Ezra Miller is quite eloquent in an interview with AfterElton on why he self-identifies as “queer”:

AfterElton: You routinely refer to yourself as “queer,” which I love. It’s an old word, but it’s kind of a new form of self-identification.
EM: It’s true! And it’s a different form of LGBT culture for sure. It’s even almost defiant of each of those letters. It’s kind of wonderfully all-encompassing. I’m all about it. I’m all about that word. I think it’s incredibly useful just as we head into an era of a more indiscriminate and open spectrum of human gender and sexuality. I think it’s good for us to have a word that isn’t so ultimately definitive, that leaves room for people to always be discovering and exploring who they are as a loving being.

AE: It’s defiant of that expectation to narrowly self-assign, I think, but it still aligns you in camaraderie with everything “LGBT.”
EM: Well, right. It’s funny how quickly so many heteronormative standards have crept their way into conventional gay culture. I think already even though we’ve done an incredibly productive cycle of opening up gaps in human rights in this particular area, I think there’s a whole new recycle that has to take place.

I find it incredibly interesting how white LGBT activists and other gay-identified folks are thoroughly comfortable and deferential to Ezra Miller’s desire to claim “queer” rather than “gay” or “bisexual”, even as they seem intent (here, here, here, and here, just to name a few) on forcing Frank Ocean into the LGBT framework (is he bi or gay? did he “come out”, etc).

I mean, even the most cursory search of Ezra Miller on AfterElton or any other gay-identified website reveals a consistent use of the term “queer”, but do the same search on Frank Ocean and you find that the more standard LGBT identifiers (most notably that he “came out”) predominate. In fact, I find that there is often hostility to the fact that he refuses to claim any label at all, particularly after his GQ interview.

Apparently, black self-determination is always something to be questioned or, worse, ignored.

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Posted on February 12th, 2013 - Filed under Film,Music,Sexuality
Tags :: black bisexual men, black gay men, black self-determination, Ezra Miller, Frank Ocean, LGBT, queer, queer black men, sexuality

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I certainly hope this show gets produced…

…because there could be real power in a show that forthrightly addresses issues of race, sexuality, and masculinity in a way that forces us to rethink our assumptions and become aware of the contexts in which we live in the United States.

But this promotional video does give me pause because so much of the interaction between the characters is provocative in a way that doesn’t seem to reveal anything beyond the superficial. Obviously, it’s hard to tell anything from a 10-minute promotional video, but with dialogue like “take it” and “wrong color” and (apparently) cliche situations like bashings and thug fetishes this could be terribly exploitative, rather than progressive. There’s an illusion of depth here that suggests that the producers haven’t seriously considered who each of these men are.

Similarly, the additional promotional materials suggest that this show will be set in Atlanta, GA, but this presentation lacks a sense of place. This could be Any Diverse Town Coastal USA. The key then would be for the makers of this show to open up the world of these characters so we can understand where they come from and who they are. Right now – these are just archetypes.

For the show to truly do what it seems to be setting out to do, it will have to really take seriously the realities and unique circumstances that produced each of these individuals. And that means being really honest rather than just provocative.

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Posted on December 11th, 2012 - Filed under Sexuality,Television
Tags :: black gay, black sexuality, Black SGL men, gay television, masculinity, patriarchy, race, racism, sexuality, SGL, Skin Deep

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It was while watching Episode 3 of Season 2 that I began to realize that Kaldrick King, played with remarkable focus and depth by the phenomenally talented Andra Fuller, was quite simply the most complex and truly human black homosexual male character ever on television.

Kal throws a party, hiding his pain and anguish in plain sight, when Infinite Jest, a young upstart rapper played by Steven James, challenges his throne. The rap battle between the two men provided the show with the opportunity to underline the fact that Kaldrick King is a performance, a ferocious character that is suffocating the real man even as it is quite literally the only thing he has left. It's no surprise it takes him a second to drop the pose long enough to stop the beat down of Infinite Jest. Moving in and out of Kaldrick King is just getting harder and harder to do.

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Posted on September 7th, 2012 - Filed under Sexuality,Television
Tags :: Aaron Paul, Andra Fuller, Benjamin Charles Watson, black gay men, black homosexual men, Black SGL men, Breaking Bad, Bryan Cranston, Canadian television show, Canadian TV, Chris, down low, Eugene Clark, Game of Thrones, Golden Globes, Infinite Jest, Jarod Joseph, Jewel Staite, Jon Hamm, Kal, Kal King, Kaldrick King, Mad Men, Raquel Westbrook, Steven James, Tariq, television awards, the DL, the L.A. Complex

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This AfterEllen (the lesbian sister site to the gay AfterElton) interview of R&B singer Monifah is a perfect example of how the largely white constructs of "gay" and "lesbian" don't really fit black homosexual people.

