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| Limited positive representations of black gay men — including the independent
television series ‘Noah’s Arc’ with Darryl Stephens
and Jensen Atwood — are on the rise. But widespread misconceptions
result from a misguided media preoccupation with black male sexuality, according
to Keith Boykin, author of ‘Beyond the Down Low: Sex and Denial in Black
America.’ (‘Noah’s Arc’ photo by Anthony Nouri Caravan) |
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HOME > SOVO SCENE > FEATURE
By: RYAN LEE
COMMENTS |
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The truth about black sexuality in general is even more undercover than black
men who have sex with men “on the down low” due to recent media misinformation,
charges gay activist Keith Boykin in his upcoming book, “Beyond the Down Low:
Sex and Denial in Black America.”
Set for release in February 2005, Boykin’s book charges that African Americans
have long avoided having honest conversations about issues like fidelity, the
existence of black gay men and lesbians, and taking individual responsibility
for protection against HIV.
Instead of addressing those issues, blacks — aided by what Boykin calls a sensationalistic
media — have recently focused their ire over rising HIV rates among black women
on black men on “the down low,” widely perceived as men with wives or girlfriends
who secretly have sex with men.
A deluge of media coverage over the last two years cites men on the down low
as the primary cause of disproportionate HIV rates among African-American women.
That presumption has become prevalent despite the Centers for Disease Control
& Preven-tion’s insistence that data on the down low is hard to come by and
a clear definition of the “DL” is non-existent.
“It’s very frustrating when you read the newspapers day after day and you see
the same old bullshit being printed about the down low, and it’s all wrong —
everything you think you know about the down low is wrong,” says Boykin, board
president of the National Black Justice Coalition, a group that advocates legalizing
same-sex marriage.
Boykin also takes aim at J.L. King, author of “On the Down Low,” which warns
black women that men on the down low are an ominous threat. Boykin places much
of the blame for misconceptions about black men who have sex with men on the
widespread media attention King receives due to his years of personal experience
leading a sexual double life.
King’s book took flight with his high-profile appearances on “The Oprah Winfrey
Show” and in interviews with the New York Times Magazine, Sister To Sister magazine
and the talk show of U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr., among many others.
A friend first introduced King to Boykin in 2001 as an “ill-informed black
gay man masquerading on the down low,” Boykin says.
Boykin charges in “Beyond the Down Low” that King and his book are a ball of
contradictions and that King bounces from interview to interview spreading misinformation
about HIV and black sexuality.
“One person’s life story, which really isn’t that credible to begin with, is
fueling this entire media story,” Boykin says. “He has always been motivated
by money —that’s the guy’s whole objective.”
But King said in an interview Monday that Boykin’s criticism is fueled by envy
and that Boykin’s own aspirations are simply to match King’s literary success.
“I just hope he doesn’t become successful off my name — don’t tear me down
to sell a book,” says King, who also insists that he respects Boykin as a colleague.
In his book, Boykin paints King as a modern-day Uncle Tom, willing to feed
into stereotypes of black men being irresponsible sexual predators in order
to acquire fame and wealth for himself.
“A few opportunistic blacks are all too willing to tell white America exactly
what they want to hear about us, and … white America is all too willing to publicize
and promote controversial black figures who are severely ill-informed,” Boykin
writes.
King does not dispute a passage in Boykin’s book in which King originally attempted
to court Boykin to ghostwrite “On the Down Low,” only to be rebuffed. When Boykin
refused, King tried to “sweeten the pot [by telling Boykin], ‘We’re going to
make a lot of money off this,’” Boykin writes.
But King dismisses Boykin’s charges that he is motivated solely by personal
and financial gain, saying that his main motivator is to stop the spread of
HIV.
“Why is it that in the African-American community, when one is successful we
don’t celebrate that success instead of tearing him down?” King says. “We need
to really come together as one voice and make some positive things happen instead
of Keith trying to talk about me.”
King notes that he has contributed $100,000 to help establish the Lillie Mae
King Foundation, which is named after his mother, to deliver HIV prevention
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