http://www.huffingtonpost.com/terrence-chappell/why-im-a-black-man-before-im-a-gay-man_b_6070912.html
Click on this link to read the article, "Why I'm a Black Man Before I'm a Gay Man" written by Terrence Chappell.
I thought this article was really cool because it combines and addresses a topic we haven't talked about too much in class: a single person identifying with both a minority race and minority sexual orientation.
My favorite passage from the article is when Chappell bluntly and powerfully explains how his identity as a Black man outdoes his identity as a gay man:
"There's a certain type of painstakingly sharp and "always on" relentless
awareness you just have to have as a black man in all spaces... At any point and in any space, I can choose not to disclose my
sexuality, and thus be perceived as "straight." My sexuality isn't
integrated into the rest of my life unless I allow it to be... People don't cross the street to avoid that scary gay man walking toward them."
-Bridget Thomas
he has a point when he says that he can choose whether or not his sexuality is integrated into his life, he can say that he's straight all he wants and people can believe him, but as he said in the article he can't go around saying that he's white because you'd be able to tell that that's not true. I also saw that when he was talking about people avoiding the "Scary gay man" that the stereotypes for black men are a lot harsher than the ones for gay men. Gay men are usually stereotyped as non-threatening while black men are stereotyped as the opposite.
ReplyDelete-Casey Coulter
This is such a good article about intersectionality and how it actually plays a role in people's lives. It is really sad to see the ways that these people are so oppressed on both the LGBT scale and the race scale. I feel that no matter what one's belief is about either subject, it is their human duty to look past their opinions and care about that person's well being. It was also eye opening to see text stating the common stereotypes associated with both black men and gay men. It is also interesting to me that I subconsciously can relate to thinking this way. Good choice Bridget!
ReplyDelete~Sarah Jump