AE: I want to talk about the past and I want to talk about now. Did you ever fear being outed back when you were 23, recording your first album? 
MC: Lindsey, hell no. No! Let me tell you this: I have always lived my life authentically and exactly how I wanted to. I was dating women. People in the industry were very aware of who I was and what I was into at that point. They knew. I never hid it. I didn't hide it.

AE: Who hid it? I mean, you weren't out publicly. 
MC: No! I was out publicly. I would be at parties with my girlfriend. It was very clear. It may be unspoken, but I didn't feel like I needed to make an announcement. I just lived! You know what I'm saying? I just lived! Like most people I know.

AE: Absolutely. Well have you ever dated anyone that was in the closet? 
MC: Um — I don't think — no. In the closet? No. I wouldn't say in the closet.

AE: What would you call it? 
MC: Not in the closet, but not necessarily making any public statements.

AE: I guess that's my question then. 
MC: [Laughs] What's your question?

AE: If you are a celebrity and you are gay and you are asked “Are you gay?” by press and media and you choose not to discuss it, to me and to a lot of people, that is in the closet. 
MC: OK, got it, got it!

AE: So I guess that's the divide. Do you feel that living an openly gay life or being open and honest, that there is a line drawn at press and media? 
MC: Well yes because that's still a personal thing. Your personal life is your personal life. Heterosexual couples do it all the time. Men and women that are in the business or whatever — whatever they choose to do! I am gonna say with entertainers and people in the public eye, I think that it's a personal choice. I don't discredit — I don't have a problem with anyone not discussing certain aspects of their personal lives at all. It doesn't bother me. What I chose to do was what I chose to do was because I never had an issue anyway. The show was about my life, and my life emcompasses the person I love and who I'm sharing my life with, which means my mom, my daughter, my girlfriend now, and whatever else is going on! I'm in a place where I'm walking in transparency. I've been through some struggles and I have nothing — you're as sick as your secrets. I mean that in the things that can harm us — not with my sexuality; I mean drug addiction, sex addiction, things like that. I have to walk the truth. And so I was fine with sharing my personal relationship, which has uplifted me and given me a great new perspective and has given me such great support. This woman has been such a blessing to me and so I would never even think twice about celebrating that openly.

AE: You talked earlier about how everyone deserves the same rights. And I think that is something we all have to stand up for and I can tell by the way that you're talking you believe that. So how do you feel about role models. You say it's a personal choice but if we are fighting for equal rights — 
MC: Right, I agree. Let me back up on this Lindsey, I got you. I do wish that it wasn't such a big deal but I think that's still, again, a private and personal thing. Because I think people are conflicted within themselves. It's not even about what other people think; I think that's the second door you have to open. The first door, is the acceptance of self. So if you're still conflicted with acceptance of self, how do we expect for you to be honest and feel comfortable? I wish people really — it's a scary thing. I get it, I've done it. I'm doing it. It's an everyday process. It's not some "Oh now it's over." I wish that people would take those steps and move out of the self-loathing pocket and more into the self-acceptance pocket. Once you're not conflicted within yourself, speak out because this needs to be normalized. It has to stop. We do need to see these images of self. These children do need to see that there's nothing wrong with them. They do need to see that so-and-so is amazing, talented and is taking over the world, handling his business and so can I. And they're just like me! We need to see these images. Our children need to see them.

AE: Absolutely. Did anyone ever tell you, even though you were living an open life, did they say you might not want to speak publicly about your sexuality? 
MC: Oh yeah, all the homophobes in the business. Yeah, oh my God, yes! Mostly everybody who was in control, who runs the industry. It's a male-run industry, basically. And in my opinion, a gay-male run industry. That’s crazy to me. Overall! It's Jewish gay males, right? I mean, am I crazy? [Laughs]

AE: No, I think what you've seen what you've seen, for sure! [Laughs] I think it's really important to understand the reasons why that someone as famous as you, nobody knew until now! 
MC: Yeah. I do think that Middle America, across the board, may not have known, but the people that are kind of privy and in the circle you run in – I've hung out at Girl Bar parties. I've lived my life! And I didn't really — People would say "Oh she likes girls" especially now with blogs and stuff. It's way more prevalent with social media and technology is more prevalent; way more in your face. In the entertainment industry, it's become such a tool. It was definitely out there. People can believe what they like to believe and that's depends on what they need to believe.

