers living on the down low have taken this topic out of the laughable domain; it’s now woven into the fabric of our community.
According to Michael Eric Dyson in “Open Mike”, “Being ‘queer’ or ‘gay’ is a tremendous struggle, but even before the enemies of Black people see a fey snap of the wrist or the ‘butch’ dress of lesbian women, they see Black pigment. So pigment may trump sexual orientation in a manner that many Black gays and lesbians intuitively understand in their bodies, even though deeply inscribed in their bodies at the same time is the recognition of their unalterable sexual identities that need to be sustained, affirmed and prized. To the degree that Black gays and lesbians struggle with the complex convergence of racial, sexual, gender and class issues, they already represent courageous role models of negotiating differences in one body at one site. They represent to us what blackness will look like well into the twenty-first century.”
Dyson’s statements may serve to empower African American homosexuals who find themselves discouraged by those that say that the struggle for gay rights cannot be compared to the struggle for civil rights.
But, in all honesty, I believe that all the discourse on homosexuality within the Black community has failed to address a very important issue, young Black lesbians.
If Washington, D.C. is an accurate reflection of our community as a whole, lesbianism is becoming a popular trend that more and more African American girls are embracing. When I was in junior high school, my friends and I had no concept of homosexuality or bisexuality. But today, “lovers” are increasingly replacing boyfriends. I overheard a conversation yesterday where after being asked if she is sexually active, a high school female responded, “Not with boys.” Many of them find it safe as misinformation about sexually transmitted diseases leads them to believe that being intimate with a woman will protect them from the dangers of being with a man.
I may never be convinced that many of these young females were born anything other than heterosexual. So many of them, I have learned over time, turn to the same sex when boyfriends have hurt them, male relatives have molested them, fathers have abandoned them, curiosity has enticed them and peer pressure has gotten a hold of them. While there is, of course, no litmus test to measure one’s biological sexuality, the rising popularity of alternative lifestyles among young Black females is a conversation that our community must begin to have. They may be girls today, but let us not forget that they are the wives and mothers of tomorrow.
For Rahiel Tesfamariam send email to rahielt@washingtoninformer.com. |
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