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Posted on September 1st, 2012 - Filed under Music,Sexuality,Television
Tags :: AfterEllen, AfterElton, black gay women, black lesbian, black singer, black woman singer, gay, gay women, lesbian, LGBT, Lindsey Byrnes, Monifah, Monifah Carter, queer, R&B Divas, R&B music, same gender loving, same gender loving women, Touch It, TVOne, white gay, white lesbian

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I’m not entirely sure why folks are so upset at Omari Hardwick’s comments about how he played the role of a confused gay man in For Colored Girls:

Shadow and Act: In Tyler Perry’s “For Colored Girls,” you played Carl. He was the closeted husband to Janet Jackson’s character. How did you develop that role?

OH: Well, I can’t relate to being gay. It was a challenging role.

Shadow and Act: How was it a challenge?

OH: It was a challenging role for me because I am a black guy. And white guys like Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal can play those types of roles and their audiences will say that the roles are artistic.

Shadow and Act: So you feel that the role was challenging because the black community does not support roles like Carl?

OH: The black culture perceives roles like that one in a negative light.

Shadow and Act: How did you prepare for that role?

OH: I focused on being a deviant person. I focused on doing something wrong. I was lying to my wife. I was lying to these men. I prepared for the role by closing my eyes and thinking of times when I had lied.

Shadow and Act: You did not focus on the sexual orientation of Carl to get into character?

OH: No, because it’s like how could I do that really well? I focused on being deviant.

Shadow and Act: Did you tap into your own sexuality to build the role?

OH: You want me to explain how I used my heterosexuality to build this role?

Shadow and Act: Yes, I do.

OH: Okay, let me know if this is what you mean. There was this one time while we were filming in New York, where I was testing myself. l challenged myself to run through Central Park and behave like Carl. I wanted to see how I would run and live differently as my character.

Shadow and Act: And what did you find out about your character during this run?

OH: I did not get through the run without checking out women. It’s a natural instinct. So, that’s why I solely focused on being deviant. But you know what? Some of the greatest actors have played gay men. Anthony has played a gay man. Jeffrey has played gay. When it’s all said and done, I am secure enough with my manhood to say to the world, “I am a male actor, and its okay for me to play a gay man.”

Rod thinks he doth protest too much, but it seems to me like Hardwick is saying (in an admittedly inarticulate way) that he focused less on his character’s sexuality and more on the fact that he was lying to everyone in his life. That doesn’t strike me as offensive.

Citing Brokeback Mountain I think is telling because it suggests that he’s talking less about sexuality itself and more about the construction of “the DL.” It isn’t just that the black community might respond more negatively to a black man playing gay than the white community does to a white man playing gay. It’s that the reaction Hardwick is talking about is specifically about “the DL” and the reaction of black people in the context of the way that term has been pathologized as a uniquely black problem. Carl is a reviled character because he’s “DL” not because he’s “gay.” Hardwick doesn’t articulate this well because he is likely conflating the two terms (as many people do).

It’s important to remember that it wasn’t Carl’s story being told in For Colored Girls. Carl wasn’t a character, he was an archetype. J.L. King’s DL concoction in full effect. A black woman’s worst nightmare. We weren’t asked to contemplate Carl’s torment, his self-loathing, his struggle, or his humanity. He existed to contribute to Tyler Perry’s weird and virulently inhumane re-working of a masterpiece. Nothing more.

I think we do want actors to put in the best work they can and try to infuse even the flattest and most ridiculous characters with dimension, but I don’t even know what playing Carl more “gay” would have looked like – or what that even means.

It’s easy to get distracted by Hardwick’s inarticulate comments here, rather than sustain a critique of Perry’s bad writing and penchant for anti-homosexual sentiment in his films. But it’s not really the real problem.

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Posted on August 29th, 2012 - Filed under Film,Sexuality
Tags :: black actors, black gay men, black men, black sexuality, Black SGL men, black women, Brokeback Mountain, Carl, DL, For Colored Girls, gay, gay actors, Heath Ledger, J.L. King, Jake Gyllenhaal, Omari Hardwick, playing gay, same gender loving, SGL, Shadow and Act, Tyler Perry

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